Fasting is becoming the fastest way to good health

Mention fasting.

Majority of the people relate it to Muslims.

Of course.

Islam has five principles: declaration of faith (Shahada), five prayers (Sala) a day, Zakat or giving to charity (Christians call it Sadaka), pilgrimage to Mecca and fasting (Ramadan).

Muslims follow these principles openly and no wonder most folks associate fasting, i.e. not eating for at least 24 hours as a Muslim thing. The truth is all religions have this requirement. But because some of us do not follow religion anymore, eyes are cast towards Muslims ONLY.

That is why we need to be clear. This article is not about religious fasting.

It is about fasting as a cleansing activity, i.e. health of mind, body, spirit, emotion. To some, fasting is equated with staying hungry. I remember a few months ago I was on a three day fast and someone was horrified when they offered me food and I politely declined.

“You will kill yourself Macha! Why are you playing with God?”

I laughed till tears flowed from my eyes.

Fasting is a natural way to first, rest our internal organs, which work 24 hours 7 days a week until we die. Even machines, (like cars) are stopped to cool down and given a thorough service. And this is not only applicable to moving engines. Our phones need breaks too. Otherwise they over heat. At night it is advisable to switch mobiles off even if - on airplane mode.

Animals as well.

Actually animals understand the concept of inactivity more than us hyper humans.

Cats, for instance, are considered to have nine lives. They are always napping and resting. If, ill, animals do not eat. We, humans, have become accustomed to taking medication whenever we are sick. We need to change our attitude and realise our bodies have natural abilities to SELF HEAL.

And that is why eating all the time is not good for us. Just note. Sometimes as soon as we eat we feel either sleepy or tired. Why is that?

Most of our diseases come from excessive stimulants: alcohol, cigarettes, and coffee, oily, salty and sugary foods.

When we become sick from several killer diseases such as Gout (Jongo in Swahili), Acid Reflux, skin ailments, certain types of cancer (e.g. Colon) . Diabetes Type 2, Kidney infection, High Blood Pressure-all result from what and how we ate. Then there are other secondary irritants, e.g. Bad breath. Mouth odour may be from food too.

The second benefit of fasting is cleansing.

I remember the first time I fasted twenty five years ago. During the night I had rumblings in my belly and hallucinations. I was restless and my toilet waste few days later shocked me. Years of accumulated filth left my large intestine like a latrine.

This shows what we carry.

There are many other ways of cleaning internally like taking non sodium Salt (Himalayan or Sea Salt), with warm water first thing in the morning. For several hours pending we then spend time rushing to the bathroom. A radical and another effective way to cleanse.

Number three is mental health.

Great leaders, saints and historical personalities have been known to spend days fasting. This strengthened their minds. By not eating, your body adjusts, your mind is at peace (and ease), and since you have to master the hunger pangs you grow. Not eating also gives you lots of time. Time is useful for reflection, pondering and creativity.

Fasting has been said to prolong life.

American and European prisoners of war captured by the Japanese soldiers towards the end of the Second World War, lived to their nineties even hundred years. This is because they were starved sometimes and that strengthened their immune system. Here we have to caution that we are not talking about poverty or hunger, but a conscious decision to plan ways we eat.

Not all people can fast though. It is advisable to discuss this with doctors. You might be taking certain medication or have a certain condition.

And how do we fast?

There are various ways.

The most popular these days is called intermittent fasting. You eat for certain days and stop eating for between 8 and 24 hours.

Or for 36 to 48 hours once a month. Or weekly fasts of 24 hours. This can be just a water fast (hot or warm water in sips every few hours), or a dry fasting- Meaning no liquids taken. And it is very important to know how to break the fast.

Having big meals immediately after fasting is not good and can actually be bad for our liver and kidneys.

Our planet is getting advanced technologically. At the same time our foods and surroundings are not as healthy as they were hundreds of years ago. One of the ways forward is to self heal through regular fasting.