I started feeling a bit ill late Friday, so I decided to do a water-only fast on Saturday. Generally, animals fast when ill, and I try to follow this model. I also skipped breakfast and lunch on Sunday, and so I ended up going without food for around 40 hours.
This is interesting for me, because a few years ago I wouldn’t have been comfortable going without food for this long. I wouldn’t have voluntarily have gone without food for a day, and not when I was ill, either. However, this fast was fairly painless, as I didn’t have much of an appetite over the weekend to begin with.
It’s amazing what the body can do when it has to. I’ve read research on subjects doing a water-only fast for 30 days without any negative effects (not that I would recommend this!). When food isn’t available, the body simply draws energy from stored body fat and other sources.
Indians in the Pacific NW used to fast as a first line of defense against illness. I fast when I’m sick as well. It seems to help me get well faster. Did your fast help you recover?
Definitely. It seems to cut the duration of a cold to 3-4 days instead of 7 to 10.
Very interesting, I’m going to have to try this. The thing is, I don’t really get sick anymore eating the way I (and you) do–veggies, meats, fruits. I used to get a cold from about October till May, but the past year or two since eating this way, I don’t think I’ve gotten a cold.
I’ve done fasts in the past for periods lasting 18-24 hours…
definitely a good natural way to detox. Although I never did get used to the feeling of running completely on ‘empty’, it did really put me in tune with my body’s physiology.
-Steve
http://www.becomingadonis.blogspot.com
A great post and an experience I too have had. I went ‘Paleo’ with my nutrition a couple of years ago, and since doing so, have found that I CAN ‘fast’. This would have been something I would not even have contemplated in my days as a ‘low-fat carbinator’. I blogged about it here:
http://naturalmessiah.blogspot.com/2008/07/further-faster-stronger-fasting.html
Hey Matt,
Glad it worked for you. I have been doing IF for around 2-3 months now. I do an 18hr fast and 2 24hr fasts that bracket the weekend. There have been a couple of time I felt a cold coming on but it passed in 18 hours or so instead of putting me in bed for a day or two. Anecdotaly it helped. I starting eating 95% Paleo since February, which probably helps as well.
Keep up the excellent posts. I read every one.
jeff