As I drive down the backroads here on the mountain I notice that two men I am acquainted with are building new homes. "C" who lives a couple of miles down the road is a skilled carpenter who has helped build many fine homes. "D" is notorious for not working, not bathing and not brushing his teeth. "C" is not wealthy by any means, but he is carefully searching out the best products he can afford. He carefully planned his new home and prepared the lot before the first yard of concrete was poured or the first nail driven. "D" has scavenged around building sites and collected scrap lumber and is throwing up his new home when the mood strikes. He never had his plot of land graded, graveled or has he poured a foundation. Who will have the better home?
"C" still lives in his old home, an old two room house that he remodeled and raised his family in. "D"'s old house pretty well fell apart and he moved in with his mother.
Fasting is like preparing to build a new home. We are tearing down the old, the unneeded and the worn out (catabolism). We are preparing to build a new healthier, slimmer, better functioning body. But, what building materials are we bringing to the fast? The body is in reality constantly renewing itself, new cells are generated in the skin, bones and organs all the time. If we give our bodies nothing but unhealthy even toxic foods, think what the building blocks are. When we enter into a fast without any preparation we are poisoning ourselves with our own accumulated toxins. They will be broken down leaving even stronger toxins to deal with and eliminate. That is why so many people feel very ill or suffer pain when they fast.
Its seems so much more logical to prepare for an extended fast by beginning with a good diet with nutrient rich foods, perhaps doing occasional fasts to slowly remove old toxins. Fasting is so much easier when we are "clean". Even in the last couple of weeks I've noticed an ease in fasting when a month ago there were times I couldn't go a full day with a massive headache. Preparation is essential to a good fast. It may take weeks or months, or for some people years to get ready for a prolonged fast. That does not mean we can continue as usual though. There are many "detox" diets out there. Most are vegetarian, many of them raw only. Adapting a healthy Diet before beginning a fast is absolutely necessary. Too many people have the mindset that they will fast first, then begin to eat healthy. This is the opposite of what should be done. First eat healthy. Get in some fasting experience with short fasts. Then, if it still seems necessary, a longer fast will be possible.
Excess body fat is not only an unattractive, unhealthy nuisance, it is a storehouse for bodily toxic waste. Research has shown human body fat to contain pesticides, carcinogens, environmental poisons, hormones and other waste material. Fat is not merely excess weight, it is a chemical storehouse. When the fat begins to be metabolized during a fast toxins are entering the bloodstream at an alarming rate. The liver cannot begin to process and detoxify all the poisons. Much goes directly into the excretory systems of the body. The bowels can become inflamed and no longer push out the waste, the kidneys are irritated and overwhelmed, some waste escapes through the lungs and the breath becomes foul, the skin does its part and excretes waste and Body Odor becoming extremely unpleasant no matter how often you bathe. Even the tongue becomes coated, the gums inflamed. The body is overwhelmed by all the poisons that has been dumped into it. True healing from fasting cannot take place during this period of being poisoned. The immune system, often already compromised by too much sugar, cannot function. The body becomes ill with fever, sore throat and muscle aches as the torrent of toxins become trapped. At this point, fasting is dangerous. Most people simply cannot tolerate this prolific release of toxins and have to break the fast.
How much easier fasting would be if these toxins and excess fats were removed more slowly and naturally before trying to fast. Then the body could concentrate on digging deep into joints, organs and (as Bragg calls it)the tubing that makes up our body. This is when fasting becomes healing. Our emotional and spiritual outlook will also be much better when we are not ill from self poisoning. Some may ask why fast if we're not toxic or overweight? Remember, none of us are perfectly clean we will always need to eliminate waste from our bodies. According to experts there are medical conditions that can best be improved through fasting, but not though fasting an overly toxic body that will become much sicker before becoming better.
Remember, fasting is not a quick weightloss plan, it is not a cure for all diseases, nor is it an instant pathway to God and spiritual enlightenment. Fasting is a tool and the more prepared we are to use that tool, the better our results will be.