Re: Headache

Hi Susie,

Congratulations on trying so hard! From what I understand, a headache is not what always happens with fasting. I know this is true as well, because I've never had a headache with fasting. Not to say my journey is easy...that's for sure, I get tired and sometimes I feel just plain sickly. But no headaches.

I believe headaches are a result of many toxins released quickly. All the toxins that have been stored in tissues. Sort of a "withdrawl" symptom when we stop taking in the things that are bad for us, the ones that have been stored over time, rush out of the tissues. And because there's so many toxins that have been stored, our pathways of elimination are overburdened. So they hang around in the blood for a while until they are eliminated. They do get eliminated, but in the meantime, it can cause headaches. The more preparation you can do before the fast the better, and the less chance for headaches. Preparation meaning not eating meat or animal products and cutting out processed foods, sugar, junk foods, etc. A whole foods vegan diet. This greatly decreases the load of toxins, and then the fast is much easier.

Joel Fuhrman's book "Fasting and Eating for Health" is good. Very interesting. He writes of the effects of diet and fasting on heart disease, headaches, immune disorders, diabetes, and some on what to expect during a fast. I don't recall much on phases of fasting though. But I enjoyed the book and learned a lot.

Good luck to you,
Megan Tweet