by Kristie Karima Burns, MH, ND
Fasting, which is now one of the fastest growing health trends in the United States, has benefits that are as widespread as its popularity. It can help the body heal and rid itself of dangerous chemicals, combat addiction, and rejuvenate the soul as well as the body. However, before embarking on a fast, one should do some research so that they can choose the most appropriate type. There are a wide variety of different fasting programs, such as water-fasts, juice-fasts, whole food-fasts, and such spiritual fasts as Ramadan. Each one has a different benefit for the person who performs it, whereas the common goal for all people who fast is to achieve better health.
Regular Fasting
A water-fast, meaning that the individual drinks only purified water for 1-3 days, provides great benefits. When a person drinks nothing but water for a certain period of time, the water acts as a high-powered detoxification agent, lubricates the body’s cells, and nourishes the blood. As it is eliminated from the body, it carries with it as many chemicals and toxins as it can. A water-fast is usually supervised by a doctor and is performed after a more moderate fast, for toxins are actually released into the body’s system before they are eliminated. Safe fasting insures that this is done gradually and does not shock the body.
A juice-fast is similar to a water-fast, for a person is allowed only liquids. The benefit of avoiding solid foods is that juices are assimilated easily, require minimum digestion, supply many nutrients, and stimulate the body to clear wastes. Elson M. Hass, MD, in his book The Detox Diet, calls a juice-fast the single greatest natural healing therapy he knows. He says: “It is nature’s ancient, universal remedy for many problems, used instinctively by animals when ill and by earlier cultures for healing and spiritual purification.”
A whole food-fast is often used as a pre-fast, because it allows a person to eat solid foods and to consume liquids. One can eat only organic foods, drink pure water, consume foods that are in season and grown in one’s own region, eat only foods grown in nature, and cook only in natural pots and pans (e.g., those made from glass, ceramic, porcelain, or iron). Since so many people are exposed to coffee, alcohol, tobacco, meat, processed foods, sugar, chemical drugs, and even environmental pollutants, this “healthy diet” has become a “fast,” rather than the norm, for most people. Some people have even refined this fast to include only vegetables, fruits, or raw foods. Herbs can be added to this or any other fast, in order to target healing in specific organs. This kind of fast was used by Socrates, Plato, Avicenna, Galen, and even Hippocrates. Indulgence, it seems, is an age-old problem.
Spiritual Fasting
Spiritual fasting can encompass the fasting methods listed above or can be quite different. However, its goal is more holistic: to purify the mind, body, AND soul, rather than just the body. Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, and even tribal religions all encourage fasting as a method of penance, ceremonial preparation, purification, mourning, sacrifice, and/or to enhance mental or spiritual powers.
Ramadan is a good example of a spiritual fast. In fact, the Qur’an states that it is more than just a physical fast or just a spiritual. In fact, fasting during Ramadan benefits the Muslim’s physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual bodies, for: "O you who believe. Fasting is prescribed to you as it was prescribed to those before you, so that you may have taqwa" (Surat al-Baqara, 2:183). Taqwa is translated in many ways: God-consciousness, God-fearing, piety, and self-restraining. It also has physical, spiritual and emotional connotations.
As this verse indicates, the intention behind the Ramadan fast is not only to benefit the physical being, but the mental and spiritual one as well. Most spiritual fasts have these goals in common, even if their methods are different.
The Benefits of Fasting
There are four main aspects of fasting in these three categories: going without food and water from sunrise to sunset, avoiding negative thoughts and actions, praying the tarawih prayer, and focusing one’s life on spiritual instead of physical actions.
Physically, going without food from sunrise to sunset benefits the body in many ways. According to Shahid Athar, studies done in Iran and Egypt show that such fasting has no adverse medical effects and may even have some beneficial effect on weight and lipid metabolism. He states: “The physiological effect of fasting includes lowering of blood sugar, lowering of cholesterol, and lowering of the systolic blood pressure. In fact, Ramadan fasting would be an ideal recommendation for the treatment of mild to moderate, stable, non-insulin diabetes, obesity, and essential hypertension.” This opinion agrees with that of Haas, who remarks that “fasting can be a cure for almost any disease.”
Longevity studies also illustrate fasting’s benefits. Studies on laboratory animals and humans consistently show that restricting caloric intake increases longevity and slows down the production rate of free radicals in the body. Therefore, it is no surprise that reducing these free radicals helps to prevent cancer. Thompson, Jiang, and Shu (The Center for Nutrition and the Prevention of Disease) mention that “cancer that occurs at numerous organ sites, including the colon and breast, is inhibited by energy restriction, and the inhibition is proportional to the degree of restriction imposed.”
Fasting can also be fundamental to healing various addictions, such as coffee, cigarettes, tea, drugs, alcohol, shopping, work, and food. The medical community has long accepted that addiction can be cured by breaking the addict’s habitual cycle. Breaking the cycle is the most popular curative method used in addiction therapy today. To cure one’s addiction to smoking, doctors prescribe nicotine patches, which are intended to help people resist cigarettes and break their habitual cycle. Patients also are asked to avoid friends or situations in which they usually smoke. Sometimes, drug addicts are even physically restrained to prevent them from taking drugs. In the case of coffee addiction, naturopaths advice their clients to detoxify their bodies by going without coffee for at least a day, and then building on the ensuing strength.
However, the goals of fasting Ramadan are not only physical. Withholding or resisting negative thoughts and actions is also mentally beneficial. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) is reported to have said: “Fasting is not [abstaining] from eating and drinking only, but also from vain speech and foul language. If one of you is being cursed or annoyed, he should say: 'I am fasting, I am fasting.'"
Numerous hospital studies show that more than 70 percent of all outpatient complaints have no physical basis. Doctors who encounter these patients, however, often send them home with the statement “nothing is wrong.” However, there IS something wrong, for negative thoughts (e.g., anger, vanity, and foul language) can bring about a depletion in phosphorus, which the brain uses as food. This, in turn, places stress on the thyroid and adrenal glands, a condition that can affect everything from allergic reactions and the immune system to metabolism and hormone production. In his book, The Science and Practice of Iridology, Bernard Jensen says: "The doctor of the new day will recognize that a man's most important workshop is not the physical body, but the mind that controls it."
One reason Jensen said this is because the physical and mental bodies are linked. For instance, if negative thoughts deprive the brain of phosphorus, the brain cannot help the physical body perform such functions as speech and movement properly. In turn, if the physical body is not performing properly, the brain will lack the sufficient levels of blood circulation needed to think clearly. In this way, among others, praying tarawih adds to the benefits of the Ramadan fast.
Athar states that physically, “approximately 200 calories are burned during tarawih prayer.” However, even more beneficial than the actual physical exercise is the therapeutic exercise of the five prayer positions. Many curative therapies (e.g., Feldenkrais, Yoga, and Tai Chi) use positioning of the body to elicit a physical, mental, and spiritual balance. Muslim prayer positions are no different than these common medical approaches to physical therapy.
In fact, according to modern medical research, each prayer position relates to a different organ system. These organs are activated when assuming the prayer positions by stimulating the nerve ganglia that branch forth from the spinal column. As each bodily part is stimulated, healing energies increase in that area for a period of 5-30 minutes.
Last, but not least, most spiritual leaders who recommend fasting hope to increase their congregation’s spiritual strength. Imams, priests, and yogis all know that focusing one’s life on the spiritual rather than the physical for one month is very beneficial to one’s health. In fact, numerous studies show that such a focus can be physically beneficial. Healing with prayer and spiritual practices have been studied at Harvard Medical School and at hundreds of other prominent locations. One study found that people who prayed during the study increased their health in ten of the eleven criterion categories set forth by the study. Larry Dossey, in his book Reinventing Medicine, documents hundreds of these studies on the benefits of spirituality and its relationship to health.
Conclusion
In conclusion, chose the type of fasting that is most appropriate by considering all relevant safety and health goals. Those who are fasting can gain some wisdom from those who fast Ramadan, for if one does not chose the appropriate fast and then fast holistically, he or she “will get nothing from their fast save hunger, and perhaps the one who stands to pray at night will get nothing from their standing except sleeplessness."
source: http://www.masnet.org/
Fasting, which is now one of the fastest growing health trends in the United States, has benefits that are as widespread as its popularity. It can help the body heal and rid itself of dangerous chemicals, combat addiction, and rejuvenate the soul as well as the body. However, before embarking on a fast, one should do some research so that they can choose the most appropriate type. There are a wide variety of different fasting programs, such as water-fasts, juice-fasts, whole food-fasts, and such spiritual fasts as Ramadan. Each one has a different benefit for the person who performs it, whereas the common goal for all people who fast is to achieve better health.
Regular Fasting
A water-fast, meaning that the individual drinks only purified water for 1-3 days, provides great benefits. When a person drinks nothing but water for a certain period of time, the water acts as a high-powered detoxification agent, lubricates the body’s cells, and nourishes the blood. As it is eliminated from the body, it carries with it as many chemicals and toxins as it can. A water-fast is usually supervised by a doctor and is performed after a more moderate fast, for toxins are actually released into the body’s system before they are eliminated. Safe fasting insures that this is done gradually and does not shock the body.
A juice-fast is similar to a water-fast, for a person is allowed only liquids. The benefit of avoiding solid foods is that juices are assimilated easily, require minimum digestion, supply many nutrients, and stimulate the body to clear wastes. Elson M. Hass, MD, in his book The Detox Diet, calls a juice-fast the single greatest natural healing therapy he knows. He says: “It is nature’s ancient, universal remedy for many problems, used instinctively by animals when ill and by earlier cultures for healing and spiritual purification.”
A whole food-fast is often used as a pre-fast, because it allows a person to eat solid foods and to consume liquids. One can eat only organic foods, drink pure water, consume foods that are in season and grown in one’s own region, eat only foods grown in nature, and cook only in natural pots and pans (e.g., those made from glass, ceramic, porcelain, or iron). Since so many people are exposed to coffee, alcohol, tobacco, meat, processed foods, sugar, chemical drugs, and even environmental pollutants, this “healthy diet” has become a “fast,” rather than the norm, for most people. Some people have even refined this fast to include only vegetables, fruits, or raw foods. Herbs can be added to this or any other fast, in order to target healing in specific organs. This kind of fast was used by Socrates, Plato, Avicenna, Galen, and even Hippocrates. Indulgence, it seems, is an age-old problem.
Spiritual Fasting
Spiritual fasting can encompass the fasting methods listed above or can be quite different. However, its goal is more holistic: to purify the mind, body, AND soul, rather than just the body. Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, and even tribal religions all encourage fasting as a method of penance, ceremonial preparation, purification, mourning, sacrifice, and/or to enhance mental or spiritual powers.
Ramadan is a good example of a spiritual fast. In fact, the Qur’an states that it is more than just a physical fast or just a spiritual. In fact, fasting during Ramadan benefits the Muslim’s physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual bodies, for: "O you who believe. Fasting is prescribed to you as it was prescribed to those before you, so that you may have taqwa" (Surat al-Baqara, 2:183). Taqwa is translated in many ways: God-consciousness, God-fearing, piety, and self-restraining. It also has physical, spiritual and emotional connotations.
As this verse indicates, the intention behind the Ramadan fast is not only to benefit the physical being, but the mental and spiritual one as well. Most spiritual fasts have these goals in common, even if their methods are different.
The Benefits of Fasting
There are four main aspects of fasting in these three categories: going without food and water from sunrise to sunset, avoiding negative thoughts and actions, praying the tarawih prayer, and focusing one’s life on spiritual instead of physical actions.
Physically, going without food from sunrise to sunset benefits the body in many ways. According to Shahid Athar, studies done in Iran and Egypt show that such fasting has no adverse medical effects and may even have some beneficial effect on weight and lipid metabolism. He states: “The physiological effect of fasting includes lowering of blood sugar, lowering of cholesterol, and lowering of the systolic blood pressure. In fact, Ramadan fasting would be an ideal recommendation for the treatment of mild to moderate, stable, non-insulin diabetes, obesity, and essential hypertension.” This opinion agrees with that of Haas, who remarks that “fasting can be a cure for almost any disease.”
Longevity studies also illustrate fasting’s benefits. Studies on laboratory animals and humans consistently show that restricting caloric intake increases longevity and slows down the production rate of free radicals in the body. Therefore, it is no surprise that reducing these free radicals helps to prevent cancer. Thompson, Jiang, and Shu (The Center for Nutrition and the Prevention of Disease) mention that “cancer that occurs at numerous organ sites, including the colon and breast, is inhibited by energy restriction, and the inhibition is proportional to the degree of restriction imposed.”
Fasting can also be fundamental to healing various addictions, such as coffee, cigarettes, tea, drugs, alcohol, shopping, work, and food. The medical community has long accepted that addiction can be cured by breaking the addict’s habitual cycle. Breaking the cycle is the most popular curative method used in addiction therapy today. To cure one’s addiction to smoking, doctors prescribe nicotine patches, which are intended to help people resist cigarettes and break their habitual cycle. Patients also are asked to avoid friends or situations in which they usually smoke. Sometimes, drug addicts are even physically restrained to prevent them from taking drugs. In the case of coffee addiction, naturopaths advice their clients to detoxify their bodies by going without coffee for at least a day, and then building on the ensuing strength.
However, the goals of fasting Ramadan are not only physical. Withholding or resisting negative thoughts and actions is also mentally beneficial. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) is reported to have said: “Fasting is not [abstaining] from eating and drinking only, but also from vain speech and foul language. If one of you is being cursed or annoyed, he should say: 'I am fasting, I am fasting.'"
Numerous hospital studies show that more than 70 percent of all outpatient complaints have no physical basis. Doctors who encounter these patients, however, often send them home with the statement “nothing is wrong.” However, there IS something wrong, for negative thoughts (e.g., anger, vanity, and foul language) can bring about a depletion in phosphorus, which the brain uses as food. This, in turn, places stress on the thyroid and adrenal glands, a condition that can affect everything from allergic reactions and the immune system to metabolism and hormone production. In his book, The Science and Practice of Iridology, Bernard Jensen says: "The doctor of the new day will recognize that a man's most important workshop is not the physical body, but the mind that controls it."
One reason Jensen said this is because the physical and mental bodies are linked. For instance, if negative thoughts deprive the brain of phosphorus, the brain cannot help the physical body perform such functions as speech and movement properly. In turn, if the physical body is not performing properly, the brain will lack the sufficient levels of blood circulation needed to think clearly. In this way, among others, praying tarawih adds to the benefits of the Ramadan fast.
Athar states that physically, “approximately 200 calories are burned during tarawih prayer.” However, even more beneficial than the actual physical exercise is the therapeutic exercise of the five prayer positions. Many curative therapies (e.g., Feldenkrais, Yoga, and Tai Chi) use positioning of the body to elicit a physical, mental, and spiritual balance. Muslim prayer positions are no different than these common medical approaches to physical therapy.
In fact, according to modern medical research, each prayer position relates to a different organ system. These organs are activated when assuming the prayer positions by stimulating the nerve ganglia that branch forth from the spinal column. As each bodily part is stimulated, healing energies increase in that area for a period of 5-30 minutes.
Last, but not least, most spiritual leaders who recommend fasting hope to increase their congregation’s spiritual strength. Imams, priests, and yogis all know that focusing one’s life on the spiritual rather than the physical for one month is very beneficial to one’s health. In fact, numerous studies show that such a focus can be physically beneficial. Healing with prayer and spiritual practices have been studied at Harvard Medical School and at hundreds of other prominent locations. One study found that people who prayed during the study increased their health in ten of the eleven criterion categories set forth by the study. Larry Dossey, in his book Reinventing Medicine, documents hundreds of these studies on the benefits of spirituality and its relationship to health.
Conclusion
In conclusion, chose the type of fasting that is most appropriate by considering all relevant safety and health goals. Those who are fasting can gain some wisdom from those who fast Ramadan, for if one does not chose the appropriate fast and then fast holistically, he or she “will get nothing from their fast save hunger, and perhaps the one who stands to pray at night will get nothing from their standing except sleeplessness."
source: http://www.masnet.org/
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