Originally Posted by DQueens  no offense, but that idea sounds a little like bull.
there is another word for fasting "anorexia".
yes, it is true that you use energy for digesting (and for walking, breathing, thinking, fighting infections and everything else your body does). but that energy comes from your food, which is why you are eating in the first place.
of course you will lose weight, you are starving yourself, essentially. Your body, muslces and brains are running on nothing other than the fat stores in your body. What is happening is your metabolism is slowing. Your body is breaking down muscle tissues and essential proteins to fuel you. Your immune system is going to be functioning poorly, and you will be lethargic and fatigued, even if you dont realize it.
The body needs food to keep you alive. You are living off of your own bodily tissues, which is an unhealthy and unnatural, highly stressful state for the body to be in.
Maybe you feel "better" but that is because when other tissues such as fat and muscle are broken down, the byproducts that are produced can cause a feeling of eurphoria. This is an unnatural feeling, and does not mean you are being "cleansed" or healthy.
the digestive system needs fibre (from whole grain, fruits and vegetables) to function properly and keep the food residues and bacteria moving through it. Not encouraging intestinal motility is bad for the intestine because it affects the bacterial environment within your gut.
If you want to go on a "fast" to cleanse your body from the toxins you have been putting in it or if you want to shed some extra weight i propose eliminating all saturated fats, simple sugars, fast food, processed foods and drugs such as caffeine and alcohol from you diet. For three weeks eat a diet rich in whole grains (try quinoa, couscous, brown rice, oats, whole wheat pasta... the longer it takes to prepare the less processed and the better). Lots of fruits and vegetables (the darker or more colourful, the better) choose a large variety or something you havent eaten before to give your body a wide variety of nutrients, and protein (if you are going vegan or vegetarian that is fine, but try unprocessed soy products, legumes such as kidney beans etc.) and polyunsaturated fats such as omega three fatty acids. You will be shocked at how much better you feel.
the bottom line is, do what you want with your diet, but keep in mind that fasting for three weeks is not doing your body one ounce of good. all the "evidence" you have written about, stating the benefits of fasting have no scientific or real merit. if you diet is poor to begin with, then make changes to make it healthier, but do not eliminate food altogether and think you are being healthy. The average person needs roughly 2000 calories a day to stay alive and function properly. by denying your body this, you are denying it the right to perform to it's potential and putting it in a state of starvation or metabolic emergency in which it must rely on other unnatural ways to obtain energy. |