Fasting and Life

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Just started doing 12 to 16 hour fasts two days ago. Find that I eat less junk and need less to be satiated, along with some other benefits. Truly want to get started on an extended fast. That would aid the recovery of health imbalances. There is quite some research on fasting and cancer available here Effect of fasting on cancer: A narrative review of scientific evidence and you can do further research on it.

First did an extended fast for a long time about 5 to 6 years ago as I was feeling not well though still well enough to work. It was actually an involuntary fast as I puked out quite a lot of things I ate then so I started fasting because I couldn’t eat anything. Then miraculously, I got well after the extended fast and lost a ton of weight and was not sick for years.

Was thinking about what to write and decided this post may be useful though am not a medical establishment doctor. ^^

The hardest part about fasting is tolerating the emotions that come up when you’re hungry and tolerating hunger. When we eat, we feel happy, unless of course the chef is bad. ^^ However, that’s just a band-aid solution and often I find my stomach too bloated with food and once one gets started on a bag of chips, it’s like a freeway where stopping is hard, though I hardly eat chips but at times in the past. Nonetheless, fasting has wonderful effects on neurology. Should you pull through the fast, in Dr. Mindy Pelz’s “Fast Like a Girl”, it’s stated that a 48- hour fast once a year can reboot dopamine levels and reduce anxiety levels. You can read the research there and elsewhere. =)) Antidepressants, natural like 5- htp or chemical have been linked to birth defects in pregnancy and other awful things. XO

Tips to Help with Hunger

Sleep through part of your fast or more.

Yoghurt with no sugar or addictives.

Soaked walnuts. (Soaking for a few hours softens it and makes it easy to digest)

Soaking walnuts for too many hours at high room temperatures will cause your walnuts to go moldy.) Remember to eat them or put them in the fridge pronto and eat them soon. How to tell they are moldy- they smell bad. ><

Water. - Warm water or even just water helps greatly.

There are many different types of fasts- 12- hour fast, 18 hour fasts, 24 hours, 36 hours, 72 hours and so on. You can do what works for you. =))

Helpful resources

Top Two Reasons Why Most People Fail at Intermittent Fasting

How Fasting Impacts Your Ability to Focus

Fast Like A Girl - Book by Doctor Mindy Pelz

Hope I can enjoy better health and you! X