Fruit fast anybody?

[Camy]

Hello,
I would like to try a fruit fast for 3 to 5 days, not for the purpose of losing weight (because whatever would be lost, would probably be gained back when I resume normal eating), but because I think it would give my tortured intestine tract a little break as well as my kidneys (I managed to get a pretty bad kidney infection and I am still on antibiotics, I would try this once they are healed).
I do not strongly believe in "detoxification", I think our bodies know how to detox well by themselves, but I do think it could feel refreshing and maybe give my body a little break from fried rice (fried in god knows what... this is africa you know).

So, I would like to hear from people who have tried it, was it good, was it bad, what did you do and why. I know there are skeptics everywhere (and I know some of them on these boards ) and online you can find a gazillion testimonies of people who swear by it, so I would like to know from you people who are all geared towards healthy eating and fitness generally, do you think it is a good idea?
Thank you all for your help, Camy

 

[Ben Coomber]

hey camy,

yes there are sceptics and followers as you say and there are definately pros and cons to doing it. i do an intestinal cleanse every 2-3 months and i feel awesome afterwards, especially my abs, feel really nice and tight afterwards. now cause my health is good i only do it for a day as that is long enough to clear everything out for me, clients that i have have to do it for longer due to the amount of crap living in there, but afterwards if gives them a fresh slate to work off as intesinal health is greatly underestimated by most in its importance to good health. ill give this link it your interested in reading my cleanse protocol as its really easy to do:



if you want it to be quick and effective see you dont put your body through too much stress then it needs to be no solid foods. its not super healthy while your doing it, but so so important for intestinal health in the long and short term.

have a look, just worked wonders for me and lots of others. squeeky clean

 

[KaraCooks]

Do I think it's a good idea? That's a hard question to answer directly.

Here's my opinion about fasting:

There are psychological benefits to fasting.

One of them is purely in the power of the human mind. If you believe that a fast is going to make you feel "lighter", "cleaner", "detoxed", whatever, there is a very good chance that you ARE going to feel that way when you're done. It's a basic placebo effect and it is a very very real thing. Our minds can and do effect the way our bodies respond. Heck, people who truly believe they've been cursed by a witchdoctor have been known to have heart attacks and die - for no other reason than they *believe* that they're going to die. It's the same type of belief/response cycle.

Another mental benefit to fasting for a lot of people is having the knowledge that they ARE able to control themselves around food and drink. Many people benefit from completing a fast and realizing that they're not going to freak out and die because they can't eat what they want when they want ... and/or that they are capable of refusing to eat and/or drink. For many people who feel controlled by food, being able to complete a fast is a really huge achievement - and there's a sense of accomplishment in the achievement. That can be a powerful motivator for someone who wants to change their diet, lose weight, and become healthy. It's almost a way of releasing yourself from a cage made of food and drink.

For many people there is a spiritual benefit to fasting. They take the time away from food or certain kinds of food to meditate/think/pray. It allows you to more strongly focus your mind on your thoughts. It's a reason that fasting is a part of almost every major religion - a symbol of control of body and mind combined with the freedom to focus your thoughts elsewhere.

Those are the mental/spiritual/emotional benefits of fasting and I do believe they are valid. I don't have a problem with fasting for any of those reasons.

There is not, however, any valid, documented, real physical benefit to fasting. Detoxing is a myth - your body is capable of detoxing itself, and as long as you don't keep putting crap back in your body, once it's gone, it's gone. Your intestines don't need "cleansing", your liver doesn't need help, nor do your kidneys. Your body is perfectly self-cleaning.

If you feel that it would benefit you emotionally, mentally, spiritually to spend a day or so eating nothing but fruit, then I say by all means, go for it. If it keeps you from filling your body with junk food, salt, and other things that are unhealthy, even better. But dont' do it for longer than a couple of days.

But I wouldn't do it for any "cleansing" purpose. You don't NEED to do it to give your kidneys a break. (In fact, drinking a lot of juice and consuming a lot of fruit can be harder on your kidneys than drinking plain water - juice needs more "filtration" by your kidneys than just plain water.)

And DON'T do it for the purpose of losing weight. That's a battle you'll never win.

That's my opinion on fasting of any kind.

 

[Camy]

Thank you Kara and Ben,
as said I do know I do not need it to detox anywhere, nor do I expect weight loss from it.

Kara, I really liked your post, I guess in my case it is about control, I would love to know that I can control food and myself in regards to food. I have no religion or spirituality to speak of (I believe in science... I guess that is something), and understanding well how a fast (and I use the word fast because to me it is not a cleanse nor a detox) works, I understand that I won't feel light asd air or squeaky clean.

I would still love to hear from people who have done it (other than Ben), though!
Camy

 

[Ben Coomber]

i use the phrase squeeky clean as i dont do it for detox purposes but to get rid of intestinal plaque etc that can build up over time due, even more so in the case of eating incorrectly. it is also a quick fire way for people who have constipation/diahreohhea issue at resetting bowel function as long as its followed up correctly. id love to hear others experiences too???

 

[MilitantGeek]

I.R. profeshunul traener. I coach rugby, nd pitsh four my website, but I cannot spel liek a profeshunul. I.R. constant giever uv badd adviec. I shuld be burnt at stake. I make sentents strukture liek I am in Asia.

 

[Pancakes]

I personally love fasting for health. I've done it in the past and have benefited greatly from it.

I think that fasting with vegetables would be a better plan, get alot of nutrient dense veggies and alot less sugar.

 

[KaraCooks]

to get rid of intestinal plaque etc that can build up over time due

No such thing. "Intestinal plaque" is a myth that the detox/colon cleanse industry has come up with to convince people that they need to "cleanse" themselves.

I'll say it again: there is NO scientific proven data that shows that a colon cleanse (of any kind to remove any thing) is necessary or beneficial.

 

[Pancakes]

I just wanted to add my 2 cents in here about colon plaque and whatever.

I did a fast that lasted over a month. I was not eating food at all this entire time. I was using daily herbal laxative tea, and in the mornings using a sea-salt-water flush that (yes it is healthy if you know how to do it properly) uses gravity to force the salt and water through your intestines, through the colon and then out.

(yes I realize salt is bad for you.. however that is when you dont educate yourself on how to use it with the right quantity of water. if you take salt as is.. of course you're going to get sick...)

So after fasting for over a month, and using these laxatives daily... I was still "evacuating" I was not using some kind of colon cleanse product that supposedly creates the "plaque" everyone is use to seeing in their advertisements... I was still evacuating.. real solids.

So.. if after not eating for a month and still having lots of solids come out..... I am a firm believer that things can get clogged/backed up and its safe to say that not everything passes smoothly through the body without possibly getting "caught" along the way.... and I wont even get started on how the SAD (standard American diet) can make your digestion.. and the process of elimination much harder on the body, therefore, creating less then ideal conditions within a person.

 

[KaraCooks]

You really didn't eat ANYTHING for an entire month? (I'm not calling you a liar - I'm just kinda in awe.) Did you take any supplements or anything?

The thing is .. it really really really doesn't work that way with your body. It takes about 3 days to completely empty your colon - even with a laxative flush. If stuff is still coming out after 3 days (other than a clearish mucus) then you're putting something ELSE into your body that's being elminated.

 

[Jeanette401]

I tried a raw foods (fruit & veggie) followed by a juice only fast. First three days were raw foods only, last four were juice only.

I have no intention of ever repeating it.

It wasn't that I was hungry - the problem was that by the end of the week, not only was I not hungry, I was entirely drained an apathetic. The day I realized that all I'd had to 'eat' that day was pear + vegetable juice (from a juicer), and that I hadn't even been able to finish the glass because all I wanted to do was take a nap or veg in front of the TV... I called my friend and convinced her to go out for a real meal with me.

I'm not trying to discourage you from trying it, but I'd definitely pay attention to how you're feeling after the first day or two and don't feel compelled to see it through all the way to the end if it's not working for you.

 

[Pancakes]

You really didn't eat ANYTHING for an entire month? (I'm not calling you a liar - I'm just kinda in awe.) Did you take any supplements or anything?

The thing is .. it really really really doesn't work that way with your body. It takes about 3 days to completely empty your colon - even with a laxative flush. If stuff is still coming out after 3 days (other than a clearish mucus) then you're putting something ELSE into your body that's being elminated.

Actually. it does not necessarily take 3 days to clear yourself out. Every body is different.

I spent months researching how to fast for health properly before I started my fast and no I DID NOT eat.. and yes I continued to go to the bathroom...

Fasting is about rest... its about giving your body a well deserves break from the process of digestion. It takes a huge amount of energy to keep digestion and elimination running smoothly.. as I said poor diets, lack of proper daily elimination as well as a bunch other reasons are just some of the example why our body struggles to do its job properly. It cant always work the way it should under such extreme circumstances.

While fasting your body uses the energy normally used on breaking down/absorption/eliminating and applies it itself to other areas/tasks... such as breaking down buildup in the body (calcium/stones/tumors/etc..) This extra energy is used to remove the build up of toxins stored within our bodies.. (just a quick example a person with higher body fat percentage are more likely to be storing larger amounts of the chemicals/pesticides and female hormones like estrogen...why? well because our "beloved" milks and other foods are pumped with these kinds of hormones,...which are fat soluble.....among other things.)

I dont know where you are getting your information from honestly..

I suggest that you do some research about fasting before attempting to pass off your ideas as facts. I'm not trying to jump down your back about this... but alot of people really are really just unaware and misinformed about what fasting is.

Fasting has been around for centuries, people/animals have always naturally done this. When people think of fasting they automatically panic because we've become to conditioned to fear the idea of skipping meals. When the fact remains a body that consumes less calories throughout its lifetime generally has less ailments and longer life.

Multi-million dollar companies spends billions of dollars bombarding the public with fast food advertisements all in an effort to keep the population fed, and fed WELL... why would they do this? First of all.... food is worth billions of dollars... (I wont get into companies like Monsanto that are patenting genetically modified foods, forcing them into our food chain, polluting and then destroying our smaller local farms with their GE strains.)

IS GE food good for you? NO. But thats another story.

So.. after stuffing our faces well with highly toxic non-nutritious foods, ouir body then becomes over burdened with the tasks of attempting to rid these chemicals/hormones/pesticides etc etc... it becomes deficient in vitamins/minerals... and is more prone to disease...... so now enters the pharmaceutical companies (which are in league with most of these food pushing companies) and they diagnose ailments and prescribe more and more drugs to combat these things... making more and more money.

Is fasting a cure? No. It is meant as a preventative measure.. and there is a fine line between fasting and starving. One which is so hard to cross that a normal human being of normal weight would have to not eat any food for at least 2-3 months before coming close to this line. Yes we've been programmed to fear missing a meal.

Is it going to kill us if we skip a meal? Absolutely not, but that next meal the you do eat, could.

 

[KaraCooks]

Pancake, I'm not trying to pick a fight, but can you show me the studies you researched and where you got your information from. Everything you're telling me goes against every single bit of documented medical research I've read.

Again I'm NOT trying to pick a fight here. I am asking to be educated if there are actual facts to educate me with.

I am all about learning ... if what I have researched is wrong, I'm open to learning and researching valid sources to tell me so. I am willing to change my mind if presented with proper documentation.

If you're going to say to me that I shouldn't "passing my ideas off as facts", I would say the same to you. Again I want to be VERY CLEAR. I am very open to learning - I am a total geek when it comes to researching and learning new things I'm passionate about, so I'm NOT pulling ideas out of thin air. If you can teach me differently, I'm very open to learning it.

As to where I am "honestly" getting my information from ... here's a post I made a while back about my sources for fasting/detoxing/cleansing:

Here's an article from the Mayo Clinic on cleanses.
Colon cleansing: Is it helpful or harmful? - MayoClinic.com

While there is little scientific evidence to support or refute the benefits of colon cleansing, critics say it's generally unnecessary and at times may even be harmful. Although doctors prescribe colon cleansing as preparation for medical procedures such as colonoscopy, most don't recommend it for detoxification. Their reasoning is simple: The digestive system and bowel naturally eliminate waste material and bacteria — your body doesn't need enemas or special diets or pills to do this.

Here's another Mayo Clinic article on detoxing:
Detox diets: Do they offer any health benefits? - MayoClinic.com

There is no evidence, however, that detox diets actually remove toxins from the body. Most ingested toxins are efficiently and effectively removed by the kidneys and liver and excreted in urine and stool.

Here is a WebMD article referencing Cedars-Sinai
Detox Diets: Purging The Myths

But the science behind the detox theory is deeply flawed, says Peter Pressman, MD, an internal medicine specialist at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. The body already has multiple systems in place -- including the liver, kidneys, and gastrointestinal tract -- that do a perfectly good job of eliminating toxins from the body within hours of consumption.

"There's no evidence at all that any of these approaches augment the body's own mechanisms," Pressman tells WebMD.

Here's an MSNBC article that quotes reputable sources:
Experts warn of detox diet dangers - Chew On This- msnbc.com

“Long-term fasts lead to muscle breakdown and a shortage of many needed nutrients,” says Lona Sandon, a Dallas dietitian and spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association. Depriving the body of the vitamins and minerals we get from food can "actually weaken the body’s ability to fight infections and inflammation,” she says.

Here's an article that quotes multiple medical professionals from the UK, denouncing detox and cleanse diets. Here are two of about a dozen comments:
Sense About Science | Detox press release

“‘Detox’ is a meaningless term that is used all the time. And because it hasn’t been defined, it’s impossible to say if it’s worked or if it hasn’t.”

“The body’s own detoxification systems are remarkably sophisticated and versatile. They have to be, as the natural environment that we evolved in is hostile. It is remarkable that people are prepared to risk seriously disrupting these systems with unproven ‘detox’ diets, which could well do more harm than good.”

I could continue citing reputable sources and articles for another 3 or 4 pages - I have many of them bookmarked because I've had this discussion before with people.

Now if you can show me equally reputable sources - MEDICAL sources - that quantify and define exactly what "toxins" are being purged, what "plaques" are being removed, how it takes longer than 3 days to remove waste from your body, and how it is beneficial and can cite studies to back it up, then I'll be happy to read them with an open mind. But as of right now, no such study has ever been performed and no one has ever quantified or defined what they mean by "toxin" other than as a phrase to scare people.

 

[Pancakes]

Pharmaceutical companies and general practitioners are not in the habit of examining how diet plays a key role in the prevention and maintenance of proper health. General practitioners while are necessary, use their education to write prescriptions that treat the symptoms without fully curing the disease.

Proper health and nutrition are necessary when considering the complication of disease. The idea of fasting for health to any medical professional would automatically be discarded and labeled as myth or dangerous. If they haven't even had training in nutrition while getting their degrees how could you expect them to know anything about fasting.

Afterall, if the population was capable of taking their health into their own hands through the use of proper foods/herbs etc... then we would be putting these Dr's out of business and out of alot of money to those pill popping drug companies so eager to prescribe everyone with some quick fix cocktail.

I dont have nearly as many links as I use to, here are just a couple I've looked up quickly..



Dr Benjamin Horne


I suggest you read The Master Cleanse(you can download it) and visit the forum..





Dr. Ray Walford

 

[fatflushreviews]

Eating fruits is a good diet. it is very good in our body. Aside from the nutrients that we get from those, they are super natural (I mean without any preservatives ). There are lots of program that could help people but your case is different. So I agree that eating fruits and vegetables are better.