In the strict dietary sense, fasting is the complete abstinence from all substances except pure water, in an environment of total rest. Juice fasting, a popular variation, is abstinence from all food and drink except water and fresh vegetable and fruit juices. A modified fast includes small amounts of solid food, usually raw fruits as well as raw and steamed vegetables.
Other types of fasts sometimes include brown rice fast, whereby only brown rice is eaten for a week, accompanied by water. Detoxification is the foremost argument presented by advocates of fasting.
Detoxification is a normal body process of eliminating or neutralising the toxins resulting from biochemical functions through the colon, liver, kidneys, lungs, lymph nodes, and skin. Fasting precipitates this process because, when food no longer enters the body, the latter turns to its fat reserves for energy.
When the fat reserves are used for energy during a fast, they release the stored chemicals from the fatty acids into the system and are then eliminated through the above mentioned organs.
Another benefit of fasting is the healing process it triggers. During a fast, energy is diverted away from the digestive system, since there is no food to mobilise it, towards the metabolism and immune system. This is one reason why animals stop eating when they are wounded, and the reason why we feel less hungry when we’re sick.
Fasting also triggers rapid weight loss. Once the body is in fasting mode, it becomes accustomed to go without food after a few days. After a fast, the stomach actually shrinks and is restored it to its normal size. People tend to be satisfied with less food after fasting, as the latter signals to your body that you’ve altered the way you eat.
Beware of bingeing after a fast, especially if you starved your body to extreme! You could defeat the whole purpose of the fast.
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Thanks to pure inside out for our fasting tips!
