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FASTING
by Chris Beckett, special correspondent for The Best Years in Life
Fasting is Nature's very own method for healing. Historical records tell us that
fasting has been used as a system for health recovery for thousands of years;
even Hippocrates (the Father of Modern Medicine), Socrates, and Plato all
recommended fasting for health recovery.
For most of human history, fasting has been practiced for therapeutic-healing
and spiritual enlightenment, and our current understanding of human
physiology has confirmed the powerful healing effects of this ancient remedy
par excellence.
Fasting is such a powerful and therapeutic process it can help almost anyone
recover from very mild to very severe and even life-threatening health
conditions. Some of the most common ones are high blood pressure, asthma,
allergies, chronic headaches, inflammatory bowel disease (ulcerative colitis
and Crohn’s disease), irritable bowel syndrome, adult onset diabetes, heart
disease, degenerative arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, eczema, acne,
uterine fibroids, benign tumors, and systemic lupus erythematosus, and in my
own case Leukemia.
Fasting restores that lost life energy, and cleanses the body of waste products
that have been allowed to accumulate over the years, through improper living
habits and faulty diet. Fasting also gives the digestive tract time to completely
rest and strengthen its intestinal lining. A healthy intestinal lining is necessary
for preventing leakage of incompletely digested proteins into the bloodstream,
which then offers protection from autoimmune conditions. A healthy digestive
tract also helps to protect the blood and inner organs against the majority of
environmental and metabolic toxins.
Fasting then is a nutritional state whereby we live on our own ample food
reserves through a process known as “Autolysis” until these are depleted.
This can take many weeks if not a few months. Starvation begins when this
process ends, and we then begin to consume ourselves and feed on our
internal organs for nourishment. Fasting means life……Starvation means
death.
Soon after birth in 1953 I was diagnosed with what was then referred to as
“Consumption”. My first two years were spent mostly in sleep and was
awoken only for feeding. The Doctors of the time said I would eat when hungry
and there was nothing to be unduly concerned about. The legacy of this
disease left me with weakened lungs and an aversion to food, resulting in a
malnourished body and an underdeveloped physique and mental capacity.
Soon after treatment had begun, (which I abandoned) and entirely by chance, I
came across an article on fasting in the Daily Mail (a National UK Newspaper)
written by a Leslie Kenton who was the then Beauty Editor of Harpers & Queen
Magazine. What I read made much sense, and wrote to her personally
requesting more information. She introduced me to Natural Hygiene, and I
avidly devoured everything I could on the subject, to the point today where I
have a quite a large library on the subject.
The Boston hospital had disowned my case for not following their advice, but
after 9 months of this NH regime I returned to the same Hospital for a follow-up
investigation. The Doctors who had overseen my case were, in their words,
“shocked and amazed” at my recovery, as there was no evidence at all from all
of the tests they performed that the Leukemia had ever existed!
For the last thirty years I have been free from any disease, thanks to the life-
changing premise of a health system based on Natural Law, given to us by
God and provided by Nature. As I write and relive this experience, it has
brought tears to my eyes, and I am finding it difficult to rationalize my
thoughts, but I am eternally grateful and thankful for the extra years that I have
been privileged to witness, and that would have been denied if I had followed
the path of conventional medicine. Of that, I have no doubt whatsoever.
Http://www.soilandhealth.org/02/0201hyglibcat/020127shelton.III/020127.toc.ht
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PS. As a cautionary note, it is not deemed advisable to water fast for longer
than 7 days without experienced and qualified supervision, as there are some
contraindications to fasting. However, fasting is deemed very safe for the vast
majority of people who wish to undergo the experience for health maintenance
and recovery.