Here's my take on it...

I think a good measure of doubt, skepticism and worry is always good.

I think one thing we have to realise is that fasting has been around for thousands of years. Is it the solve-all? Probably not. Is it safe? That depends on who is doing what kind of a fast at what point in life. For me, fasting, is a method to get rid of cravings and bad habits. I use it as a starting point to change my life. I have only done two fasts, one of which was 14 days and one of which lasted 25 days.

It is interesting to note that the first time around a lot of my food intolerances went away for quite a while. This time around I am even more sensitive to my food intolerances than before - I was feeling quite sick for the last three or four days and I finally (!!) realised that I am intolerant to eggplant. It clicked last night. I was eating some eggplant and immediately my neck went stiff - that's a sure-fire sign for me that I have eaten something I am intolerant to.

So, after having fasted for 25 days I am back to almost normal food. What have been the benefits of the fast? I can finally sleep again - the nightmares have vanished and I sleep deeply enough not to be wakened by light noises. I have changed my diet and have eradicated Sugar from it. Other than that there are no 'physical' changes I can see besides having lost a few pounds and having lost the dark circles under my eyes.

By day 17 of my fast I could no longer tolerate the lemonade so I switched over to juices. If I do another fast it will most likely be a juice fast, as the Master-Cleanse kept me hungry no matter how much lemonade I drank. To me it felt like deprivation at times - my teeth were killing me at the end of 17 days of the MC. That in itself to me was a warning sign, as was the rumbling and grumbling of my stomach which at times was to the point of being painful.

I think the Master-Cleanse is something to consider, however so is a juice fast and many other methods as well.

I personally don't trust any of these health gurus who often to me seem very radical in their approach. I have found in the past that many people who bash certain ideas, do so, to promote their own ideas and sell books, supplements, medication or other products.

Use common sense and health will prevail. Sometimes we need some guidelines but if we actually take the time to listen to our bodies we will find that the answer lies right there.