i should add the from a purely health related perspective the best way to consume, by far, is to consume ALL day long but in measured and selected foods. this simulates a 'drip method' only with actual food as apposed to purely liquid. of course this is not entirely possible. we can view this as a diametric opposite of the three meals per day but, of course, hardly feasable...so just throwing this out there. food for thought.
Your pancreas produces insulin to convert excess glucose in the bloodstream into glycogen, which is stored in your liver and muscle cells. For short bursts of exercise, your body uses its glycogen reserves as an energy source. For lengthy exercises, your body will turn to its fat reserves, which is where excess glycogen is stored. Standard fasts for healthy people will not put the body under nearly enough stress to warrant any kind of danger. The sugar found in most "sugary" products is sucrose (a glucose and fructose combination), which is a disaccharide, or in other words, a simple carbohydrate. Simple carbohydrates are not wise choices of nutrition for individuals who are fasting because they are easily broken down by the body and cause rapid insulin spikes ("sugar rush") followed by subsequent insulin crashes ("sugar crash"). They are best used for short bursts of energy. For consistent energy levels over a long period of time required by people who fast, complex carbohydrates are recommended. Fasting can be used as a weight loss method if applied appropriately, although it serves more as a means for detoxification than anything else. The studies are still primitive, but it has been long believed, for example, that fasting gives your liver - the detoxification center of your body - a "break". Because the liver is often overloaded with - amongst other things - carbohydrates waiting to be converted into glucose, fasting can allow for your liver to "catch up" to your diet.
an alternative to post #21 is to eat much smaller portions but more often. afa, the above post i am under the impression that since average person sleeps eight hous a day and adding in rest of the hours not eating wouldnt that be enough time? additionally, there can be an alternating regimen of one lighter than average day every other day. this seems to me better than fasting. better being relative as to not really any signifacant difference except not eating for a full day is not really normal to do on a regular\weekly basis. i am not speaking as a professional though.
So if a healthy individual doesn't eat food for one week, he'll slip into unconsciousness and rot to death? Funny, but unlikely. While I'm on it... a healthy individual doesn't need to eat 6 times a day, 3 times a day, or whatever schedule people think we need to be on. In fact, a healthy individual doesn't need to worry about "sustaining blood glucose levels." The body does an amazing job of keeping it within a healthy range. If you slip into hypoglycemia because you didn't drink exactly 8 ounces of orange juice, then a few things come to mind: 1) hypersensitivity to insulin 2) glycogen stores are low (in muscles and liver) 3) body SUCKS at converting protein to glucose.
I just don't buy this garbage that not eating any food for one day or a few days is "extremely dangerous." Our bodies have evolved thousands of years (or millions if you go further) to all sorts of challenges in the environment. The weakest died out over time... plain and simple. I doubt that over millions of years, biology left us with bodies that cannot effectively deal with lean times. I have no problem going a whole day eating nothing... zero calories. In college, there were times I starved for two days because I had $0.00 in my pocket. At no point did my brain hint to me that I was going to die. Of course, I don't have "the beetus" and I'm physically active. If I sat on a couch all day long and weighed 300 lbs, of course I'd slipped into unconsciousness when I miss my 10 AM donuts appointment. But as far as fasting to "detox," I don't think it's as cracked up to be as most people think. Everyone thinks they have 20 lbs of shit trapped in their colon and they have 6 lbs of mercury in their fat cells. You want to know what a good detox program? -Eat clean food (LOTS of veggies) -Drink all the water you want -Zero soft drinks.. none. Not even "diet" drinks. All the chemicals are bad for you -Sweat... a lot. -Consume enough fiber... at least 30 gramsa day.
Fasting is in so many traditions as being medically or spiritually good. Traditions could be pure BS or they could be based on real forgotten understanding. Until modern plumbing, chlorination and food inspection people were subjected to many digestive system parasites. It is sort of intuitive that fasting might kill off or weaken some of those parasites. Fasting has also been suggested as a character building technique. Normally we give in to our desires unless there is a threat of punishment for giving in; fasting is supposed to strengthen the conscious mind's control over the unconscious mind/emotions/body by the establishing the ability of the conscious mind to choose fasting even though the unconscious mind/emotions/body is saying "eat".
I think I'll go elsewhere for character building techniques. I'm all for improving yourself, but I'd rather not do it via putting myself in a state where I'm near hyperventilating and profoundly weak.
Awesome book: The Science and Fine Art of Fasting, by Herbert M. Shelton. He was one of those early 20th century Natural Hygeine sorts, a mate of Graham and Kellogg I believe. Elegant prose and lots of zany medical notions. Anyhow, he monitored and documented innumerable fasts ("pure" fasts--only the intake of distilled water was allowed), for both healthy and sick individuals, and some ran as long as six weeks. While six weeks might be a little extreme, a healthy individual is hardly going to rot or fall unconscious from a fast for a day or few. People do this all the freakin' time and few suffer much, or are even compromised in any significant fashion.
Is your natural constitution so weak that one day without food would leave you 'profoundly weak'? Hyperventilation is basically overbreathing and often related to emotional stress, not induced by fasting.
It's not constant hyperventilation. It's that when I exert myself even slightly I need to inhale/exhale rapidly to get enough oxygen. It's not related to emotional stress, I usually feel lethargic rather than anxious when I'm that far gone. I've never gone a day without any. I start to almost pass out whenever I move after about 4 hours without food. I guess I'm descended from people who snacked on berries and plants inbetween hunting gazelles. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
god lucy, please dont give medical advice when you know SQUAT about anything Hyperventilation is often a sign of metabolic acidosis, ie the body is trying to "blow off" CO2 (an acid) to balance the pH rise caused by a metabolic problem. Very commonly seen as one of the first signs of a pt with diabites because it shows up in a hyper (though oviously this is not the case here)
i think it's great, clears up your system, makes you appreciate food more, eat less, and get a hold over yourself(strengthen your will). truth be told, it's good for a change, to "shake your life a bit"..
First of all I didn't give her medical advice. Second anxiety is a cause of hyperventilation as listed here among others: List of causes of Hyperventilation Following is a list of causes or underlying conditions (see also Misdiagnosis of underlying causes of Hyperventilation) that could possibly cause Hyperventilation includes: Anxiety (type of Neurosis) Crying or severe distress - can lead to breathlessness and/or hyperventilation. Strong emotions Grief Stress Hysteria Panic attack Pseudoallergic reactions http://www.wrongdiagnosis.com/h/hyperventilation/causes.htm#causeslist And here: Hyperventilation Rapid shallow breathing Hyperventilation is rapid or deep breathing that can occur with anxiety or panic. It is also called overbreathing, and may leave you feeling breathless. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/MEDLINEPLUS/ency/article/003071.htm And lastly no one is suggesting anything about anyone suffering from diabetes practicing fasting. Got it straight now Doctor Kildaire?
I had a teacher that came to the US from I think iran. Her religion required her to fast a month consistantly. She said it was difficult at first but got use to it. Shes an English teacher at a Junior college. Doing boring English assignments and reading a book without eating. I think shes not human for that. i'd shoot myself haha.
Suicide is not funny. Call Suicide Prevention Agency now: 1-800-273-TALK I do not stand silent to the cries of others, I answer them with open heart and hands of warmth and needs they desire.
