Natural Hygiene part II: The Miracle of Fasting

by TBYIL special contributor Chris Beckett

Fasting----the abstention, entirely or in part, and for longer or shorter periods of time, from food and drink or from food alone………...Dr Herbert M Shelton. D.P., N.D., D.C., D.N.T., D.N.Sc., D.N.Ph., D.N. Litt., Ph. D., D. Orthp.

Fasting is Natures 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 actually provides a period of concentrated physiological rest during which time the body can devote its self-healing mechanisms to repairing and strengthening damaged organs. The process of fasting also allows the body to cleanse cells of accumulated metabolic toxins and waste products. I cannot do better than quote Dr Shelton who wrote…..” Life is a master drama of nutrition and drainage under the control of the nervous system. If nerve or life-energy is abundant, the various organs of the body are well supplied and they function with due efficiency; digestion is good, respiration is normal, circulation is maintained at a high level, secretion and excretion are adequate. As a result, the cells are nourished, the fluids are kept sweet and clean and we have health in superabundance. However, if our nervous batteries have been permitted to run down, if our nerve or life-energy is low, ALL the functions of the body are correspondingly lowered. Digestion is then poor, secretion and excretion lag, circulation is below par, respiration is not efficient. The fluids and tissues of the body become sour and we have impaired health”

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 though is NOT Starving

WANT OF APPETITE is not always a morbid symptom, nor even a sign of imperfect digestion. Nature may have found it necessary to muster all the energies of our system for some special purpose, momentarily of paramount importance. Organic changes and repairs, teething, pleuritic eruptions, and the external elimination of bad humors (boils, etc.), are often attended with a temporary suspension of the alimentary process. As a rule, it is always the safest plan to give Nature her own way.

--FELIX L. OSWALD MD.

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.

My Personal History and Voyage of Health Recovery

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.

In my middle teens I was diagnosed with Leukemia at the Boston Pilgrim Hospital in Lincolnshire UK . Refusing to believe this, my family sought a second opinion from the Lincoln County Hospital only 30 miles away, which they confirmed. My family and I agreed to the regular treatment of chemotherapy, but the prognosis was not a good one: six months at best they said, because it was too far advanced.

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.

I took it upon myself to undergo self-treatment and water-fasted for 25 days, (although already underweight|) and I just went along with the wishes and signals of my body and what it was actually telling me. I broke the fast very carefully (as advised from the literature I had bought) on organic fruit juices and then vegetable juices. I also sunbathed moderately every day (weather permitting) sought fresh air daily and rested throughout. Within weeks my appetite returned and I wanted to eat solid food again, consisting exclusively of organic salads and fruits in season.

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.

On that note, and in the words of my mentor…

Yours in Health, Truth and Medical Liberty .

http://www.soilandhealth.org/02/0201hyglibcat/020127shelton.III/020127.toc.htm

Chris R Beckett.(chrisb1)

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.

For part 1 of this article, click here: Natural Hygiene: The Greatest Health Discovery by Chris Beckett