Getting Healthy the FAST Way

There are a lot of ways to heal people naturally depending on what their ailments are. For many ailments, it's things like herbs, roots, flowers, spices, foods, rest, exercise and stretching. However, in some cases the best way to heal people is by fasting. What is fasting you ask? It is simply going without food for an extended period of time.

Fasting has been a known way to heal as far back as our oldest written language, Sanskrit. It can be found in ancient Chinese medicine books. It is also in most (if not all) of the holy books including the Bible, Koran and even in Buddhism's Tripitaka scriptures. And that's not all, it also shows up in pictographs on the Pyramids of Egypt and even older pyramids found throughout the world.

So why would this information about fasting be found all over the world, throughout history, in all ages and religions if it wasn't important at all? And why isn't this information common knowledge in the age of information, when we have every answer at the end of our fingertips (aka the internet)? That's easy, because there is no money in it for any business or corporation, so it's not endorsed or promoted by anyone but health enthusiasts.

By now you are probably wondering what all these health benefits are of fasting, well there are far too many to name in this post but I will give you a few to start in the images below.

There are so many more benefits than that! However most people are interested in the last one on that list, the weight loss aspect of fasting, and for that intermittent fasting works best. So let's start with the basics: What is it and Why does it work?

What is Intermittent Fasting?

Intermittent Fasting (IF) is when you don't eat for 16 hours a day and only eat during a specific 8-hour window. This gives the body time to process everything you've eaten and time to cleanse and heal it. You can do this every day of the week or just one day a week, whatever suits you best. But the more you do it the faster the results and the better you feel.

Why does Intermittent fasting work?

Our bodies have slowly perfected themselves over the millennia through the process of evolution. It has learned to heal itself from nearly anything you can imagine, from sickness, infection, wounds, poison, you name it, it is a healing machine!

However, many of the special healing powers only start to work once the body has been in a fasting state for 12 hours or more. What happens at that point is the body is done processing whatever is in your stomach and intestines can focus on healing the body instead of breaking down and processing food. The body is now burning the fat that is stored around your body as its reserve fuel in addition to producing its own Human Growth Hormone (HGH) to start healing the body! Pretty cool right? I think so.

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A little bit of history

For thousands of years, before civilization, as hunters/gathers we had to be able to go long distances and long periods of time with little to no food while we hunted and gathered food. So naturally, our bodies adapted. We became more aware when we are hungry, we are more focused, more awake, we perform better mentally and physically while in a fasting state and all of our senses are heightened. This was no accident.

But today food is not hard to come by, we do not hunt or gather, we do not go extended periods without food. Now we eat according to a clock, not when we are hungry. We eat when we are bored. We eat when we are sad. We eat when we celebrate. We eat when we attend functions and we eat for no reason at all! We are essentially poisoning our bodies with food and never giving it time to heal. That is why we all feel so sick, tired, overweight and unhealthy!

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The Schedule

I know it sounds difficult going 16 hours without food, but it is like building muscle, its something you have to work at. It is a bit of a challenge at first but if you work your way up to the 16 hours over the course of a few weeks it's really not all that hard. Plus you will start having more energy and you will notice you are feeling better in just a few weeks.

Now you can obviously adjust this schedule to fit yours, but this gives you an idea of how it is done. As you can see if you can manage to fast 16 hours a day that gives your body 4 hours of total fat burning / super healing power every day you choose intermittent fast.

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My Experience

I have been intermittent fasting for the better part of 3 years now and I have never felt better in my life! I have been in much better shape in my mid-30s than I was in my mid-20s and early 30s and I didn't have to try that hard to get there and maintain.

With Intermittent Fasting (IF) you don't have to worry so much about what you are eating as when you are eating. But if you are trying to lose weight quickly it is obviously better to cut back or cut out things like sugars, sodas (regular and diet), processed, greasy and fatty foods. Whole foods are your best friend when it comes to getting healthy and losing weight. Things like fruits, berries, vegetables, and even grains. Foods that come from the earth naturally are best because our body has had practice digesting them since the beginning of man.

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More Benefits

It seems like the list of benefits from Intermittent Fasting (IF) never ends, not only does IF help you lose weight by burning fat it also boosts your metabolism making it easier to keep the weight off. Fasting improves insulin sensitivity, promotes longevity (yes, it can help make you live longer/healthier). IF helps stop hunger and cravings, it improves the immune system (so you don't get sick as easily), increases brain functions and so much more! Oh yeah, did I mention it helps with cardiovascular disease (aka heart attacks) and cancer!? It Does!

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Answering the Questions

Can you drink while fasting?
Yes, you can drink water, some people like to drink tea or coffee and that is fine too. Nothing with any sugar or calories in it because that can mess with your fast. So those are basically your 3 options while fasting.

Are there other types of fasting?
Yes, there are many types of fasting and depending on what ailment you are trying to correct you might be better off with different types of fasts, so don't be afraid to do some research. There are also different types of intermittent fasting that you can do depending on the personal preference and your schedule but today I am specifically talking about 16/8 intermittent fasting because it is the type of fasting I am most familiar with.

Is fasting safe?
Yes, medical professionals consider fasting a safe practice. Fasting is safe but make sure to ease into it, it takes a little while to get use to doing it. Don't push yourself too hard though because you can become dizzy and weak in extended fasts, so be careful. I personally have fasted over 4 days straight (100 hours) before and was just fine.

Who can participate?
Anyone who wants to take control of their health and feel better.

I hope this article helped people to understand intermittent fasting a little more and possibly inspired some people to look into it more. It really changed my life, maybe it can do the same for you ;)

Thanks for stopping by, take care friends and stay healthy! :0)

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Note: none of the pictures used in this post are mine, they all still have their links on the pictures or a source attached below