Modern Science Catches up with Human Biology - Fasting duh!

I am not meaning to be sarcastic, but natural health advocates have been advising us for years and years about the need to fast. Many of them have been ridiculed and labeled as quacks. Most major religions of the world encourage their followers to fast at various times of the year or for introspection and prayer. Here are the words of Isaiah a prophet of Israel.
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“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
      to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke,
      to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?
      Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor  
​      wanderer with shelter, when you see the naked, to clothe them,
      and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
      Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will
      quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you,
      and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.
      Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help,
      and he will say: Here am I.

Animals fast naturally and instinctively when ill. In less advanced and more primitive times humans periodically went without food during times of scarcity. Even burgeoning agrarian societies had times of the year in which food stores were low. Rationing and fasting would be the way through to the spring when natures bounty begins again to appear. Our modern civilization provides constant access to food, especially processed foods high in carbs, fats and sugar. This is a completely unnatural eating environment. We cannot, nor do we need to go back in time to live a more natural life style. All we need is some good old fashioned common sense and the internet!
There is ample research now available to show the many benefits of fasting regularly. This article from the "National Post", featuring  Françoise Wilhelmi de Toledo points us to the benefits of fasting. As does the documentary pictured above, "The Science of Fasting", which follows researchers in Russia, whose work with fasting is now being used by medical researchers in the U.S. Forty some years eating naturally and fasting regularly it boggles my mind that we can be so oblivious, but at the same time I breath a sigh of relief that we are finally catching up to wisdom!
I challenge all of us to step out with faith in the instinctive truth of your body and fast one day this week. After a month of once a week fasting, go for three days in a row! I promise you the answers to weight loss and improved health will present themselves! 

Bridge to Health Autumn Seasonal Detox is underway for 2019. For this Detox we are fasting so I wanted to take this time to add an update to this Fasting Blog.

​A Benefit of Fasting - Resetting the Appestat
ap·pe·stat
/ˈapəˌstat/
noun
PHYSIOLOGY

1. the region of the hypothalamus of the brain which is believed to control a person's appetite for food

With overindulgence we accumulate a tendency to eat when we are not hungry. We eat when bored or stressed, at social occasions and for pleasure. All that is fine, but when these pattern become chronic it can lead to unwanted weight gain and a sluggish feeling. Fasting in particular is an effective way to rest the appestat helping you to eat only when hungry.
Years ago I set a New Years Resolution to, "eat then I was hungry and rest when I was tired". This simple resolution changed my life. I soon began to discover how many times I ate whenI was not hungry. And...how much I overworked myself, not resting as needed to recharge my batteries.
When we fast we discover food anew! Our appetite improves in that we are attracted more clearly to foods that will nurture our bodies. We discover the simple natural flavors of whole foods are more satisfying than junk foods. We become more sensitive to greasy foods which taste rancid and slimy compared to whole foods. We are more able to stop eating when we are full or just short of being full. After fasting overeating is painful and unpleasant, helping us to stay on track. 

I encourage all of you after your fast to pay attention to hunger signals, real hunger in the belly as growling. Use that cue to let you know when to eat. As you do you will find yourself falling into a balanced routine that may vary from your pre-fast eating schedule. I promise if you learn to eat only when hungry you will never have to concern yourself with losing weight!