Hello #91053
there is usually no more need to consume supplements or medicines whilst fasting than while eating. The exception to that rule would be the use of supplements post-fast, just so long as they are not synthetic or artificial, and as near their natural state as possible.
Medicines are best kept in the Medicine chest for those wanting to take them.

An amino acid supplement would have the same effect fasting as eating, but the effectiveness of the fast would be severely diminished, as any form of "external nutrition" will interfere with the introduction of ketosis, autolysis, and therefore cleansing and healing.

I think a fast of any length is beneficial to some degree.
I knew a dog owner who placed his pet on a no-breakfast plan, with only one meal a day for lunch..........the health of the dog grew by leaps and bounds within a very short time-frame.
It has also only been customary to have our "3 square meals a day regimen" in relatively recent times; before that it was customary to only have one meal a day, where the bodies nutritional requirements were fully met.

However, the longer the fast (within reason) the greater the benefits.
So the answer to your question is: a 5 day fast will be beneficial & therefore worthwhile, but to a more limited extent than a longer one.

I hope this has helped with your query.

Regards

Chrisb1.

A five day fast is of course worth doing. And it is unlikely that taking anything during that time would be harmful to you, but that's just my opinion. However there is not much reason for wanting to and certainly NO NEED to. Fasting gives the body the rest it needs to accomplish often much needed maintenance and repair on our body. Interference of that process is just that- interference. Whatever you add will most likely give your body work to do processing or dealing with it which is just wasted energy.

However as the fast progresses and refeeding becomes much more important there is no telling what adding certain products to our system. The trouble is that our body is taking a break from ingesting and processing outside materials, and in many cases organs usually busy with tasks of digesting and assimilating foods are busy doing other things, or if not are practically shut down due to inactivity. I don't believe that 'dumping' a non natural concentrated supplement would be a very safe experiment to make on such a body. If the body receives more food or nutrients than it can cope with when refeeding it can literally shut down, even to the point of coma and death. I think if it's not needed don't do it. And supplements are NOT needed.

Medications can have worse effects again. Many may well be safe to take but except in rare cases where we have had personal experience with such- like many recently who have been discussing taking thyroid medications during fasting- we really have no idea of the implications of taking such during a fast in any particular situation. The only way to really have peace of mind in these cases is to get professional advice. You say "what if we needed to take it?". If it is a medication prescribed by a normal doctor who has no idea about fasting you are, in my opinion, taking your life in your hands. Fasting is about listening to our body, learning about and trusting in it's processes. It is not the time to give the power to determine our health back to medical professionals who have no idea about this kind of healing. A professional fasting doctor is the only one who is qualified to decided if anything should be, or could be safely, added to a fast.

Andrew.