what sort of perodic fasting, I wondered

"most people fast for fewer than three days at a time"

(ah okay, that's what I wanted to know, from the study)




Dr. Cinque's comments: An easy way to incorporate some fasting into your lifestyle is to fast for 24 hours each week, that is, fast from evening to evening. It's much easier than fasting for 36 hours. And it's something that a lot of people do without planning. Lots of people don't eat in the morning, either because they aren't hungry or because they would rather sleep-in than eat. Then, if they're occupied and just don't get around to eating lunch, late afternoon arrives and they haven't eaten anything all day. Presto, they have fasted for, or nearly for, 24 hours. The benefits are: your blood Sugar remains stable and low all that time; your digestive system gets a rest; excess sodium is eliminated; and you even get a hormonal boost, for instance, HGH is released in response to fasting. And don't get bogged down with any psychological hangups about fasting. Unless your health is seriously impaired, you are not going to get weak and sick from missing a few meals. In fact, there is often a lightness and an unencumbered feeling that goes along with fasting that can be quite uplifting. It's really not the torture that most people think it is.


~~~~~

I do think this is an important piece of the whole picture, and shouldn't be overlooked:

"Fasting may represent a sign of other low-risk behaviors, the researchers suggested."


Ideally, it would lead to (or arise as part of making) better choices, in every stream of life, physical, emotional, mental... but not if it's undertaken in a see-saw fashion, as a form of crash dieting, with a return to toxic behaviours.

I wonder how many who've water fasted find they do leave behind bad habits, and continue down a path of living more in tune with nature. That'd be an interesting "study"; but i confess, i's rather read actual stories. Numbers like these don't
truly inspire me--since it's clear that the group selected do practise other "low-risk behaviours".

in any event, it's always a good thing to add to the recommended reading, with whatever supports the growing advisability of water fasting.

Chiron