The word “fever” is taken from the Latin word favere which means “to warm”. In adults, the normal body temperature is considered to be 98.6 F (37C), with young children being slightly higher. While the onset of a fever may be frightening , it is not caused by a breakdown of the body’s temperature-regulating mechanism as in heat stroke. Rather, it is the bodies normal self-preserving mechanism of “hyper-functional repair”. In other words, a fever is a normally occurring body process that destroys the infecting agent or toxemia and repairs the damage done by these agents. It acts to preserve the status quo of the healthy body.

Fever may occur for a variety of reasons. It is most often a response to a bacterial or viral infection that has occurred because of the body having a lowered resistance. But fever may also occur when toxic wastes have accumulated in the body, the increased temperature serves to neutralize and eliminate the toxemia. In response to the offending agent’s influence, an elevated temperature acts to increase resistance to disease and restore the body to health. Fever has been shown in research to elevate the white blood cell count. White blood cells act to bind toxic materials and engulf microorganisms, aiding in their removal from the body. In addition there occurs an elevation in the heart and respiration rates which aid to spread oxygenated blood to the site of infection. Microorganisms do not tolerate high oxygen environments well and are less likely to multiply. In addition, the body’s metabolic rate increases, causing elimination of toxic wastes from the infection site. While enhancing these normal body mechanisms to fight disease, fever also acts to lessen microbe growth. Most microorganisms that cause harm to the body are only able to live within a narrow temperature range. A higher temperature destroys these organisms by restricting their growth and allowing the white blood cells to get the upper hand.

In the wholistic view, an elevated body temperature is the organism’s way of correcting an imbalance between its own “vital force” and the external environment. Viruses and bacteria prevalent in the air, soil and water around us cause infections when a persons “vital force” is no longer able to oppose it. When we are in good health, exposure to these infective agents can occur without the person getting sick. This is why some people get a “flu bug” that is going around while others are unaffected.

Welcome Companion to Disease

It is important in therapy to support a fever, allowing it to do its work by eliminating the infective agent or toxin and building the immune system. If not allowed to complete its natural progression, the body will become progressively weaker, unable to mount the reactive power to overcome disease. Administering agents that block the ability to mount a fever is similar to teaching a child to tie their shoes then never allowing them to do so because someone finishes it for them. When the time comes to do it on their own, they are not able to do a good job as they have not been able to practice and are not well prepared.

Fever then should be a welcome companion to any disease process. It signifies that the body is attempting to eliminate the disease and toxic influences upon it. The process can be enhanced by following a few simple guidelines.

1. Rest – decrease all unnecessary activity, take the day off from work or keep the child home from school. Take the time to keep warm and read a good book, or if your body tells you, sleep.
2. Increase fluids – drink at least 6-8, eight ounce glasses of water a day for an adult and slightly less for a child. If you feel the need for more, then do so. Decrease all foods, taking only soups and broths for nourishment.
3. Medicines – take only those that enhance fevers and sweating. Teas such as Yarrow, Chamomille or Cat Nip enhance this mechanism and also help to calm the person. Other immune stimulating herbs or homeopathic medicines are excellent for this process, and may be used along with hydrotherapy techniques which enhance their action.
4. Monitor the temperature frequently – especially in a child. Rectal temperatures run 0.5 F above oral temperatures and those taken under the arm will be 0.5-1.0 F below the oral value. The new electronic digital thermometers (battery operated), are felt to be slightly inaccurate compared to the standard mercury ones. This should be kept in mind if the temperature starts to approach 105 F. The skin temperature measuring strips are good only as a screening test and a more accurate measure is needed to obtain a true value.
5. Observe – for changes in behavior, levels of consciousness or onset of convulsions and dehydration. Most parents have little problem with this as “parental intuition” plays a role. Your “feeling” should be listened to as it may prevent a fever or illness from getting out of hand. Dehydration may be assessed by pinching and feeling the skin on the face and hands for turgor (does the skin bounce back to its normal position) and dryness and observing the tongue for moisture. In newborns, retraction of the fontenells is a sign of dehydration as well. If in doubt, contact your physician.
6. Let the person know – you are there for them and that you care. This is felt to be one of the main therapeutic values of “chicken soup”. Often times this is all it takes to ally fears and anxiety, which will aid in the healing process. Fear and anxiety have been shown in studies to depress the immune system.

Science Discovers Fevers

In studies done with animals, it has been discovered that with the first onset of fever, they will seek out a warm place in which to lie quietly. They refuse all food and take fluids only as necessary to maintain that which is lost with perspiration. Children and most adults, respond to fever much like animals. A child will often find a warm place to lie down or cling to an adult and insist on being held tight. They usually do not wish to eat their most favorite foods (even ice cream), and tend to drink fluids sparingly, or if perspiring. As time goes by, they tend to become more quiet and less likely to tell you what is wrong unless they are uncomfortable.This commonly observed behavior has been termed “adaptive withdrawal” and serves to concentrate the body’s efforts on fighting the disease process.
Some children however, may not show any discomfort with fevers below 102F (39 C) and, in fact, may wish to continue to be active and play. This may not hold true for infants, but refusal to breast or bottle feed and easy or unexplained irritability may be a sign of illness and fever.

Elderly persons do not often manifest temperatures like children or adults do, as they generally develop a lower temperature for a similar condition. In general, the elderly have a narrower tolerance range than adults or children and so a fever in an elderly person should be viewed as being serious and the reason for its occurrence should be sought.

Body Responses to Infection

When infection occurs, there may be a gradual or sudden onset of fever. Frequently it is of a gradual nature, but is more noticeable when it announces its presence with sudden chilling and shivering. When this happens, the body’s thermostat receptors in the brain, spinal cord, and in other parts of the body suddenly reset themselves at a higher mark. Vasoconstriction (flushed face and coldness of the hands and feet) and shivering occur. The heart and respiration rates increase and the person affected may become lethargic and wish to sleep or excitable, alert and restless. As the blood pours into the body’s central core for warming, the skin will often feel hot and dry while the hands and feet may feel cold. Pyrogens, given off by white blood cells, serve to increase temperature by acting with the body’s prostaglandins to reset the thermostat. Aspirin, which will reduce a fever, inhibits prostaglandin synthesis. Association of aspirin usage in children with fevers and the onset of Reyes Syndrome (inflammation of the brain), has made this type of therapy less popular in recent years.

After the body has reached a sufficient temperature to overcome the infection, its “thermostat” resets at a lower temperature and sweating occurs. The fever is said to have “broken” and it is a sign that the crises has now passed. The person affected will begin to feel better after resting.

As the person recovers, sweating may occur periodically as the body attempts to cool things down to keep the temperature from getting higher. For this reason, the fluid intake should be monitored, particularly in children, because fluid replacement is essential if prolonged sweating occurs. One of the values of “chicken soup” lies in its fluid and electrolyte (sodium, potassium, chloride and other mineral salts) content which helps replenish body fluid stores. If fever is accompanied by vomiting, then they may be given by enema in order to rehydrate. If diarrhea is present, then intravenous fluid replacement is necessary if the condition is prolonged.

Fevers above 106 F should be controlled as brain damage may take place. While a core body temperature of 105 F to 106 F will not cause damage, the brain is comprised of much more delicate tissue than other organs and convulsions may occur. Convulsions are one of the first signs, along with extreme lethargy and unresponsiveness, that a fever is too high and should be brought down to a manageable 102 F to 104 F. Cold compresses to the neck and scalp will help decrease the temperature as will rubbing with alcohol or a Brand (decreasing temperature) bath. Anytime convulsions are present, the person should be seen by a physician immediately, especially if it is a child.

Fever without sweating is of concern, because elimination of toxins through the skin is important to temperature regulation and the body’s ability to maintain optimal metabolic function. A fever can go on for a longer period of time provided it is accompanied by sweating. A high fever with no perspiration is cause for concern especially if the person is uncomfortable and unresponsive. In general, a fever can last anywhere from 1-4 days at temperatures between 101 F and 104 F and are higher in the morning and lower in the afternoon.

The duration of a fever is as important as how high it is. A high fever for a short period of time is tolerated better than a high fever for a longer period because there is less depletion of body energy reserves. The longer a fever goes, the less stamina a person has. While this varies from person to person, a person with a fever running longer than 4 days with no changes, should see a physician.

How one tolerates a fever then, depends upon how high it goes, how long it lasts, if there is sweating, and how much energy reserve a person has. In general, if the person eats well, tends to have few illnesses, and when they do, illnesses of short duration, and are fairly alert and oriented; they undoubtedly have a strong constitution and will be better able to handle the effects of a fever. They also tend to mount a fever quickly, a sign of a strong immune system.

By contrast the person who is frequently or chronically ill, has poor eating habits or eats poor quality food, and tends to be low energy when not ill is less likely to weather the effects of a fever. He or she will not spike the high temperatures needed to overcome the infection but will tend to have lower fevers which “hold the line” against infective agents but are unable to overcome them. Elderly persons are often in this group as a result of the ageing process, narrow tolerance ranges and generally poor diets.

Ideal Fever

Ideally a fever will follow a pattern somewhat like this. There is a period of incubation when the infective agent or toxin has taken hold. This is where we first notice that we are getting a cold or flu and are feeling a bit “under the weather”. Next, there is an aggravation period when temperature elevation occurs. The person tends to go into “adaptive withdrawal” as chilling often occurs. The destruction period is marked by a sustained high temperature to eliminate the infective agent and toxins. Next is the abatement stage which is characterized by sweating to bring down the fever; as mentioned previously, the fever is said to have “broken” and the person begins to feel better. The reconstruction period is the time when one wants to rest, as the body uses this time to restore its strength and resources.

For the most part fevers follow this pattern. There are exceptions however and different types of fever patterns can point to various infective agents.
Fevers in adults tend to show up differently than in children because “grown ups” often do not allow their body’s to fight the infection the way it was designed to. More often than not, adults continue to work and not rest, eat meals even though they may be nauseated or not hungry, take medications to “get rid” of symptoms and, in general, ignore the process. Continuing to ignore the condition will only prolong it and in the long run, make it worse.

It is interesting to note that many of the elderly will undertake actions that act to enhance the body’s healing mechanisms similar to those discussed earlier in children. Perhaps this is due to lifestyle patterns learned in early childhood when there were fewer medicines available to counteract fever symptoms. It is also possibly due to instinctual patterns inherent in our body’s which are now heeded, as the effects of illness can be much more serious in this age group.

Only through supporting the body and its natural ally, fever, will it be able to overcome the disease or toxic process and simultaneously strengthen the vital force. In the long run it will make for less illness and a longer, healthier life.

1. At the first sign of a cold or flu decrease your food intake or eliminate it entirely for the first
24 hours. Your appetite level will be your guide here. If you are hungry, eat sparingly and maintain a diet
of fruits, vegetables, soups and salads. These are alkaline foods which act to neutralize the acidic internal
environment in which bacteria and viruses love to play
2. Bed rest ! Yes, this means you ! Take a day or two off work, enjoy a good book or catch up on
your video’s or sleep. Doing this now will allow you to get back to the job sooner and eliminate the
possibility of infecting your fellow workers.
3. Take Oscillococcinum or Flu Solution, which are homeopathic influenza medicines. This will
often stop the cold or flu right in its tracks. If the condition has advanced to the infection stage, these will
also be useful. For an illness which has taken hold, an individual homeopathic prescription may be
necessary.
4. Garlic at 1 to 3 cloves per day, chopped and swallowed with a little water or in soup has
proven to be very effective against viruses and bacteria. Raw garlic works better than encapsulated garlic
as less is needed.
5. Increasing vitamin C at the beginning of the cold and flu season will help detoxify the body,
thus eliminating the type of environment bacteria and viruses enjoy. Beta carotene also helps in this
regard as both vitamins enhance immune system function and cellular defense mechanisms.
6. Hydrotherapy techniques such as the wet t-shirt or sock treatment or constitutional
hydrotherapy are also beneficial. These treatments can be done at home or at RNA. For more information
on how to perform them, contact the clinic.
7. Consult your doctor if symptoms persist or become worse. A cold or flu can turn into
something else such as bronchitis or pneumonia so prolonged illnesses need to be evaluated by your
physician.
Last years cold and flu season was particularly severe, and it is expected that this one will be as
well. Many of our patients who followed this protocol experienced a shorter course of the illness and
fewer down days. We hope that this will be beneficial again this season.

Dr. Tom Kruzel practices in Portland, Oregon and can be reached at (503) 667-1961

“And the word of the Lord came unto me in the tenth month in the government of Oliver Cromwell, in the year 1653 when I was walking among my sheep, saying, ‘Thou shalt not eat nor drink for the space of 14 days anything but water. But fear not for I will feed thee with the dew of heaven and with the sweet incense of my love, and my word shall be unto thee sweeter than honey, and I will make thee to know that I am able to keep thee fresh and strong, and able to do my work without the creatures as well as with it!”
Miles Halhead – (1)

In this chapter consideration will be given to a review of the medical literature from 1967 to 1977, in which approximately 160 papers dealt in some way with the aspects of the subject. Fifty-two of these, which were felt to be the most pertinent, were reviewed by the author. For several reasons, not much information could be gained from them. Much was too scientific for the general reader, and almost exclusively the subject dealt with obesity and the disease concept
(2), not with the healing of the whole person, which is our overriding concern here. Also in this chapter is a brief consideration of the fast as it has been practiced through the ages; and there are extensive comments on the use of the fast in the therapeutic setting at Meadowlark, where several hundred guestpatients have been involved.

Few physicians have seriously considered the fast as a technique worthy of study; and most of those who did, concentrated on its used only in the treatment of obesity. Two notable exceptions, however, are psychiatrists Allan Cott, M.D., and Robert Meiers, M.D. The latter was associated with my work at Meadowlark for a period of three months and initiated my interest in fasting. Dr. Cott spent time in Russia studying the program of Professor Serge Nikoliav of the Moscow Psychiatric institute where, as of 1972, 6,000 patients had fasted under Nikoliav’s direction, resulting in a very high success rate for treatment of chronic refractory schizophrenia, and without a fatality. These patients had not responded to the more usual types of psychiatric therapy. Their fasts were on water, lasted 25 to 30 days, and included much aerobic exercise in the form of long periods of daily walking.

Most attention to the medical fast has been given outside the United States. Paavo Airola’s studies of the European clinics cite many successful fasts for a wide variety of human ailments. My own acquaintance with the Bircher-Benner Clinic of Zurich has been a strong incentive toward the use at Meadowlark of vegetable juices and the role of raw vegetables and fruits in the therapeutic armamentarium.

The notable work in this country has been carried on by a small group of Naturopathic physicians. Especially useful is the work of Herbert Shelton, who has been employing this modality in his center in Texas for 40 years, guiding many thousands of patients through fasts. His book, The Hygienic System, Fasting and Sun Bathing, Vol. III, is the most complete discussion of the physical aspects that I have encountered.(4)

The New Health Model

Nuclear physics and the new health model view human life with its supporting energy systems as a part of a great continuum. Health is thus seen as a mark of one’s resonance with great and universal systems of energies. Disease is a sign of being out of touch. It has always been of interest to me to note that the sicker the individual, the more isolated he or she has become from family, friends and business associates. Thus the role of the physician must be to become increasingly aware of these discordant energies and their sources.

This new challenge is being met by individual physicians, most commonly outside of university settings where they are individually investigating such alternative therapies as acupuncture, homeopathy, polarity therapy, yoga, clairvoyance and psychosynthesis.

These modalities, and I now add fasting as one of the most important on the list, require establishing a contact with the patient, and the future physician accordingly must see his new role as being involved in this interpersonal relationship. He must become absorbed to the limit of his ability in the problems of his patient by listening to the words of that patient and learning even what is behind those words that possibly the patient cannot yet share. Only through this type of empathy can one get beyond the usual objective view of the results of a disease process and begin to get down to causes, many of which are frequently buried in the patient’s subconscious. But by being aware, the empathetic physician can gain evidence from the tone of speech, the look in the eyes, in the gestures of the hands, and in those tears that are so obviously being held back. How often in such a time of attunement has a patient said, “I have told you what I have never before shared with anyone, not even my spouse.”

To help his patients regain resonance with the universal system, the physician of the new medicine may have to look to areas not often enough considered. He should study the patient’s environment, for one example. The physical body’s loss of sensitive attunement may be due to such external causes as environmental sources of pollution. These might include chemicals in the air, fallout from atomic testing, more than minimal diagnostic x-ray exposure or other forms of medical radiation, long hours in front of television or microwave ovens, or under fluorescent lights. It might come from drinking fluorinated and chlorinated water, from medically prescribed as well as psychedelic drugs, from synthetic foods along with additives, and in the cases of quite a number of people, even from the artificial materials used in the clothing they commonly wear.

The fast can be most helpful in treatment of patients whose problems have such causes, for it tends toward freeing the body from having to ward off these conflicting sources of energy, and toward freeing the mind from the power of much of the negativity that is all about us today. Once freed, the patient is in a far better position than he was to use his vital energies in a constructive way and so restore homeostasis.

A person needs all of the energy he can healthfully derive, for much is required simply to break down food into its nutritive components, convert the carbohydrates and proteins into glycogen for storage in the liver, and to provide the ready energy needed for healing and optimal physical and mental functioning. type of empathy can one get beyond the usual objective view of the results of a disease process and begin to get down to causes, many of which are frequently buried in the patient’s subconscious. But by being aware, the empathetic physician can gain evidence from the tone of speech, the look in the eyes, in the gestures of the hands, and in those tears that are so obviously being held back. How often in such a time of attunement has a patient said, “I have told you what I have never before shared with anyone, not even my spouse.”

To help his patients regain resonance with the universal system, the physician of the new medicine may have to look to areas not often enough considered. He should study the patient’s environment, for one example. The physical body’s loss of sensitive attunement may be due to such external causes as environmental sources of pollution. These might include chemicals in the air, fallout from atomic testing, more than minimal diagnostic x-ray exposure or other forms of medical radiation, long hours in front of television or microwave ovens, or under fluorescent lights. It might come from drinking fluorinated and chlorinated water, from medically prescribed as well as psychedelic drugs, from synthetic foods along with additives, and in the cases of quite a number of people, even from the artificial materials used in the clothing they commonly wear.

The fast can be most helpful in treatment of patients whose problems have such causes, for it tends toward freeing the body from having to ward off these conflicting sources of energy, and toward freeing the mind from the power of much of the negativity that is all about us today. Once freed, the patient is in a far better position than he was to use his vital energies in a constructive way and so restore homeostasis.

A person needs all of the energy he can healthfully derive, for much is required simply to break down food into its nutritive components, convert the carbohydrates and proteins into glycogen for storage in the liver, and to provide the ready energy needed for healing and optimal physical and mental functioning.

All of this should be within the awareness of new medicine, both for the physician who accepts the new challenge, and for the person who is learning to look within for his own healing powers.

We speak of the fast as being a part of the new medicine. It is a rediscovered part, for the fast as an integral part of life is as old as life itself, and its healing power is to be seen all along evolution’s pathway. In the insect world, the feasting caterpillar is followed by the fasting butterfly. Then there are the hibernating reptiles and the bear who take their annual prolonged fasts. If nothing more, this indicates that fasting and stanation are not the same things. Many animals when sick know enough to stop eating, but few humans have retained this healthy insight that intuitively bids one eat or fast as the proper occasion arises and in its natural timing. As William Wordsworth so beautifully comments:

The world is too much with us, Getting and spending we lay waste our powers, Little we see in Nature that is ours . . . Yes, we are out of touch, and the fast provides an ideal setting for renewing this all-important contact. Allow me to quote from one of Meadowlark’s recent fasters who began the recontact: I am awakened in the morning full of quiet expectation which was deepened by an experience as I sat on the lawn after my simple breakfast of fruit. A honeybee settled on my knee and set about his elaborate grooming of his small person. I was pleased and touched at its confidence in me and extended to him the same. I was struck by his kindness and appreciation showed in every part of his body. I watched with interest and amusement at his insect version of body awareness (referring to an exercise program of that name employed at Meadowlark).

Throughout history, at some time fasts have been used by practically every culture to bring man back in touch with his source of BEING. But unfortunately, Western religion with its only occasional use of fasting has become more and more separated from actual life on an hour to hour basis and needs once more to become interwoven into life’s innermost experience, as is still taught by the Shaman of Africa and the Indian medicine man.

Reviewing Briefly Some Aspects of the Fast as Seen in History:

Jesus—“This kind (referring to the cure, probably of epilepsy) can come forth by nothing but prayer and fasting.” (Mark 9:29) Before his period of temptation, Jesus fasted for forty days in the wilderness.

Pythagoras—He commanded his disciples to abstain from all things that had life, and from certain other meats which could interfere with mental perception, and to abstain from wine, to eat sparingly, and to sleep little. (Manly Hall)

Moses—In a time of drought, he fasted for forty days on Mt. Horeb.

The Ethiopian Orthodox Church—Among its tenets, it views the stomach as the seat of the emotions and thus as having a marked effect on the personality. Strong foods such as meat are felt to strengthen emotional reactions and thus are seen as being related to violent behavior.(5)

Gandhi—In his autobiography, he describes his use of the fast and dietary restriction and its great influence on his life’s work. It was his observation that passion and the hankering after pleasures of the palate were best brought under control through this means. He goes on further to elaborate that when the senses are subordinated to the rule of the mind, the special relish disappears and man can truly function as it was intended he should.(6)

It would seem that these illustrations reinforce the idea that in times of life’s real need to find new sustenance, the fast with its physical cleansing, mental clearing and spiritual mountaintop experiences can open up new vistas on the path of life.

The Type of Fast and Its Length

The true fast is without doubt the water fast, but experience reveals that this is by no means desirable for all would-be fasters. Accordingly there are many modifications, some suitable and others that are of very questionable merit or even potentially injurious. The fast from both food and water will not even be considered because of the grave dangers that may be associated with its use. In the medical literature, as has been mentioned, the major, almost sole, subject of fasting has been in relation to the control of obesity. Here it has an important role, especially when used along with daily group therapy under staff guidance. When used on an outpatient basis, however, we would tend to restrict it to the overweight patient who has had previous experience with fasting and has been medically evaluated by a physician. Even in this instance we would feel that the patient should have available telephone contact with the guiding physician and a weekly evaluative office visit.

The water fast may also be used for patients other than those with weight problems if they have an adequate fat reserve, that is to say if the skin and subcutaneous tissues of the upper arm when pinched with a caliper measures no less than 20 mm. in the case of women and 15 in that of men. If less, consideration may still be given to a juice or a raw foods fast. In all the above instances, the fast should be supervised by a physician familiar with the procedure. Some of the problems most commonly well handled with fasting include hypertension, arthritis, allergies and headaches along with the detoxification from the use of multiple drugs or tobacco. In our experience this is a very valuable method of handling the problems of the undesirable side effects from long term cortisone therapy. However, in the latter instance, the procedure must be done very slowly, milligram by milligram over a period of time and usually will not be completed in the first fasting experience.

As cited in the medical literature, fasting for obesity has frequently been continued for sixty days and at times considerably longer. The most usually prescribed fast at Meadowlark lasts from two to three weeks. The maximum was 34 days. In that instance the patient was suffering from severe anklyosing arthritis of the spine, such that she had no possible neck motion and had to turn her body to look to the side. There was also associated moderate obesity. This particular guest discovered during the fasters’ group therapy that her body stiffness bore a striking parallel to a very unbending religious system in which she felt enmeshed. Toward the end of her fast as she was increasingly allowing herself to express pent up feelings, she began to notice a beginning of motion in the upper spine.

A further use of water fasting is in the emerging field of medical ecology pioneered by Doctors Coca, Randolph, Philpot, Dickey and others.(7) This is in the nature of what is referred to by them as presumptive food testing. That is to say, after four to five days of water fasting when symptoms have quieted down and frequently been accompanied by a drop in the pulse rate, a large meal of the suspected food is given as a single meal, symptom return is noted and the suspect food either discovered or eliminated as a source of symptoms. A case to illustrate:

P.U., a 35-year-old housewife, was seen by me a few years ago complaining of depression, irritability, excruciating headaches, rapid heartbeat, a tremor of her hands, sinus congestion and urinary problems. After a four-day water fast at Meadowlark her symptoms were relieved. Presumptive food testing revealed that following the ingestion of milk her sinuses became congested; following a meal of corn her tremor developed; a headache became evident subsequent to the ingestion of a meal of bananas, and her bladder symptoms followed both rice and strawberries. Two months later she reported no further headaches, bladder trouble nor depression and her marital relationship was vastly improved. The subsequent month, as often happens when one feels much improved, she became lax with her dietary restrictions and practically all her symptoms returned.

The most common of the reacting foods are those which are consumed most regularly, frequently on a daily basis giving the impression that this frequency of ingestion probably exceeds the body’s ability to supply the vitamins, enzymes and minerals required to ensure proper absorption and assimilation. The results often are the cited symptoms of toxicity. Also, life’s stresses that are not adequately being handled seem to play a role in these events. And symptoms certainly may also be brought to light by pesticides and other chemicals in the foods, water, the air, clothing, or elsewhere in the immediate environment. While all of these factors play an important role in health, let us not for a minute become imprisoned in a world seemingly controlled by the environment. A hundred years ago a leading homeopathic physician, Dr. James T. Kent, gave good counsel in this regard:

The partial or juice fast also finds a place for all the conditions previously recounted and is less threatening to many. Needless to say, the time needed for results may be longer, but the patient’s emotional attitude will be superior, particularly if there is a lack of self-confidence with its frequently accompanying feelings of self-deprivation. I prefer the patient to have a choice in the type of fast and the length of fast. For some, even a juice fast is too severe, and in such cases there is a real place for a partial fast, limited to raw fresh vegetables or fruits as practiced at the BircherBenner Clinic.(8)

Fasting, When and for Whom?

In the past the progress of life and the consciousness of one’s relationship to the universe as a whole was mirrored in the observance of the fast. Man was very conscious of the fact that he was part of a whole that far surpassed the boundaries of his physical body. He intuitively knew that if he lost sight of his own body rhythms and got out of step with the seasons of the world about him he would likely fall ill. It is of interest that we are only recently rediscovering the importance of these rhythms and their part in everyday life.(9)

In accordance with this principle, times of fasting have in the past coincided with the seasons and the solar system’s inherent rhythm. Note the Lenten fast in conjunction with the full moon of Easter in the Christian tradition, and the corresponding Passover fast associated with the same full moon of the Hebrew month of Nasar. Certain cultures have timed the planting and harvesting of their crops according to similar time schedules. Moses and Jesus were both aware of the needed season for a fast and each picked a period of forty days. In Islam, where the fast is adhered to more strictly than in the Judeo-Christian culture, Ahmad Sakr reports that the faithful Moslems all over the world are required to fast throughout the month of Ramadan, the ninth month of their calendar. In his words:

Further, not only does the season of the year but also the exact time of day have significance. When the human body approaches a state of homeostasis, it once again picks up these universal rhythms. This is obvious in the case of menstruation. It may also be observed in many blood determinations such as the pituitary clock and its maximum output of ACTH between 4 and 8 a.m. And even further, observation will reveal the relationship of the human endocrine system to this all-pervasive timepiece. The endocrine clock in association with the advent of puberty has been a time for a fast for the American Indian.” I would like to think that once again we may discover the influence of these natural rhythms and their effect on health and their relationship to times for fasting.

It is the person who has become aware of his inner environment, its discovery and cleansing, that usually benefits the most from the fast and its attendant therapy. It was from this standpoint that Moses, Jesus and Gandhi were led into their fasts. During the last decade, approaching as we are the so-called Aquarian Age, there is much evidence of a new hunger to obtain sustenance capable of replacing the spiritual vacuum so prevalent in the materialistic world. The heart is sick! Through all eternity, this centrally placed human organ has symbolized the all-powerful role of love. Could this be the reason for the increasing number of deaths from heart disease? In spite of coronary care units in hospitals, by-pass surgeries and trained resuscitation teams, the long-term results have been to accomplish little toward increasing the span of human life. And so it is not only the outward aspects of health that prompt people to come to Meadowlark, and once there to choose the fast as an aid to finding new avenues of meaning in their lives, to finding fresh contacts with their spiritual natures. This desire for the fast often comes to them as an inner feeling of guidance.

But if considering only the traditional manifestations of health problems, who should avoid the fast? The medical literature is by no means clear cut when considering the possible relative contraindications to fasting. However, I would like to list these with my own feelings:

• The hypochondriacal patient with deep emotional needs
  
• Pregnant women, and for the most part, children
  
• Severe bronchial asthma
  
• Diabetes
  
• Epilepsy
  
• Malnutrition
  
• Ulcerative colitis
  
• Terminal illness
  

In the first instance, as related in the book, Some Unrecognized Factors in Medicine,(l2) the anonymous physician authors state that the hypochondriacal, hysterical patient, as we have also found, is a poor candidate for the fast. So often these persons have never really lived a life of their own. They have tended to live at the beck and call of some other individual and as a result have never truly felt fulfilled. To ask them to make the sacrifice of their food for a period of time can be just too devastating for their inner development and growth.

Concerning pregnancy, I can see a juice fast with juices being prepared daily under a skilled nutritionist (and I am not referring to the usual hospital dietician) as a possibility in toxemia or marked obesity. Such a patient should also be evaluated daily by the physician.

A similar, partial fast may also be appropriate in the case of a child. From the physical standpoint, juvenile onset diabetes or adult type where there have been spells of coma or severe acidosis, severe asthma, frequently necessitating hospital admission, and epileptic seizures might be considered contraindications to the fast unless carried out in a suitable hospital setting. I have in the past found this possible in our own local hospital.

Ulcerative colitis can be handled but presents a number of problems and needs much emotional support for it to be successful.

Near terminal illness where fasting might lead to a starvation would not seem an appropriate line of therapy, although I feel that there can be exceptions when the patient feels a strong sense of inner guidance in this direction. However, in this instance, the relatives and the patient should be well acquainted with the risks involved, and the physician conscious of his risk of censure by his medical peers.

The Time of the Fast

The time of the fast should be a very special time. Many of our Meadowlark guests have told us that it was the most significant event in their lives to that time. To begin with it is a time of tearing down the old and the onset of building a new body temple. What better words to occupy the mind at the beginning of the fast than the words of that well known physician-poet, Oliver Wendell Holmes in “The Chambered Nautilus”:

It should be a space in one’s life for reorientation and self assessment. It only makes common sense that in this age when the internal and external environments are filled to overflowing with synthetic imitations of the stuff that evolution took a few million years to design, the body and mind need to have periods for an all-important time of cleansing.

The state of mind and its activities can be most significant for the faster. For some it can be a time of self-discovery, a time to stop playing a role and to begin living the real person. Thus, it can be a time for releasing the ego and discovering the Transpersonal Self. In this frame of reference, the late psychiatrist, Roberto Assagioli,l3 speaks of starting to LIVE rather than just to exist. Because these crises in personal development will frequently be met during the fast, it is essential that the person guiding the fast recognize them in their full significance.

Assagioli describes the stages of the unfoldment of the True Self:

1) Crises preceding the spiritual awakening;

2) Crises caused by the spiritual awakening;

3) Reactions due to the spiritual awakening;

4) Phases of the process of transmutation.(l2)

If these important signs along the road of life are not recognized, a great injustice can be done the person involved. In the process of unfoldment, there may be midnight emergencies as the dying ego manifests itself through a dream or through the frightening experience of the so called dark night of the soul. It is then that an understanding nurse should be available, one who is thoroughly trained in the process of the fast; and a psychologist or physician trained in and familiar with the areas of transpersonal experience.

For these reasons, and others, the special event of the fast should not be carried on in the usual setting of home or business if anything of lasting value is to be anticipated, other than perhaps temporarily taking off a few pounds of body weight. The setting should be a place of natural beauty, removed from newspapers, radio, television, phone calls, visitors (even including contact with the immediate family). If at all possible, the spot should be self-chosen rather than decided upon, a-priori, solely by a physician, friend or family member. Since the fast can be a time of real enrichment of one’s inner life, preparation can well lead to some research ahead of time into books that would have meaning for the coming events. Especially significant can be biographies of men and women who have been a source of inspiration or religious writings that have a place in structuring and bringing significance to life.

The importance of the timing of the fast is beautifully illustrated in these words in the Aquarian Gospel of Jesus Christ:

The Fasting Process

A careful history and physical examination should precede the fast for any person other than one in optimal health, and in that case an office visit is recommended with the guiding physician assessing the desirability of the fast. This is particularly true when any fast is expected to last more than two or three days. Included in the preparation should be blood tests for uric acid, blood sugar, creatinine, cholesterol, total protein and some evaluation of liver function. An electrocardiogram should be considered.

To better explain the fasting process, we will divide it into four stages that also reflect those set down by Dr. Cott, who made a study of the format used in the Russian model, to which reference was made. Stage 1 is a time of general excitation of the involuntary nervous system, lasting one to three days; Stage 2, a time of inhibition, continuing from day two or three to the end of the first week and sometimes even into the second week; Stage 3, a time of gradual recovery, which most festers do not go beyond during their initial experience; Stage 4, full recovery.

It is most interesting to note the close parallel of the stages of fasting to the stages resulting during the healing process accompanying administration of homeopathic remedies. In fact, it can be very beneficial to use the two therapeutic modalities concurrently.

From the physiological point of view, during Stage 1 the general excitation is manifest through the increased electrical activity observed with the electroencephalogram, while the blood picture reveals a mobilization of the healing agents as seen in the increased number of white blood cells being poured into the general circulation. Stage 2 is heralded by increasing evidence of acidosis, the presence of hypoglycemia and a psychomotor depression. There is generally a loss of appetite, and the tongue is likely to become coated. Gradually the excitation gives way and is superseded by inhibition.

During the first few days, usually all of Stage 1 and the beginning of Stage 2, the patient is pretty much occupied with cleaning the gastrointestinal tract. This includes the liver, which is relieved of the responsibility of having to handle its usual daily load of imitation foods that have much to do with chronic degenerative diseases. At the same time, the cleansing releases much of the body’s innate energies formerly concerned with handling this metabolic load, thus allowing the body a chance to restore natural health and bring about a state of homeostasis. During this period, the cleansing process is very evident in marked signs of toxicity, the return of former physical symptoms, and a marked dulling of mental processes, and not infrequently an overwhelming sense of fatigue and the need to rest. Stage 3, then, is one of normalization with its accompanying feeling of well being, usually far surpassing the state pre-existing the fast.

Weight loss during the early days of the fast can be dramatic, especially in women who have a water retention problem. Sometimes the loss can be as much as four to seven pounds in a single day, and 10 to 20 pounds in a week is not unusual. By the end of the first week, however, this will have leveled off to an average of three-fourths of a pound a day, and there will be days of no loss, and perhaps even days of gain. This need not be viewed with alarm. Factors reflected in the fluid retention may have been too liberal use of salt in the diet, the use of birth control pills, the use of tobacco, the overuse in the diet of refined carbohydrates, or in some cases certain foods may be associated with the problem. When foods are suspected, they may be evaluated by presumptive testing following the fast, as described by Phillpot. Pyridoxine (Vitamin B6) and Vitamin C also may be helpful in dealing with this problem. (Very frequently at this time there will surface an unresolved emotional problem and the need to release long dried up tears. Often we have observed this interrelationship. Many times there has been observed a marked diuresis following a counseling session that produced a flood of tears.)

As is common knowledge, the hypothalmic portion of the brain and the closely related posterior pituitary have a major role in controlling water balance. In several patients where there was further evidence of such a deficiency, therapeutic use of posterior pituitary in minimal dosage was of real value. There will be a rapid increase in weight following the fast in these patients if they early bring the refined carbohydrates into their diets and if they do not adequately avoid sources of salt. Closely paralleling large losses of fluid in the early fast will be symptom-producing losses of potassium and occasionally sodium. The latter loss peaks on about the fourth day, while the former loss is evident and rapid during the first few days and gradually may taper off between the tenth and fourteenth days. The most common symptoms related to these losses include weakness, postural hypotension, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, vertigo and leg cramps. All will be greatly ameliorated by a potassium supplement.(15)

It is well to bear in mind that the early days of the fast also are marked by an acidic condition of the body with the release into the urine of considerable acetone, which can be monitored very easily by test papers available at any pharmacy and used in the control of diabetes. As the fast progresses, another reliable indicator of the body’s return toward homeostasis is the use of pH testpapers on the saliva, checked morning and night due to the body’s circadian rhythms. Ideally one would like to see the papers register pH values between 6.4 and 6.8.(16)

The breakdown of toxic tissue products during the fast will frequently be reflected in blood chemistry values, which can be rechecked during its course. To be expected is an early rise in uric acid due to the breakdown of tissue nucleoproteins. In this connection there will be on rare occasions an attack of gout. However, this is, in our opinion, no excuse for the use of antiurogesic drugs during the course of a fast. Should gout make its appearance, it could much more safely be managed with homeopathic remedies or herbs.

Fatalities during the fast have been reported in the medical literature when drugs were used, when tests were made requiring intravenous administration of chemicals, and when alcohol or tobacco were used.(17) Patients desirous of getting off drugs, alcohol, tobacco should always do so only under close medical supervision. During the course of the fast there will frequently be an elevation of the enzymes associated with liver function, reflecting the increased involvement of that organ in the detoxification. These will gradually return to normal as the fast continues into Stages 2 and 3. There will frequently be evidences of the added stress on the kidneys but in this instance, too, there will be gradual improvement as reflected in the blood urea values. More often these may be late manifestations after the fast if the patient stays on the new diet and keeps away from the use of drugs and foods containing additives. There will also be a return toward normal levels of elevated cholesterol and triglycerides. These later findings will be enhanced by the coincident use of a good program of aerobic exercise.

The Fast at Meadowlark

Let us now turn attention to the actual program for the groups of festers as carried on at the Meadowlark rehabilitation center. An average group of festers might include an arthritic seeking to reduce the amount of medication; two with obesity problems who in the past have not been able to keep their weights down; another guest with migraine headaches; a guest with lupus erythematosis keen on getting off cortisone, and another guest wishing the spiritual benefits of a fasting experience. At the initial meeting the guests are asked to share individually their reasons for wanting to fast and are made to see the seriousness of the discipline and the need of the involvement of their whole person in the process. They are also informed that the discipline is going to be strictly adhered to.

Each faster is then instructed by the nurse as to the measurements that will be recorded daily, most of which the faster will take for himself and record on special forms. These records include a.m. temperature, pulse twice daily for evidence of ecological factors related to illness, blood pressure, water intake and urine output during Stages 1 and 2 for evidence of water retention, check of urine for ketones and Vitamin C level, and twice daily salivary pH readings.

Vitamin C supplementation is routinely carried on throughout the fast to aid in the detoxification program. If a water fast is carried on longer than a week, a general vitamin supplement is added to the regime. If diuresis seems to be incomplete, diuretic herb teas are frequently suggested. These might consist of goldenrod, chamomile, watercress, parsley or rose hips.

When the fast is merely for reducing and physical evaluation and there is no evidence of disease, the fastener’s progress could be watched on the basis of weekly office visits with interim phone calls.

Concerning the role of exercise, opinions vary all the way from those who advise bed rest to those who make a great point of long periods daily of walking, cycling or swimming. It would seem that a middle of the road policy is generally applicable, with individual variations to suit the particular faster. For those who are most toxic and are not troubled with excess weight, initially, much rest best suits their condition, to be followed by a program of gradually increasing exercise as tolerated. In general it is probably wiser not to include jogging, other forms of strenuous exercise and certainly no competitive exercise, yet fastens are frequently surprised by the physical strength they find as they move into Stage 2 and by the ease with which they can endure long periods of sustained exercise.

Concerning the use of enemas, colonies, or of their avoidance, opinions are very controversial. Once again we have taken a middle of the road position, starting the fast with an initial purge, using phospho-soda, and following on the next three days with self-administered enemas, unless diarrhea occurs or the stool becomes clear. Further enemas are not regularly employed unless there would seem to be discomfort due to the collection of feces.

It is important to keep dental plates in the mouth, biting on them to keep the gums in condition or there may be such shrinkage that by the end of the fast the plates no longer fit.

Personal hygiene is particularly important during the fast, for there may be considerable body odor due to the detoxification taking place. A shower is suggested for each morning. Water temperatures should not be extreme because too long in hot water can be ennervating. To follow a shower with a good body brushing is a good procedure. Cosmetics and deodorants should be avoided during the fast, for they tend to drive the impurities back into the system. An absorbent material or cornstarch under the arms could, however, be used in addition to frequent cleansing. The coated tongue can be brushed and thus cleansed, which will partially alleviate frequent bad taste in the mouth.

In the case of the water fast, spring water from a known good source is preferable; but if this is not possible, distilled water is the second choice, if appropriate minerals are added to approximate a natural source of water. Approximately 70 ml. of water or other liquid per kilogram of body weight should be drunk daily, with the occasional substitution of herb teas if desired.

In as much as we like to see our fasters learn to flow with life, we never tell them ahead of time how long they will be fasting. Instead we encourage them to get in touch with their INNER KNOWER and allow that to be their guide, with suitable comments or suggestions from us when appropriate. This is a day to day decision and not preordained.

In the instance of juice fasts, the juices should be prepared daily as nearly as possible to their time of use, in any case not more than a day before. Preferably, juice is produced with a pressure-type juicer, rather than a centrifugal type. Grapefruit or apple are the usual juices we employ for the start of the day, changing to vegetable juices for the rest of the day. Orange juice is avoided because of its high sugar content and due to the fact that many people have the problem of hypoglycemia. The usual amount of juices for the day is one liter to be divided into four glasses frequently diluted and sipped throughout the day rather than to be drunk solely at meal times. For specific suggestions as to variations on juices see the books of Paavo Airola and those from the Bircher-Benner Clinic, available through health food stores. Favorites among our group have been a mix of carrot and celery juice and Bieler broth.(18) The latter has the advantage especially for people who have multiple allergies or maladaptive reactions to certain foods, for zucchini is very rarely a culprit. Bear in mind also that the green leaves of vegetables restore a favorable acid-alkaline balance after the combustion of foods more rapidly than anything else, so that a plain juice from green leaves has a unique place in the fasting purification process. Supermarket vegetables, if used, should be washed thoroughly to remove any vestiges of pesticide sprays. Organically grown vegetables are preferred.

The first week of the fast is in every way the hardest, for gradually one after another the symptoms of detoxification become manifest. These are generally related to health problems of the past and make their appearance in reverse order of the time of life when they were originally present. This follows the same law that will be observed when using homeopathic medications. One of the most frequently recurring symptoms is the withdrawal headache of the coffee addict. Other commonly encountered symptoms include extreme fatigue, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, palpitations, nasal mucous, visual disturbances, muscle pains and cramps, diarrhea, flatus, irregularities of the heart and increased body odor. (The latter should never be handled by the use of deodorants as this will block the pores of the skin and drive the toxins back into the body.) Symptoms can be greatly ameliorated by the use of the potassium supplement to which reference has already been made. Nausea can often be handled by the addition of lemon juice to the faster’s water, or by the use of homeopathic Nux vomica or Ipecac. If vomiting continues for more than a day, it may on rare occasions be necessary to give intravenous fluids. When there is intolerance to ascorbic acid (Vitamin C), magnesium oxide or bicarbonate of soda may be given along with it. Inasmuch as magnesium deficiency is reported at times, it has been our custom to give magnesium oxide in equal parts with the bicarbonate and ascorbic acid. If, however, this is followed by diarrhea, the amount of magnesium oxide should be decreased. When there is considerable evidence of toxicity, that is to say the liver has a large load of work ahead, to help the individual get back into a state of health the liver flush has frequently been used, as recommended by Harold Stone, the father of polarity therapy. It consists of a mixture of olive oil, lemon and grapefruit juice, and garlic.

Although at Meadowlark we have ample evidence that the psychological benefits of the fast, the attunement to the inner life, are equal in value to the improvement in outward health, I have found scant information in the literature reviewed on the use of psychotherapy in conjunction with the fast. Nor is there scarcely a mention of the bonus of transpersonal experiences which are often accompaniments of the group process that I will describe. I will mention one study done by Wine and Crumpton (l9) that does make a few good points. In their work they divided 37 men into three groups. In group one were placed the men who had a negative attitude in their hospital surroundings, became irritable, demanding and spent much time making accusations. In the second group were those judged as not being successful in life; as might be expected, neither were they particularly successful in fasting. The third group worked together as a unit sharing each others’ problems. This was the one group that truly profited from the experience, gaining insights into their reasons for overeating, the realization of how superficial their lives had been and the discovery of their need to find a new way of life.

At Meadowlark we have the advantage of a setting of great natural beauty in the mountain-girded valley of Hemet, California, which is truly a space apart from the noisy structured life of a large city or hospital setting. This is no doubt a factor in making our group therapy more effective than the study just mentioned. There is also the advantage that our group makes no distinction as to who is included; thus those with poor self esteem have the support of the others. The addition of dream analysis not only helps one to discover the real person but it also frequently takes an individual who has never visited the realm into the dormant area of transpersonal reality. Too, our program takes the faster through exercise programming, biofeedback, psychosynthesis, various types of group encounter, and art therapy, often relating to dream experiences (as related in the chapter on dreams). Lastly but by no means least, much stress is placed upon the keeping of a personal journal.

Certainly one of the greatest benefits of the fast is the mental clarity that accompanies it, and another is the opportunity to discover the value of daily meditation. The group experience always adds to every aspect, for it gives support to each member; and the sharing, loving concern between members and staff frequently strengthens the faster’s personal image.

Membership in a Meadowlark fasters’ group is something that is taken very seriously, assuredly a factor in its success. To enter it is the guest-patient’s decision rather than the physician’s. No one is accepted for the group who is to be in residence for less than two weeks, and it is made very clear at the start that fasting is a discipline, that certain rules will be strictly adhered to. For instance, daily attendance at group meetings promptly at 7 a.m. is required, and sampling of food from the refrigerator is absolutely forbidden. Violation of either rule is grounds for asking the guest to drop out of the group. There are other, less rigid rules. To those who cannot meet the requirements, and it happens that some guests do ask for a less strenuous regime after a few days’ sampling, it is suggested that another, more appropriate time will come when they will feel more emotionally fulfilled and able to undergo the necessary discipline. This strictness has a salutatory effect on those who do succeed, for the accomplishment seems even greater.

Coming Off the Fast

The length of the fast has already been discussed, so we will turn directly to the plan of withdrawal from the fasting state. As a rule of thumb, approximately the same length of time should be given to the withdrawal phase as was spent on the fast. It should be remembered that at the end of the fast, the amount of digestive juices available is limited and the stomach may have considerably shrunk. Thus the initial feedings should be in small amounts at frequent intervals. Breaking this rule and gorging after a fast as some occasionally do, or eating highly refined or spiced foods, can have serious consequences, such as severe abdominal pain, diarrhea and vomiting. Deaths have even been reported from such impulsive behavior.

The longer the fast, the more care is needed in its method of termination. The usual procedure is to break it with fruit or vegetable juices. Meadowlark’s routine is one glass of fruit juice for breakfast and two to three of vegetables juices during the remainder of the day. In the case of fasts that have continued longer than a week, the juices should at first be diluted. These are sipped at intervals throughout the day and not gulped down as a substitute for a meal. The juices used have already been described under the discussion of the juice fast. The water intake should also be kept up so that a total daily fluid intake should average thirty milliliters per kilogram (one ounce per two pounds of body weight.) For a one-week fast, I would suggest two to three days of juice; for two weeks, double this. However, in case of obesity, one can stay considerably longer on the juice if it is so desired. From juices the next step is the introduction of a breakfast of fruits or Muesli,(20) and the other two meals of vegetables, largely raw or very lightly cooked. If there is a suspected reaction to foods, this is the time for presumptive food testing as already described. Lastly we would add dairy products and wheat, carefully noting any possible change in pulse rate or other symptoms that might suggest a reaction to either.’

If chronic illnesses are evident, such as arthritis, malignant states, ulcerative colitis, asthma, cardiovascular diseases, it is very advisable to stay permanently away from red meats such as pork, beef and lamb and consider the vegetarian way of life. If this is too difficult after a period of really good progress in overcoming the signs of the previous disease, it might be permissible to add fish, shell fish and chicken. There are several reasons for the use of vegetable proteins rather than animal that have already been discussed in the chapter on nutrition. It is also of interest to note how many people lose their appetite for meat on completion of the fast. Another benefit is that the appetite can once again discriminate between foods that are health building and those that destroy the body. The latter are very likely to leave a bad taste in the mouth that may persist for as long as several days. The so called junk foods destroy this discriminative sense and induce cravings for sugar, salt and other harmful foods.

The Significance of the Fast

Returns from a follow-up letter Meadowlark sent to fasters who were in a position to evaluate their fasts after a period of three or more years, reveal these remarks:

“was able to eliminate most of my migraine problems” . . .

“for at least six months there has been no evidence of hypoglycemia” . . .

“exhaustion gone, no depression” . . .

“the sustained weight loss was certainly helpful” (10 pounds lost on 11-days’ water fast still sustained). . .

“malabsorption problem is lessened” . . .

“It cleared my excess mucous problem” . . .

“able to stay off prednisone” . . .

“blood pressure now normal.”

Most of the fasting guests have noted that they have made permanent changes for the better in their diets with a greater feeling of health and well being; this usually means far less use of meats, refined foods and a greater consumption of vegetables in particular. The majority have kept on a regular, increased use of exercise as a part of their ways of life. Several have made a practice of finding time for daily meditation.

In conclusion may I share the comments of a housewife/psychologist who captures the meaning of her fast through reviewing her personal journal and sharing it with us:

Notes:

1. Cadbury, Henry 1., George Fox’s Book of Miracles, pp. 33, Cambridge University Press ’48
   
2. Stechschulte, D. and Dunn, M.; Starvation and Heart Failure, J. of Kansas Medical Society, Nov. ’65 pp.5OO Suzuki et al.; Fasting Therapy for Psychosomatic Diseases with special reference to its indications and therapeutic mechanism; Tohuku J. Experimental Medicine, 118 Suppl. 245, 1976.
   
   Duncan, Garfield—In fasting 1300 patients, Allan Cott reports his success with the treatment of hypertension, impaired pulmonary function, chronic heart disease and psoriasis
   
3. Cott, Allan; Fasting; the Ultimate Diet, Bantam Books ’75
   
4. Shelton, Herbert; The Hygenic System, Fasting and Sunbathing Vol. III Dr. Shelton’s Health School, San Antonio, Tex. 1934 revised 1963
   
5. Knutson, K.E. and Selinus, R.; Fasting in Ethiopia; An Anthropological and Nutritional Study; Am. J. Clinical Nutrition 23 (7) July ’70.
   
6. Gandhi, M.K.; Gandhi’s Autobiography, the Story of My Experiments with Truth; Public Affairs Press; Washington, D.C. ’48 7. Coca, Arthur F., The Pulse Test; Arco Publ. Co. N.Y.
   
7. Randolph, Philpott and Mandell; various papers delivered to groups interested in Medical Ecology. Also see Dickey, Lawrence; Medical Ecology; Thoms, Springfield ’76
   
8. Bircher, Ruth, Ralph, Alfred and von Brasch; Eating Your Way to Health, A Penguin Handbook; Baltimore ’72
   
9. Luce, Gay Gaer; Body Time, Pantheon Books ’71
   National Institute of Mental Health, Chevy Chase, Md., ’70; Biological Rhythms in Psychiatry and Medicine ’70; Tompkins and Bird; The Secret Life of Plants; Harper and Row Publ. ’72
   
10. Sakr, Ahmad; Fasting in Islam; Am. Diabetic Ass’n. Vol. 67, July ’75.
    
11. Boyd, Doug: Rolling Thunder; Random House, N.Y. ’74
    
12. Theosophical Research Center, London: Some Unrecognized Factors in Medicine; Theosophical Press, Wheaton, Ill. ’39.
    
13. Assagioli, Roberto: Psychosynthesis; Hobbs, Dorman Co. N.Y. ’65.
    
14. Levi: The Aquarian Gospel of Jesus the Christ; Leo Dowling, publisher, Los Angeles, 1908.
    
15. Potassium supplement: Sodium bicarbonate 2 parts Potassium chloride or citrate 1 part Citric acid 2 parts.
    
16. PH indicator papers – obtainable through Micro Essential Lab. Brooklyn, N.Y. specify range 6-8.
    
17. Spencer: Lancet ’68 Mount: Lancet July 6, 1944 Sakr, Ahmad (see note #10)
    
18. Bieler Broth: Equal amounts of green beans, celery and zucchini are placed in a saucepan with a small amount of parsley. Water is added. Cook on low heat for ten minutes until vegetables are just tender. This is blended till of a creamy consistency and then served.
    
19. Wine, D.B., Crumpton, E: Group Psychotherapy with 27 Starving Men, Psychiatry Digest 29 (7): 17-20, July ’68.
    
20. Muesli: Note 8 above

Professor Hayflick of the University of California, San Francisco, showed in the early 1960s that cells (he was using human connective tissue cells) in a laboratory dish, which were kept well-nourished and at optimum temperatures and conditions, would continue to divide up to around 50 times, after which they would start to die. When cells from older people were taken and treated in the same way they divided fewer times compared with embryonic cells, which when cultured divided more often. In all cases, whether the cells came from embryos or middle-aged or old people, they always reached a point in time when for no apparent reason their ability to divide and reproduce themselves declined, and they ultimately died.

What does a cell do while it is functioning?

Most of our body cells have unique and specific tasks to perform. They are not unlike integrated factories in which a constant supply of raw materials is delivered, entering via the cell membrane (factory gate) which keeps out what is undesirable and lets in (and out) what is needed, including fatty acids and glucose for energy production (fuel). Fuel for energy is essential so that a wide array of different substances can be manufactured, which will then be used or stored by the body, including proteins for the repair or building of tissues, energy storage molecules such as polysaccharides, and various fats and information storage units deoxyribonucleic acid and ribonucleic acid (DNA and RNA).

In order for the manufacture to take place accurately and efficiently a number of protein catalysts are essential at each stage of manufacture (catalysts are substances which take part in chemical processes but which are not themselves used up by the process). It is known that up to 200 million protein molecules, some used as catalysts, others in the structural creation of new molecules, are involved in this whole process, and exist together inside each cell. Each and every one of these proteins will have been encoded with their particular characteristics, uses and functions by DNA (genetic instruction and information messages).

Since proteins are made up of collections of building blocks called amino acids, the unique structure and attributes of each protein is decided by which of the twenty or so amino acids they contain~and the order in which these ‘building blocks’ are assembled. Each protein has different quantities and ratios to those found in another protein. This is why kidney cells are not me same as blood cells, and why brain tissue is not the same as skin. All are protein-based but each is different, and it is the DNA encoding which tells the cells which amino acids and what ratios and quantities of these to assemble in order to create that individuality.

This whole protein manufacturing process is carried out in the cytoplasm of the cell while the DNA is kept safely tucked away in the nucleus of the cell. So, whenever a new protein is required (a constant process) for use as a structural unit in the tissue of an organ or part of the body, it is necessary to send instructional blueprints from the nucleus DNA (the master copy) to the cytoplasm (from the central office to the factory floor so to speak). This is achieved by sending copies of that part of the DNA which is required, from the nucleus to the cytoplasm, as a plan containing separate instruction information on RNA (ribonucleic acid) molecules. This messenger RNA then acts as a blueprint/template from which the new protein is designed and manufactured in a unit of RNA/protein called a ribosome (just like a specific machine tool).

Hazards

While all this is going on it is possible for a variety of reasons for damage to occur to the cell membrane, to aspects of the cytoplasm or to the essential DNA controls. This is because while all the industrious activity is continuing round the dock, a variety of hostile factors are also present, including changes m temperature, radiation damage, free radical activity (a normal byproduct of oxygen metabolism), possible bacterial and viral assault, nutritional deficits, toxic accumulation and a host of as yet unknown hazards including the possible influence of the mind (negative emotions, poor stress coping etc.) on defensive and repair capabilities. Thus the factory in which protein is being manufactured also has a need for an efficient waste disposal system and a well-organized maintenance crew and fire brigade. In good health it has all of these in abundance.

These homoeostatic (self-regulating) functions are provided by a host of different enzymes and antioxidant substances which act to protect against toxicity and to deactivate free radical activity and repair damaged tissues, including DNA, when this is necessary. However, under adverse conditions the maintenance crew (enzymes mainly) and fire brigade (antioxidant and enzymes) can themselves be damaged and compromised and therefore become inefficient in their repair and defense functions.

This could well be the case where a diet and/or lifestyle provides an excessive quantity of free radical activity, such as derives from a diet high in fats and sugars, or an intake of excessive alcohol, tobacco smoke, environmental pollutants etc., especially when such exposure is also combined with a diet poorly supplied with anti oxidants such as are found in fresh fruits and vegetables – vitamins A, C, E etc.

Energy

All of our cells’ manufacturing and defensive functions including the copying onto RNA from DNA of the master plan, the sending of the RNA to the cytoplasm and the assembly and manufacture of the new protein, requires energy, and this is constantly being provided in cells by use (burning) of fats and sugars. In the cytoplasm of our cells lie a host of miniature energy production sites called mitochondria. These bum food (fats etc.) in the presence of oxygen in order to meet the energy needs of the cell. In the manufacturing process by-products called free radicals are formed. These have the potential for causing damage unless rapidly ‘switched off’ or ‘quenched’ by antioxidant nutrients (Vitamins A, C and E) or enyzmes (such as super oxide dismutase).

The rate at which our cells operate and use energy determines what is called our basic metabolic rate (BMR) which seems to be a major feature in understanding ageing processes, since slow BMRs are associated with longer life and speedy BMRs with shorter life expectancy. The BMR to a large extent decides our core temperature, another feature of life expectancy (low core temperature = longer life expectancy) and this is itself influenced by features such as hormonal balance. I will explain this more thoroughly in later chapters.

Problems

If there are problems in the nucleus of a cell due to damaged DNA, or if energy levels are poor and transportation of RNA or raw materials becomes sluggish, or if anything at all goes wrong in the protein synthesis (manufacturing) process, or should the cell membrane become inefficient in selectively allowing the passage of only desirable substances, then the cell will become inefficient, and start producing faulty material. It might also become unable to cleanse, repair and reproduce itself and would then ultimately perish.

The alterations which are seen in cells, as this array of changes occur, were outlined in the previous chapter, and are listed here once more, since they represent the very center of our search for the processes which have to be slowed or reversed if we are to achieve life extension.

These changes are dominated by the slow build-up in cells of ‘altered proteins’ which result in all or some of the following states:

1. Build up of age pigments (lipofuscin). The presence of these fat/protein granules (found in nerve and muscle cells) is largely the result of the loss of the ability to normalize cross-linkage of proteins and fats following free radical activity.
   

   
   

2. Enzymes which have changed in their sensitivity to heat and their functional ability to act as catalysts in various cellular activities.
   

   
   

3. Enzymes which behave poorly in their defensive roles as part of our immune function.
   

   
   

4. Plaque and tangles of tissue found in aged brain tissue (e.g. in Alzheimer’s disease).
   

As well as these accumulating deposits and changes there seems, with ageing, to be a tendency for both the quality and rate of protein synthesis to become increasingly disturbed. Whether these alterations are the result of a gradual loss of efficiency in dealing with the hazards of life, or whether they are the result of a built-in (genetically programmed) decline feature, remains a major question for research. What is known for certain is that where the efficiency of cell detoxification and DNA repair is operating at its best there is a coincidental increase in life expectancy.

These factors, therefore, lie at the heart of our search for an understanding of how to increase our normal life span, and they involve some of the problems and processes, on a cellular level, which are thought to play a large part in the ageing process.

If we accept a ‘wear-and-tear’ theory of ageing it seems to be
the likely outcome of a gradual overwhelming of the efficient
conduct of cells, as they start to work less productively,
accumulating more toxic debris, slowing down in their energy
production and generally failing to protect and repair themselves
in the face of a combination of undernutrition and toxicity (in its
widest sense) including free radical activity . . . unless there is
another factor, which most of us would recognize in relation to modern manufacturing techniques: built-in obsolescence.

Built-in obsolescence?

Cars and refrigerators have a time-span of normal use which the manufacturers estimate to be so many years, after which time they become uneconomical to repair. You then have to buy a new one. It is considered possible by many experts that just such a feature has been built into our DNA. That a genetic code exists which says, at a given point in time, ‘Enough, it’s time to go.’ It may also be the case that this ‘switching off’ decision, if it is genetically programmed, is only activated once a certain level of toxicity and inefficiency is reached, at which time the organism somehow recognizes a point of no return a moment to give up the struggle.

Strategies

As indicated in Chapter 1, the best results to date in extending life experimentally have been achieved by dietary manipulation, using either individually or in combination:

1. A degree of calorie restriction, or
   
2. Antioxidant nutrition (this quenches free radical activity).
   
3. Use of amino-acid substances to trigger growth-hormone
   production.
   

What is fascinating to those involved in nutritional medicine is the fact that similar strategies (1 and 2) including dietary restriction such as periodical fasting, together with an antioxidant (fruits/vegetables etc.) rich diet, have for years been effectively used to treat many chronic diseases and ailments associated with ageing, without particular emphasis (or even awareness) of their possible application to life extension as such.

Thus we have traditional naturopathic medicine (which employs mainly nutritional and fasting techniques as well as lifestyle modification) appearing to be the most experienced branch of healing in applying the very techniques which are advocated by orthodox research findings for the promotion of life extension.

Before examining aspects of the effects on life extension in animals, of numerous dietary restriction studies, we should briefly look at some of the results of work in the field of fasting and dietary restriction which has involved humans and animals in the treatment and prevention of disease. In examining this evidence you will have the chance to glimpse some of the ways in which we can use the knowledge gained from animal studies in our own situations, by modifying them towards what is practical and safe in everyday life.

As physiologist Dr Edward Masoro, of the University of Texas, San Antonio, states: ‘Once we learn how dietary restriction works, we’ll get clues for intervention that are more palatable than partially fasting for a lifetime.’ (Newsweek, 5 March 1990, page 37).

I hope the evidence in the next chapter will convince you that there are already ways which are both palatable and effective.

To be sure, some of these methods do have what appears to be a rejuvenating influence, not unlike that seen in the use of growth hormone as described in earlier chapters. That is to say there may be the apoearance of a restored youthfulness in certain respects’ with definite signs of a reversal in some of the outward manifestations of aging (wrinkles lessened, muscles firming, memory improving etc.) . . but there remains little evidence of any extension of life as a result.

The truth is that only one method of life extension has been proved to be effective, beyond any reasonable doubt, and that is the use of calorie restriction diets within the framework of full intake of all other nutrients. Even antioxidant nutrition, for all its known health benefits (whether through diet or supplementation), has only been shown to extend life in some species (not in all those tested, unlike calorie restriction). Reduction in oxidation activity is, in any case, itself a feature of what happens on calorie restriction diets. Also, a feature of what happens in calorie restriction is the reduction in metabolic rate and the consequent lowering of core temperature, making this a result of the life extension programme, rather than something necessarily needing to be engineered outside of it (although there seems to be no reason why use of methods which achieve this, as outlined in the previous chapter, should not be used to reinforce the dietary methods).

As we hear the siren calls of the various advocates of different life extension methods we need to keep in mind the fact that the one proven method of life extension (calorie restriction) also produces major health benefits, such as a far lesser chance of the diseases associated with old age ever appearing, and the very real chance of those which might already be apparent disappearing.

Do any of the other purported methods of life extension offer these benefits as well? Such health benefits would certainly be easier to prove than the somewhat hard to prove chance of a longer life. The answer is almost always no. Those supposed methods of life extension which I briefly outline below, offer little in the way of proof of prevention of ill-health or of the likelihood of promoting restoration of health once serious disease is present.

Some which do offer health enhancement potentials, such as lowering of excessive serotonin levels (see below) are also related to effects produced on the calorie restriction diet, as one of its many benefits.

So, just what is on offer in the marketplace of ways of increasing the human life span?

Hormones, serotonin inhibitors and the benefits of negative ions

1. Hormone replacement therapy in menopausal women is an example of the way in which a more youthful appearance, and some health benefits, can be created by use of medication. Possible side-effects are apparent in most cases, and none of the hormone replacement methods currently in use make any claim to extend life, merely to ensure that what remains of it has less physical impact.
   

   
   

2. L-dopa, a drug used in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease, has been found to have remarkable effects on rats in terms of starting elderly female animals ovulating again long after menopause, and in extending the average life spans of mice fed large amounts of the drug. In humans, when the drug is used therapeutically to help control the tremor of Parkinson’s disease, many older patients report a return of sexual urges, long since absent. There are many reported negative side effects when the drug is used in any quantity and there is no evidence of it having any capacity to enhance longevity, making its use of similar value to that suggested for synthetic antioxidants (see Chapter 14).
   

   
   Whatever ‘youthening’ effect l-dope has is considered by many to relate to its antagonism to serotonin, a substance used in the body in nervous system activities, but which tends to accumulate with age. There are theories which relate the accumulation of serotonin with a ‘death hormone’ release, and the benefits of l-dope with its suppression of excessive buildup of levels of serotonin. Serotonin accumulates more rapidly with age, more rapidly on a very high protein diet, and also more rapidly when atmospheric conditions tilt towards an excessive level of positive ions in the air.
   

   
   

3. Another theory has recently emerged which links decline in the levels of l-dope to a reduction in levels of growth hormone (Beth-EI, D., ‘Rejuvenating effects of natural L-Dopa content in Vicia Faba Golden Beans’ Israel Journal of Anti-Ageing Research (1990) 4:9-11). Researcher Dr Dan Beth-EI of the Institute of Gerontology in Israel says: ‘There is a progressive age-related decline in secretion of the hormone from the third to the ninth decade of life, and there is a direct biochemical relationship between this decline and lower levels of l-dope.’ He sees deficiency of l-dope as leading to growth hormone deficiency, resulting in slowness of movement, and speech, memory and thinking defects. At the same time bone density and body mass reduces while cholesterol and skin thickness, as fat deposition, increases (in other words: aging). One of his main answers to this is the abundant use of natural l-dope derived from broad (V~cia Faba golden) beans.
   

   
   ‘The amino acid l-dope is present in only one species of plant, and it is easily oxidized. Two or three days after harvest it declines and is absent by the time the plant finishes its growing period and starts to get dry.’ Two cupfuls (200 grams) of pods and seeds contain around 600 milligrams of 1-dope when picked fresh. Three days later this is down to 400 milligrams, and by the time they are marketed 200 grams of beans contain under 90 milligrams.
   

   
   These beans are now commonly used as a ‘natural’ treatment of Parkinsorls disease, at which time youth enhancing/anti-ageing characteristics are said to be evident. Dr Beth-EI states: ‘A constant daily inclusion of natural l-dope in meals will avoid exhaustion and later atrophy of the human brain dopaminergic system . . . prolonging the youth period of human life, and at the same time adding strength and capabilities to many body functions.’
   

   
   This extremely useful and apparently valid approach seems to help maintain youth, an outcome which is highly desirable but which is not the same as the achievement of life extension.
   

   
   

4. Positive ions, which encourage serotonin build-up in the nervous system, are increased by various phenomena – such as electrical storms, strong dry prevailing winds (like the mistral of southern France), modern synthetic furnishing materials, electrical equipment such as TV sets and VDUs, very poor ventilation in buildings (often associated with central heating, air conditioning, very low humidity and sealed windows), cigarette smoke and other atmospheric pollution – all of which stimulate production of serotonin (because of the positive ion levels).
   

   
   These effects can be reversed by exposure to negative ions, produced by plants, found in fresh air of reasonable humidity, and nowadays by special machines (ionizers) which are inexpensively available from electrical equipment stores. Negative ions reverse the build-up of serotonin and are therefore a far safer and more natural way of combating the damage this substance can cause, when present in excess, than by the use of drugs.
   

   
   

5. Experimentally it has been shown that animals kept on a low tryptophan diet (tryptophan is the constituent amino acid of protein from which serotonin is synthesized) have their lives extended almost as efficiently as those on calorie restriction programmes. Perhaps some of the benefits of calorie restriction is the result of the relatively low protein (and therefore tryptophan) intake which it demands
   

Ana Aslan’s Discovery

Romanian physician and researcher Ana Aslan has been responsible for developing a widely used anti-ageing substance called GH3. To understand the story behind this, we need to understand the effects of yet another important substance related to nervous system activity. We all have present in our systems an enzyme called monoamine oxidase (MAO), the job of which is to restore to normal levels any excessive amounts of certain neurohormones which might appear in tissues, and which are vital to normal function, such as epinephrine (adrenaline). As we age we build up larger and larger amounts of MAO which means that the deactivation of vital neurohormones can actually become excessive, to the point where this affects the nervous system and brain activity, often leading to depression.

Drugs called MAO inhibitors are prescribed in such conditions. However, these can, under different circumstances, lead to a wide range of unpleasant symptoms induding both very high and very low blood pressure swings, breathing and heart difficulties. The remarkable substance, GH3, developed in Romania, has been found to act as a safer MAO inhibitor than most other medications, and it is claimed that it also has a marked anti-ageing potential.

Ana Aslan reports that, in the 1940s, when she was using the local anaesthetic substance procaine in the treatment of arthritis and other pain conditions, she began receiving reports from patients of reduction in depression, and feelings of greater vitality and youthfulness. Later, on becoming head of a geriatric institute, she found that she could improve the likelihood of these benefits appearing by adding a number of additional substances such as benzoic acid and a potassium compound to the product, calling the result Gerovital H3 or GH3. This was administered intramuscularly three times weekly, and she claimed that it produced a number of anti-ageing effects.

Her claims have been variously proved and disproved over the years (poor results were usual when procaine has been tested alone without Dr Aslan’s additional substances which seem toimprove its usefulness). One of the more important positive investigations took place at the University of Southern California, where it was discovered that GH3 was a mild MAO inhibitor. Apparently it was specifically inhibiting that form of MAO which influenced levels of particular neurohormones such as norepinephrine, but not others. It therefore had many of the benefits of MAO inhibitors without their drawbacks.

Various animal studies indicate a slowing of the ageing process of cells of animals when GH3 is added to them, but no evidence as yet exists for life extension, as such, being achieved. More probably it acts by retarding some of the effects of ageing, which is enough justification for many people to undergo GH3 therapy, but is really not sufficient justification for adding it to a life extension programme.

Sulfa drugs

A commonly used drug, employed in treatment of certain bowel
disorders, and based on sulphur, has been shown to markedly
increase health, and to have a rejuvenating effect on humans and
animals. Sulfadiazine (salazopirin in Europe) is almost non-toxic,
only producing side-effects in about one person in a thousand,
and has been shown in human geriatric patients to improve
hearing, vision, sexual function, general state of tissues and
sense of well-being. There is, according to John Mann (Secrets of
Life Extension, Harbor, 1980) only limited evidence of actual life
extension, though, when used in animal studies, and the drug
probably allowed the animals to live longer than animals not
treated, rather than actually extending their natural life spans.

Cellular therapy

Swiss doctors have for over half a century been promoting the use of live cell injections in order to reverse the ageing process. Cellular therapy is now commonplace throughout Europe. It involves cells from embryonic animals (commonly sheep) being injected intramuscularly after being mixed in a saline solution. Additionally, organs and glands of various animals are injected
for specific effects. The general idea is that the genetic material (DNA and RNA) from these relatively uncontaminated creatures will transfer to the cells of the recipient helping them to function more normally as they age. Unlike cells from adult animals, the relatively immature immune systems of the embryos results in the cells not being rejected as foreign protein, it is thought. There are well substantiated claims for a rejuvenating effect from such methods, although no claims of actual life extension.

A logical development of this idea is gaining support, that cells should be taken from young people and stored until later in their life, when they could be injected in this way, acting as a boost to regeneration and immune functions. While there is little doubt that people receiving cell therapy seem to feel better, have better memory and general function, and often look much younger than previously, this does not constitute life extension.

Nucleic acid therapy

Nucleic acids (RNA and DNA), often derived from yeasts and sometimes from animal sources, are being used in an attempt to encourage life extension. This method has been promoted in the US for many years by Dr Benjamin Frank (Dr Frank’s No Aging Diet, B. Frank and P. Miele, Dell, New York, 1976) with apparent success. It is claimed that in animal studies a 30 to 50 per cent increase in life span has been achieved.

Dr Frank says: ‘RNA from foods and supplements, when combined with metabolically associated B vitamins, minerals, amino acids and sugars, will enter the cell and in so doing will bring about normal enzyme synthesis and activation’ He believes that nucleic acid therapy encourages the production of ATP (adenosine triphosphate), which can be synthesized from nucleic acid, and therefore lead to more efficient cell function, and indeed regeneration. Food sources of nucleic acids are brewer’s yeast, sardines, anchovies, mackerel, lentils and most beans, chick peas, animal liver, and oysters.

Supplementation with health store purchased DNA/RNA tablets is suggested by Dr Frank in doses of 100 to 200 milligrams daily. Benefits, which should emerge within two months on the programme, he says, include fewer wrinkles, improved color, and improved strength and well-being.

The use of nucleic acid will increase levels of uric acid, which, as we have seen, is a powerful antioxidant itself, but which we also know can trigger conditions such as gout when in excess. It is worth noting that the benefits which are claimed for nucleic acid therapy are similar to those which calorie restriction would produce anyway, including improved cell function; and the calorie restriction diet emphasizes the use of foods rich in nucleic acid.

Whether you should add supplements of RNA/DNA to the programme must be a personal choice. It can do little harm unless uric acid levels are high, and it might (just) help a calorie restriction diet. However, it would certainly add to protein intake, and this should be taken into account when assessing protein levels in relation to your weight.

Conclusion

It seems that whichever method we look at that has some degree of justification for its claims to influence either retardation of aging or promotion of actual life extension, we find these claimed effects such as the promotion of growth hormone, the influence of lowered core temperature, or antioxidant benefits are delivered naturally by calorie controlled dieting. Even when we come to some of the more unusual life extension methods, like serotonin reduction by drugs such as 1-dope, or MAO inhibition by the use of GH3, even supplementation with nucleic acid, all the benefits associated with such methods are available through application of the calorie restriction diet.

It is also important to remind ourselves that many of the antiageing effects produced by these assorted methods (other than calorie restriction) are not truly life extending, rather they give the appearance of youth, with some of the benefits (better function physically and mentally), but they do not add years to your life.

The other major benefit which calorie restriction offers is enhanced health, and while some of the additional methods mentioned make claims for particular benefits, none of them (apart from fasting and antioxidant nutrition perhaps) can make similar health claims, with any proof or authority.

The best way to extend your life, and to improve the quality of your life in terms of health, is to apply the calorie restriction diet described in this book. This can best be helped by periodic fasting, general supplementation, antioxidant supplementation, good stress coping skills, adequate sleep and exercise, access to negative ionization, and the application of methods such as meditation which encourage slower metabolic rates.

I wish all readers long, happy and healthy lives.

This powerful statement is among the most important findings made by research doctors Weindruch and Walford, based on the hundreds of animal experiments which they have conducted involving dietary modification and restriction (see Chapter 5). And, what is more, they believe that what they have found is available to all of us by simply applying the principles they have established from their studies.

As well as this, they point to another phenomenon, and that is that animals already ill with chronic disease at the start of the dietary restriction experiment frequently recovered full health, with the illness significantly improving or vanishing completely. They explain that a number of diseases arise ‘spontaneously’ (it might be more accurate to say they commonly arise, since they do not appear in everyone there is obviously a cause, and this cannot therefore be considered spontaneous) in humans as they age, including cardiovascular disease, cerebrovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, arthritis, osteoporosis, dementia, cataracts etc. Some of these are clearly life-threatening, adding markedly to the likelihood of a reduced life span, while others increase the chances of accidents as well as reducing the quality of life.

The animal studies that the two researchers conducted showed that not only are these diseases far less likely to occur when diet is modified, but that if they do occur it will be at a far later stage in the life of the animal. Thus ‘spontaneous’ diseases of old age are reduced in animals that live on a diet which contains a full complement of nutrients (vitamins, protein etc.) but which has a lower than usual level of calorie content.

A longer life, less chance of developing serious disease and even recovery from such disease if it already exists. These are quite astounding and revolutionary claims.

Different patterns of dietary restriction

The ways in which animals are induced to achieve a restricted diet varies. In some instances they are allowed to eat whatever they wish of a fully balanced diet for a restricted amount of time; often this is for 12 hours every other day. In other instances they are fed a known amount of food which represents between 40 and 70 per cent of what similar animals would eat when offered the chance to feed whenever they wish. In some experiments these restricted amounts are boosted by supplements of nutrients to ensure that no deficiencies occur. Diets which contain an identical amount of nutrients (apart from calories) to those given to non-restricted animals are called isonutrient diets.

The animals were started on a restricted diet both very early in life, and later in life to compare the effects brought about by early and late changes. In each case the diet, when used experimentally, produced similar results in increased life span and reduction of disease, but it was found that when the diet restriction was started early in life it could have particularly harmful side effects through changes in the development of the animal, unless nutrient intake was kept at levels of absolute excellence.

These two research pioneers say that they decided to introduce adult animals to dietary restriction with the express purpose of learning more about the improvements in the disease patterns commonly seen in human ageing. Such eating patterns, they believe, can plausibly be usable in humans. But, in responding to the two searching questions which they had posed-‘Can adult dietary restriction slow down the onset of late-life disease in humans? and ‘Can human adult dietary restriction forestall the progression of, or aid in curing, ongoing diseases?’ – their answer included what can only be a mistaken assumption because they said: ‘Although human data are unavailable, results of adult dietary restriction studies in rodents, although much less extensive than early life dietary restriction studies, also show favourable effects on late-life disease patterns.’

The assumption that no data exists to support human results following dietary restriction ignores much research into therapeutic fasting and naturopathic treatment methods which include dietary restriction. I will outline these methods later in this chapter and in other chapters.

Fasting patterns

On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays Weindruch and Walford had fed their experimental animals an isonutrient diet (that is, all the nutrients that a free feeding animal would receive but with calorie restriction), and they reported equal success in terms of life extension and disease reduction with animals fed every day but in reduced quantities. Whichever regimen, their overriding rule was that the animals were never malaourished and always received their total requirement of protein, vitamins and minerals whilst calories were restricted. The pattern of feeding, therefore, was one of ‘undernutrition without malnutrition’.

If you or I were eating on alternate days only, we would be fasting on the others, and even if we ate just once daily, we could be said to be fasting for the rest of the day. It is in the variations of patterns of eating and fasting that we should look to find our personal strategies, for it is the effects of periodic fasting which might hold the key to the door to life extension and disease reduction. The benefits seem always to be the same whatever variation in pattern used, as long as the basic principle of calorie restriction is kept to.

Reduction in disease levels

From strains of rats and mice specially bred for experimental it is possible to select types which are more than commonly prone to particular diseases. These may involve different types of tumour (lung, breast, leukaemia etc.) or a variety of other chronic degenerative diseases. When such prone types were used in the dietary restriction experiments of Weindruch and Walford the development of a wide array of diseases was seen to be delayed and the overall incidence was dramatically reduced. As the dietary restriction programme was intensified the disease prevention effects became greater and this was most marked in the case of cancers of many types. On top of this, research also shows that despite the dietary restriction normal physiological function is maintained and in many instances improved.

Weindruch and Walford’s experimental work is recent and ongoing. Another man’s efforts in researching the nutrition health link dates back to earlier this century, but it is no less valid and important today than it was when he carried it out.

McCarrison’s Indian observations

During his many yeas in India, the famed medical researcher into nutrition, Sir Robert McCarrison, observed the varying patterns of health current amongst different groups on the subcontinent. He was fascinated by the different levels of health and physical efficiency, and found that the single factor that had the most profound influence on these characteristics was not the climate, endemic disease or race, but food. His first observations were of the decline in stature, body weight, stamina and efficiency of the people as he traveled from the north to the south of India. He compared this with the local diets and found a direct and constant correlation in that there was a fall in nutritive value of the commonly eaten food, from north to south. He makes the following statement in his book Nutrition and Health (McCarrison Society, London, 1982):

This is not to say that in these parts [the south] there are not
people of good physique nor that in the north of India there
are not many whose physique is poor. But speaking of the
generality of the people, it is true that the physique of northern races of India is strikingly superior to that of southern, eastern and western races. This difference depends almost entirely on the diminishing value of the food . . . with respect to the amount and quality of proteins, the quality of the cereal grains forming the staple article of the diet, the quality and quantity of the fats, the minerals and vitamin contents, and the balance of the food as a whole.

What were the diets?

In northern India at that time grains such as wheat were eaten, usually as whole grains. Whole wheat has a high protein content,

McCarrison observed, especially when eaten freshly ground, with the grain retaining much of its high levels of minerals and vitamins. Also, in the north, the diet included milk products such as clarified butter (ghee), buttermilk and curds, as well as pulses (lentils mainly, eaten as dhal) and fresh vegetables and fruit. Meat was eaten sparingly if at all, although some groups such as the Pathans ate it in abundance.

By comparison the southern diet was based on white rice (mainly milled, polished or parboiled [often all threel, following which it was washed in many changes of water and finally boiled, reducing its nutritional value to virtually nil). Little milk protein was consumed in the south and meat was largely proscribed for religious reasons, and there was only a poor intake of vegetables and fruit.

McCarrison’s experiments

Just as and longevity research is based on animals because human experiments are impossible, having made his observations amongst humans, set out to prove his thesis by applying to laboratory rats – all of which started from the same level of well-being – the various patterns of diet he had seen. Rats mature about 30 times faster than humans, making an experiment lasting 140 days equivalent to roughly 12 years in human terms.

In his first major experiment in this series he took seven different groups of the same strain of rat, with each group containing 20 rats, each having an even number of males and females, matched for body weight. They were kept in large cages under precisely the same conditions, each group being fed on a different pattern of diet, containing exactly the normal ingredients of either the Sikhs, the Pathans, Ghurkas, Mahrattas, Kanarese, Bengalis or the Madrasis. After 80 days and 140 days the animals were weighed and photographed, and their health was monitored throughout. The results proved precisely what McCarrison had anticipated, that the best diet of all was the Sikh (abundant in all nutrients) and the poorest the Madrasi (high in poor quality carbohydrate and deficient in protein and other nutrients).

This initial experiment so impressed McCarrison that he decided in future to keep his stock of rats (used for other experiments) on the Sikh diet. He had roughly 1,000 such animals to which he subsequently fed whole grain chappatis, fresh butter, sprouted pulses, raw fresh vegetables (cabbage, carrots) plus milk and water. Dry crusts were provided to keep their teeth healthy. Once a week a small amount of meat and bone was given. The rats were kept in these conditions for an average of two years – about 50 to 60 years in human terms, with young rats being taken periodically for experimental purposes and the older 1,000 being kept on the diet for breeding purposes.

Over a five year period McCarrison noted no case of illness, no death from natural causes, no maternal mortality and no infantile mortality amongst this group of rats. They were of course kept clean and had exposure to the sun daily and were generally well cared for, but the same conditions and care were given during these years to thousands of other rats fed deficiently on southern Indian diets, amongst which a wide variety of illness was observed. It was the altered diet which provided a disease-free environment for the rats, and this corresponded with a sturdier physique, just as McCarrison had observed amongst humans following these different dietary patterns.

He concluded that if attention is paid to three things cleanliness, comfort and food – it is possible to exclude disease from a colony of cloistered rats, and that it is possible greatly to reduce disease by the same means in human beings.

McCarrison’s final experiments

Having found that the Sikh diet provided an ideal for good health and long life, McCarrison then took two groups of 20 matched rats and fed one on a Sikh diet and the other on a typical British diet (white bread, margarine, sweetened tea, a little milk, boiled potatoes and cabbage, tinned meat and tinned jam). The differences between the two groups of rats were dramatic and rapidly observable. The Sikh-diet fed rats were, as in previous studies, contented and healthy. The British-diet fed rats did not flourish:

Their growth was stunted; they were badly proportioned; their coats were sparing and lacked gloss; they were nervous and apt to bite; they lived unhappily together, and by the 60th day began to kill and eat the weaker ones amongst them.

The experiment continued for 187 days – around 16 years in human terms. The ‘British’ rats showed a tendency to diseases of the lungs and gastrointestinal disease, while those on the ‘Sikh’ diet were free of such problems. McCarrison noted that when he kept rats on either the deficient Madrasi diet, an even worse Travancore diet or a Sikh diet, for 700 days (50 human years) many animals died, and peptic ulcers developed in 29 per cent of the Travancore-diet group, in 11 per cent of the Madrasidiet group and in none of the Sikh-diet group. This is precisely the pattern of ill-health seen in humans living on the same diets. ‘Here again, we see that a disease common in certain parts of a country can be produced in rats by feeding them on the faulty diets in common use by the people of these parts.’

McCarrison has proved similar dietary connections in numerous other disease patterns found in humans, including skin diseases (ulcers, abscesses, dermatitis); diseases of the eye (cornea! ulceration, conjunctivitis, cataracts); diseases of the ear (otitis media); diseases of the nose (rhinitis, sinusitis); diseases of the lungs and respiratory passages (adenoids, pneumonia, pleurisy); diseases of the alimentary tract (dental disease, gastric ulcer, cancer of the stomach, duodenal ulcer, enteritis, colitis); diseases of the urinary tract (pyonephrosis, pyelitis, renal stones, nephritis, cystitis); diseases of the reproductive system (endometritis, premature birth, uterine hemorrhage, testicular disease); diseases of the blood (anaemia, pernicious anaemia); diseases of the Iymph glands (cysts and abscesses); diseases of the endocrine glands (goitre, adrenal hypertrophy, atrophy of the thymus, hemorrhagic pancreatitis); diseases of the heart (cardiac atrophy, cardiac hypertrophy, myocarditis, pericarditis); diseases of the nervous system (polyneuritis, beri-beri, degenerative lesions); diseases of the bone (crooked spine); general diseases (malnutrition oedema, scurvy). ‘All these conditions had a common causation: faulty nutrition with or without infection.’

McCarrison’s heroic studies, whatever may be thought of the suffering of the animals involved, have provided a basis for understanding a relationship between nutrition and health and can help us to see the relevance of Weindruch and Walford’s research more clearly. There is a direct correlation between diet and disease, and the restricted patterns of eating which this research has looked into (in contrast to what might commonly be eaten in industrialized societies) are seen to have clear benefits to offer in terms of reduced levels of disease. But, what effect on everyday ability to function does a restricted diet have in humans?

Do Kuratsune’s dietary experiment on himself and his wife

Interesting results emerged when Professor Masanore Kuratsune, former Head of the Medical Department of the University of Kyushu in Japan, decided to see what would happen if he followed a restricted dietary intake similar to that provided to concentration camp inmates, using the same food content, sometimes cooked and sometimes raw.

He and his young breast-feeding wife continued with their activities and normal lives during the length of the three periods of restricted feeding involved (120 days, 32 days and 81 days). The quantities of food consumed daily were between 22 and 30 grams of protein, 7.5 to 8.5 grams of fat, and 164 to 207 grams of carbohydrate. This amounted in total to between 729 and 826 calories daily (whereas the recommended minimum would be 2,150 calories for their body size).

In camp conditions there was often a rapid onset of ill-health, with infection and anemia common, while nothing of the sort occurred during these three periods of restricted diet, apart from when the intake of food was switched from raw to cooked food. The diet of fresh and raw food (consisting entirely of whole grain rice (soaked not cooked) plus shredded greens and fruit, with no animal protein at all) kept the couple healthy and active, with the wife finding her milk supply increased rather than decreased. But, when the experiment switched to cooked food (same ingredients) they both developed symptoms of hunger, oedema and weakness, which vanished when the eating of raw food was reintroduced.

This personal study was recounted in a 1967 monograph written by Dr Ralph Bircher of Zurich, and entitled Way to Positive Health and Vitality published by Bircher-Benner Verlag, Switzerland.

Raw food diet applied to rheumatoid arthritis at London Hospital

Dr Ralph Bircher also outlines the application of a raw diet, restricted in calories, to people with chronic disease, citing the dozen classic cases documented on film, in which the dietary approach developed by his father Dr Max Bircher-Benner was used at the Royal Free Hospital in London just before the Second World War.

One of these cases is outstanding in its demonstration of just what can happen when dietary restriction is applied to a serious crippling degenerative disease like rheumatoid arthritis. This involved a 55-year-old woman who had been afflicted with this condition for over two years and who was bed-ridden, unable even to sit up, and quite unable to stand, walk or use her arms or hands. She was dependent upon two people for all her needs.

For two weeks she consumed nothing but raw food, salads and fruit, following which she was allowed a liffle lightly cooked vegetable food as well as the raw food. For six weeks there was no change apart from the development of even more severe pains, and finally a high temperature. This was seen as the turning point, following which improvement was seen month by month until after five months she was walking with sticks. By ten months she was pain-free and had regained most of her mobility. One year after beginning the programmed she was fully mobile. Ten years later, still following a 75 per cent raw food diet she was digging her garden and growing her own food.

Some dietitians argue that the diet outlined was deficient, unlike the isonutrient diets of Drs Weindruch and Walford. Dr Bircher would disagree, saying that the high enzyme content of raw food compensates for an apparent lack of protein or other nutrients. The fact is that many people have survived in excellent health for many years on just such a diet.

Where does fasting fit into all this?

Later in this book, after evaluating the life extension effects of animal studies, I suggest strategies which mimic these experiments and which you can put into daily practice. For now, the purpose of this chapter is to highlight a different aspect of the potential which this knowledge offers us, the use of fasting and dietary modification as a means of health promotion, rather than with the aim of life extension.

Fasting is not starvation

During starvation (once fatty tissue has been used up) the body draws on its own essential protein reserves for fuel, whereas in fasting it is the non-essential fat and protein stores which are used for this purpose. Clearly, if fasting continues for too long a period, starvation will take over, but no such risk exists when fasting is used according to certain strict guidelines which I will explain.

One definition of fasting is of a period during which no solid food is taken and when (ideally) water only is consumed. Fasting in the treatment of chronic disease has been used for centuries, and research into its effectiveness has been carried out for at least 100 years. ¹ A number of university studies have been conducted which show quite clearly just what happens to the various body
systems when humans and animals fast.^2,3 In some of these strictly controlled studies prolonged fasting (months in some cases) was shown to produce no harmful effects, only benefits. Some of the diseases which have been found to improve with fasting are listed at the end of this chapter.

What happens to the body on a fast?

The body’s basic metabolic rate (BMR), which is an index of the rate at which the body burns fuel to create energy, is seen to slowly reduce, by around one per cent daily until it stabilizes at 75 per cent of its normal rate.⁴ In animal studies a number of ways have been found to slow BMR, induding dietary (calorie) restriction and the cooling of core temperature (such as occurs during hibernation)⁵ and indeed one of the major markers of animals and humans whose potential life spans are extended by use of reduced calorie intake is a slowing down of the rate at which they ‘burn’ oxygen; in other words their BMR slows down. The effect of fasting, in slowing BMR, is therefore one way in which it promotes longevity. Just how this is achieved is of some importance for it brings into play a degree of adaptation in which energy is conserved, making the process more ‘thrifty’. Weindrudh and Walford have shown that longevity is directly linked to efficient energy consumption (‘thrifty’ as opposed to ‘burner’ animals and people).

When fasting begins, the first source of energy which is tapped is the stored glucose in the liver (glucose is vital for brain function and red blood cells). When its own stores are used up, and whatever remaining food in the digestive tract has been used as an energy source, the body begins to synthesize more glucose, taken as stored glycogen from muscle tissues. After about 24 hours these sources will be depleted, and free amino acids and protein, and later fat stores (triglycerides), from various nonessential sites will be turned into energy by the liver and the kidneys.

A combination of a lower requirement for energy and careful use of what fuels are available (including some recycling, for example of red blood cells) allows fasting to continue for many weeks before any vital tissues become threatened (unless at the starting point the faster is already emaciated or malnourished). The longer the fast continues the more efficient the body function in reducing its dependence on glucose and the more efficiently it uses fatty tissues for its reduced energy requirements.⁶
Changes seen on a fast

A wide array of biochemical changes occur during fasting, some of them unpredictable, being dependent on your state of health at the outset. Many, however, are predictable, including hormonal changes of particular significance to longevity.⁷ Except in very overweight people, one of the key changes seen is an increase in the production by the pituitary gland of Growth Hormone (GH), of which much more will be heard in our continued exploration of life extension mechanics.

From the viewpoint of enhanced health there are the many beneficial changes which take place in immune function during fasting.⁸ Most of these improvements, notably affecting immune function, carry on into the period after the fast. This is perhaps the most important aspect of fasting for better health.

What fasting can achieve

Among the conditions successfully dealt with by fasting alone are the following: diabetes,⁹ gangrene,⁹epilepsy,^10,11obesity (although this condition requires counselling and lifestyle modification for continued benefit),¹²heart disease,^13,14,15pancreatitis,¹⁶poisoning with toxic chemicals (dramatic benefits with seven to ten day fasts),¹⁷autoimmune disease such as glomerulonephritis, ¹⁸ rheumatoid arthritis,^19,20,21 (a 1984 study in the US²² showed remarkable improvement after seven-day fasts), food allergy,²³ psoriasis, varicose ulcers, bronchial asthma, schizophrenia and many more (references to these are given by Salloum and Burton, reference 6 below).

Recent proof from Norwegian research

A one year study of people with rheumatoid arthritis was carried out in Norway. The researchers stated that while fasting is proven as an effective treatment for rheumatoid arthritis, many patients relapse when they start eating again. In this study they followed the four week semi-fast with a one year vegetarian diet, and it was found that all the benefits of the fast (marked reduction in number and intensity of swollen joints, pain and stiffness; increased strength; improved blood chemistry and overall health status) were maintained at the end of the year. The fast itself was not total but included herbal teas, vegetable broth and vegetable juices (no fruit juices because of sugar content). The calorie intake during the fast ranged between 800 and 1,250 per day. When eating was resumed the participants were, for the first three to five months, asked to avoid meat, fish, eggs, dairy produce, refined sugar, food containing gluten (e.g. wheat), citrus fruits, strong spices, tea, coffee, alcohol and preservatives. After this they were allowed dairy produce and gluten-containing foods, unless there was any reaction to them (swollen joints or pain etc.) in which case these foods were stopped again.

The calorie intake during this stage of the treatment is not given, but it must have been in the region of 1,800 and 2,000 calories, as recommended by life extension experts. The conclusion of these researchers from the University of Oslo was:

We have shown that a substantial reduction in disease activity can be obtained by fasting followed by an individually adjusted vegetarian diet. We do not believe that this regimen carries a health risk; on the contrary it seems to be a useful supplement to ordinary medical treatment.²⁴

Side effects of fasting

During the early stages of fasting a number of predictable changes occur which commonly lead to headache, nausea, dizziness, coated tongue, body odour, palpitations, muscle aches, discharge of mucous and skin changes.

These symptoms need to be borne philosophically since they represent a necessary passage in the healing process. The benefits to be gained are well worth the short-term inconvenience of this catalog of minor problems which commonly vanish after a few days, to be followed by a sense of well-being and clarity of mind of remarkable degree.

It is essential if a fast is to be carried out for more than 48 hours that there is a degree of guidance available from a health professional who is experienced in fasting techniques, ideally a naturopathic practitioner. For shorter fasts the guidelines given later in this book will be sufficient.

It is now time to examine the Weindrudh and Walford research into longevity enhancement – natural life extension and the prescription for youth.

References

1. ‘Dr Tanner’s Fast’, British Medical Journal (1880) ii:V1
   
   
   
2. Morgulis, S., Fasting and Undernutrition (E.P. Dutton, New York, 1923)
   
   
   
3. Keys, A. et al, The Biology of Human Starvation Volumes 1 and 2 (University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, 1950)
   
   
   
4. Goodhart, R., Modern Nutrition in Health and Disease 6th Edition (Lea & Fabiger, Philadelphia, 1980)
   
   
   
5. Hochachka, P. & Guppy, M., Metabolic Arrest and the Contml of Biological Time (Cambridge, Harvard University Press, 1987)
   
   
   
6. Salloum, T. & Burton, A., ‘Therapeutic Fasting’ from Textbook of Natural Medicine , ed: PDrno and Murray (Bastyr College Publication, Seattle 1987)
   
   
   
7. Kernt, P. et al, ‘Fasting: the history, pathophysiology and complications’ Western Journal of Medicine (1982) 137:379-99
   
   
   
8. Palmblad, J. et al, ‘Acute energy deprivation in man: effect on serum immunoglobulins, antibody response, complement factors 3 & 4, acute phase reactants and interferon producing capacity of blood Iymphocyted Clinical Experimental Immunology (1977) 30:50-5
   
   
   8b. Win& E. et al, ‘Fasting enhanced immune effector mechanism in obese patients’ American Journal of Medicine (1983) 75:91-6
   
   
   
9. Allan, F., ‘Prolonged fasting in diabetes’ American Journal of Medical Science (1915) 150:480-5
   
   
   
10. Hoefel, G. & Moriarty, M., ‘The effects of fasting on the metabolism’ American Journal of Diseases in Children (1924) 28:16-24
    
    
    
11. Lennox, W. & Cobb, S., ‘Studies in epilepsy’ Archives of Neurology and Psychiatry (1928) 20:711-79
    
    
    
12. Duncan, C. et al,’ Intermittent fasts in the correction and control of intractable obesity’ American Journal of Medical Science (1963) 245:515-52
    
    
    
13. Gresham, G., ‘Is Atheroma a reversible lesionr Atherosclerosis (1976) 23:379-91.
    
    
    
14. Suzuki, J. et al, ‘Fasting therapy for psychosomatic disease’ Tohoku Journal of Experimental Medicine (1976) 118(supp):245-59
    
    
    
15. Sorbris, R. et al, ‘Vegetarian fasting in obese patients: a clinical and biochemical evaluation’ Scandinavian J. Gastroenterolgy (1982) 17:417-24
    
    
    
16. Navarro, S. et al, ‘Comparison of fasting, nasogastric suction and cimetidine in treatment of acute pancreatitis’ Digestiom (1984) 30:224-30
    
    
    
17. Imamura, M. et al, ‘A trial of fasting cure for PCB poisoning patients in Taiwan’ American Journal of Internal Medicine (1984) 5:10-53
    
    
    
18. Brod, J. et al, influence of fasting on the immunological reactions and course of glomerulonephritis’ Lancet (1958) 760-3
    
    
    
19. Lithell, H. et al, ‘A fasting and vegetarian diet treatment trial on chronic inflammatory disorders’ Acta Derm. Venereol . (1983) 63:397-403
    
    
    
20. Skoldstam, L. et al, ‘Rheumatoid disorders’ Scandinavian Journal of Rheumatology (1979) 8:249-55
    
    
    
21. Skoldstam, L. et al, impaired con A suppressor cell activity in patients with rheumatoid arthritis shows normalization during fasting’ Scandinavian Journal of Rheumatology (1983) 12:4:369-73
    
    
    
22. Kroker, G. et al, ‘Fasting and rheumatoid arthritis: a multicentre study, Clinical Ecology (1984) 2:3:137-44
    
    
    
23. Gerrard, J., Food Intolerances’ Lancet (1984) ii:413
    
    
    
24. Kjeldsen-Kragh, J. et al, ‘Controlled trial of fasting and one-year vegetarian diet in Rheumatoid Arthritis’ Lancet (1991) 899-904.
    
    
    

    
    

    Experimental Evidence of Life Extension
    
    ]]> 15340 https://healthy.net/2000/12/06/fasting-mono-diets-and-raw-food-days-and-chelation-therapy/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=fasting-mono-diets-and-raw-food-days-and-chelation-therapy Wed, 06 Dec 2000 13:28:02 +0000 https://healthy.net/2000/12/06/fasting-mono-diets-and-raw-food-days-and-chelation-therapy/
    
    In Chapter 4 I provided evidence of the usefulness of fasting in health promotion. Why and how should this knowledge be incorporated into a life extension prograrnme/calorie restriction diet? First, the why.
    

    
    Benefits of fasting
    

    
    
    1. Fasting provides the body with the opportunity for a ‘physiological rest’ which allows the speeding up of detoxification and healing processes. A demonstration of this was provided by fasting treatment in Japan of people poisoned by toxic cooking oil, in which ‘dramatic’ relief was seen after seven to ten day fasts (American Journal of Industrial Medicine (1984) 5:10-53), and also by treatment of acute pancreatitis where fasting was found to be preferable to drugs or other therapy (Digestion (1984) 30:224-30).
       

       
       

    2. Fasting enhances irarnune function. We saw evidence of this in treatment of auto immune diseases such as glomerulonephritis, where fasting shortened its early stages and improved the chances of recovery (Lances (1958) i:760-3). The conclusion of the doctors involved was that ‘all patients with acute glomerulonephritis should fast’. In another auto immune condition, rheumatoid arthritis, patients who fasted showed significant improvement in their ability to grip, in reduction of pain and of swellings, lowered erythrocyte sedimentation rate and improved general functional ability, after a seven day fast (Clinical Ecology (1984) 2:3:137 44). These benefits were confirmed by the one year Norwegian study referred to in Chapter 4.
       

       
       

    3. Fasting stimulates production of growth hormone (see Chapter 7) which is of particular significance to life extension. This phenomenon is not as obvious in people who are very much overweight.
       

    
    John Mann, writing in Secrets of Life Extension (Harbor, San Francisco, 1980) said: ‘The effectiveness of fasting as a life extension measure is fairly well backed by experimental evidence.’ He describes one research study in which rats were made to fast on one day out of three throughout their lives (normal eating on the other days). They achieved a 20 per cent increase in life span compared with non-fasted rats. This has nothing to do with calorie restriction, according to Mann, who cites enhanced general function and growth hormone stimulation as more likely factors.
    

    
    Naturopathic medicine
    
    Fasting for health has been an integral part of naturopathic medicine for a century or more, and practicing naturopaths in Europe, Australia, New Zealand, India, South Africa and North America will have experience of these methods, as will medical doctors who use the methods of treating allergy called Clinical Ecology, since they use five day fasts as a normal measure to investigate and treat chronic allergy.
    

    
    So how should you go about achieving some of the benefits of fasting, since spending one day in three on water for the rest of your life may well be unappealing! Guidance and advice from such a practitioner as mentioned above is advised should there be any reason (see below) why short fasts should not be conducted on your own, or if you require the support of someone experienced in the method when you first start.
    

    
    Cautions
    

    
    
    1. First, this is not something to do for anything more than a short period (defined as 48 hours) unless you are under the supervision of a health professional who understands the physiology of fasting. Even short one and two day fasts require guidance and this is provided below.
       

       
       

    2. No-one who has a serious health problem should fast unsupervised unless they have experience of the process. This includes anyone who is diabetic or pregnant (not that fasting is contraindicated, only that it requires expert guidance under these circumstances).
       

       
       

    3. No-one who is currently taking prescription medication should fast unless under the supervision of an expert.
       

       
       

    4. No-one who has a history of eating disorders such as anorexia or bulimia should fast unless under supervision.
       

    
    Technique for a short fast
    
    Important note: The fasting methods outlined here are not aimed at treating anything. Therapeutic fasting, while a health problem is being addressed by this method, calls for personal evaluation by a suitably qualified practitioner who would then prescribe a particular fasting pattern, as well as ensuring that some guidance and supervision were available. The fasting which is being described is preventive, and aimed at enhancing already existing well-being, not as a treatment.
    

    
    
    1. The ideal way to start a fast is to have a light meal the night before the first day of the fast, say a small bowl of natural yogurt, or a light vegetable or chicken soup.
       

       
       

    2. In modern life a weekend is the perfect time for most people to apply fasting, since it interferes least with normal life, especially if they are working during the week (working and fasting are not a good idea at the same time!). You should ensure that you have available a means of contacting a health expert, ideally having warned them that you might contact them if problems or anxieties should occur during your fast (highly unlikely).
       

       
       

    3. If you feel ready, then start the fast by having only a bowl of yogurt or soup on Friday night.
       

       
       

    4. On Saturday your forward planning should have kept the day clear of any obligation to get involved in anything physical, and you should avoid the need to drive. Arrange to have some light reading or some pleasant music to listen to. Keep the day free of any social or work obligations.
       

       
       

    5. Take the day slowly, drinking water (it’s a good idea to add a mere touch of lemon juice to freshen your mouth) whenever thirsty and ensuring that through the day you drink no less than a litre and no more than three litres of water.
       

       
       Some people prefer to fast on diluted juices. Strictly speaking this is no longer a fast, since the sugars in the juice prevent the physiological changes of a fast from progressing (ketotic metabolism).- A sense of hunger rapidly disappears on a fast but is maintained far longer when juices are being used. Juice days (‘restricted diet’) are, however, sometimes useful before and after a fast, and are used as appropriate during a long fast if this is considered necessary by a practitioner. On a short (24 to 48 hours) fast, juice is best avoided, apart from that small squeeze of lemon juice in the water you drink.
       

       
       

    6. Expect that on this first day you might develop a headache, a sense of nausea, a furred tongue, and possibly a sense of anxiety and restlessness. More likely though will be a feeling of tiredness and unnatural coldness of your extremities. None of these signs and symptoms is unusual or a cause for any concern. The headache/nausealfurred tongue are all signs of detoxification starting, with some degree of liver overload. They wi11 pass, requiring no treatment, and will, with subsequent fasts and the overall dietary improvement, become less and less obvious as the need for deta~afication reduces and your liver becomes more efflcient.
       

       
       You can clean your teeth or rinse your mouth out whenever the taste becomes unpleasant (a usual occurrence at the beginning of a fast).
       

       
       The symptoms of anxiety/restlessness might indicate that withdrawal signs are appearing in relation to a chronic food allergy. This happens because we literally become addicted to substances to which we are allergic if we have them frequently in our diet. The frequency of exposure prevents them producing obvious allergy symptoms, but produces chronic symptoms (called a ‘masked’ allergy) which you might never relate to allergy. If these symptoms of edginess, anxiety and restlessness do not pass within 24 hours, break the fast (see below for how to do this) and consult an expert (naturopath, clinical ecologist etc.) for further guidance.
       

       
       No medication or supplementation should be taken during a fast, and if you are on a course of such treatment you should clear with whoever prescribed it that you can abandon it for the duration of the fast. If you cannot stop the medication do not fast without supervision. No smoking of any sort should be allowed during a fast.
       

       
       

    7. If you do have any detoxification symptoms, avoid at all costs any use of medication to treat this, since the body reacts unpredictably when fasting. A far simpler means of getting rid of the symptoms, if you can’t face continuing with the fast and its early and short-lived symptoms, is to break it (see below). Usually, though, all that is needed is patience and rest to allow the body to take care of itself. All social and business obligations should be put on hold, and stress avoided if at all possible. This is a time for physiological and mental rest.
       

       
       

    8. Your bowel function may stop during the fast, and this is not something about which you should be concerned. If a fairly high intake of vegetables (raw) and fruit was achieved on the day before the fast, then a bowel movement should occur during it. If not there is no reason to resort to enemas or other methods of making the bowels open, as they will take care of this function on their own in the fullness of time. Do not be concerned, and do not take anything to reverse the situation, if the bowels do not work for a day or so after the fast (or even if a degree of diarrhea is noticed).
       

       
       

    9. Avoid exercise during the fast, although some fresh air and a little walking are fine. It is highly desirable that some exposure to sunshine be achieved (not sunbathing) if possible.
       

       
       

    10. As indicated, you might feel a little cold, so dress more warmly than usual (one extra layer of clothing) and rest in pleasant surroundings as much as you can. This is not a social time, but best reserved for sleep, rest and contemplation. Even reading might be too much of an effort in the early stages.
        

        
        

    11. By Sunday afternoon you should be feeling comfortable, without apparent hunger, the headache and nausea should have eased, and you should have slept more peacefully than for many years. Your mental function should have a clarity you had forgotten existed. It is time to break the short fast (the same procedure is used for a short and a long fast).
        

        
        

    12. Around mid-afternoon on Sunday (assuming you started on Friday night with the small meal recommended) take one of the following:
        
        
        
        1. An apple, either raw or baked in the oven, or lightly stewed (no sweetening) or
           
           
        2. a small bunch of grapes or
           
           
        3. a few prunes or
           
        4. a small bowl of live yogurt or
           
        5. a small bowl (mug) of thin homemade vegetable broth/soup.
        
        

        
        Whichever of these you have, try to make each mouthful a meal in itself, chewing it thoroughly, even when in a liquid state. Take a long time eating this first ‘meal’, and then rest. An hour or so later have another of the choices offered on the list, in a slightly larger quantity.
        

    
    Say that so far you have had some stewed apple at 4 pm, and a bowl of yogurt at 5:30 pm. Now, at around 7:30 to 8 pm have a slightly more substantial intake of food, but only if you feel like it. If you are hungry have either a small mixed salad with cottage cheese, or a lightly boiled egg, or a slightly more substantial (thicker) soup. As before, chew each mouthful for as long as you can. If you are not hungry, wait until breakfast the next morning, at which time resume your normal food intake, although you will probably want a little less than usual.
    

    
    How often should you fast?
    
    It is an excellent idea to introduce a two day fast as a quarterly part of your programme. Two days of fasting, every three months, is not going to place any great strain on your leisure or social time, and offers a magnificent method of regularly ‘spring cleaning’ yourself.
    

    
    Some people increase their frequency of fasting to every six weeks, and this is a matter of personal choice. The truth is that the more often you fast, within reason, the less obvious are the symptoms of nausea etc. and the greater are the benefits of clarity of mind and sense of abundant energy and well-being which follow.
    

    
    What about one day fasts?
    
    A 24 hour fast achieves something, but not nearly as much as the 48 hour version, and the benefits from a one day fast take a lot longer to show. Nevertheless, 24 hour fasts are better than no fasts at all, and they can certainly be applied on a six-weekly or even monthly basis. All other guidelines are the same as for the 48 hour fast given above.
    

    
    Monodiets
    
    A variation of the fasting technique is the introduction of periodic days, or several days at a time, on one food only – a monodiet. The foods involved are open to personal taste, and among those most successful and popular are grape diet (a period during which grapes only are eaten), rice diet (said to be ideal for helping reduce high blood pressure) and potato diet (like the rice diet, often used for specific health purposes, such as treatment of rheumatic disorders). However, for the purposes of our life extension programme the monodiet is not being suggested as a therapeutic measure, but as an alternative to complete fasting aimed at encouraging general well-being, and preventing health problems rather than trying to deal with them.
    

    
    If a monodiet is decided on, then all the same rules apply as for fasting. A weekend is ideal, following the monodiet for 48 hours. Less care is needed in breaking the monodiet than would be the case for a fast, so that in a weekend setting the Sunday evening meal could simply revert to a normal one, rather than
    going through the various gentle stages required to safely break a fast.
    

    
    Effects such as headache etc. are possible on a monodiet, but less intensely so than on a fast. Monodiets are recommended for people who wish to avoid the rigours of fasting but who want to increase the detoxification/health enhancing effects which fasting offers. They achieve the same thing as fasting but very much more slowly.
    

    
    When eating whatever food has been selected, a small amount (say 6 or 7 grapes, or an ounce or two of cooked rice) should be very well chewed whenever hunger is felt, which could be seven or eight times during the day. The total amount eaten should be small (no more than a pound of cooked rice or a pound of grapes through the day). In between, drink water as required.
    

    
    Raw food
    
    In Chapter 4 the methods used by Dr Bircher-Benner were described, showing some of the remarkable results he obtained in Switzerland and at the Royal Free Hospital, London, using raw food as the only method of treatment of chronic disease such as rheumatoid arthritis. The rich source of enzymes available through eating raw foods makes them a highly suitable addition to the calorie restriction diet, in terms of prevention and enhanced well-being. Raw food days or meals, though, should not be thought of as a treatment for anything in our particular purpose.
    

    
    The menus discussed in the previous chapter offer the chance to include at least one raw meal daily as a main meal (salad or fruit) and such an approach is highly recommended. It is also possible to further boost the benefits of raw food eating by allotting a day a week to raw food only (a day a week is only a suggestion; it could just as easily be a day a fortnight, or a weekend a month, or any odd day that the mood takes you, whatever is easiest for you). On such days, increase the intake of vegetables and fruits so that you meet your calorie requirements mainly from these sources, with protein and fat being derived from fresh nuts and seeds, or as a single exception to the raw food theme, by a small amount of pulses/grains (say a rice and lentil savoury).
    

    
    As long as you are getting fairly dose to your calorie, protein and fat requirements (the exact meeting of all needs is not something to become obsessed about) the benefits of raw food eating will be felt, and will add appreciably to the value of the programme. Some people follow raw food eating all the time, and feel nothing but good results. The social difficulties of this might create stress, however, so the suggestion offered is that raw foods should be the main part of at least one meal daily, and that a day every now and then (weekly, fortnightly etc.) should be allotted to raw food only. Raw food patterns are not an alternative to fasting but an addition.
    

    
    Chelation therapy
    
    In Chapter 8 I described the potential that free radicals have for creating cellular damage and havoc. In the next chapter one of the additional life extension health promotion strategies which will be outlined will be the use of antioxidant supplements which can assist the calorie restriction diet to keep free radicals under better control.
    

    
    Another method is also available. This is not as a self-help measure, however, but one which has powerful anti-free radical potential. It is chelation therapy, and it uses an artificial amino acid called EDIA. EDTA was first developed to treat people suffering from heavy metal toxicity in industry, such as lead poisoning in shipyards following the painting of ships with leadbased paints. EDTA was used to chelate (chemically bind) with the lead, allowing its elimination from the body. Other benefits were observed after its use, and Elmer Cranton, writing in The Journal of Holistic Medicine (1984 6:21) states the case as follows:
    

    
    EDTA can reduce the production of free radicals by a millionfold. It is not possible for free radical pathology to take place or be accelerated by metaUic ions in the presence of E1~A. Traces of unbound metallic ions are necessary for uncontrolled proliferation of free radicals in living tissues. EDTA binds ionic metal catalysts, making them chemically inert and removing them from the body.
    

    
    He goes on to describe an important finding in Switzerland:
    

    
    Free radical inhibition by EDTA may explain the recently
    published observation of Blumer in Switzerland, who reported a 90 per cent reduction in deaths from cancer in a large group of chelated patients (they had all been chelated
    following a lead toxicity scare in their area) who had been
    carefully followed over an 18 year period. When compared
    with a statistically matched control group (who had received
    no chelation therapy) Blumer reported a ten times greater
    death rate from cancer in the untreated group, compared to the
    death rate of the patients who had been treated with EDTA.
    A greatly reduced incidence of cardiovascular disease was also
    observed.
    

    
    Here then were people, all living in similar city environments, of the same age and sex, and eating roughly the same diets, who had a 10-fold difference in incidence of cancer, with the only difference between them being that some had received chelation therapy some 20 years earlier, and others had not.
    

    
    As described earlier, it is now largely a matter of accepted medical fact that free radical damage plays a major part in the onset of cancer and in developing the scene for cardiovascular disease, and EDIA removes this risk dramatically by chelating surplus ionic metals from the system. Elmer Cranton has documented the benefits of EDIA therapy to people suffering cardiovascular and other diseases in his book Bypassing Bypass, and I have given my explanation of its value in my 1991 book Chelation Therapy. Chelation therapy’s only drawback is its cost, since it is generally only available privately unless you are suffering from obvious heavy metal toxicity.
    

    
    Chelation therapy involves a series of infusions of EDIA in a solution into a vein, a process which takes up to 90 minutes, and which needs to be repeated as much as 20 times over a three month period in order to get maximum benefits. If you wish to learn more about this remarkable and useful approach to switching off free radical pathology you are referred to one of the books just mentioned.
    

    
    In the next chapter I deal with the usefulness of additional supplementation to augment and support the calorie restriction programme.
    

    
    

    Supplementation
    
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    • The Process and Benefits of Fasting
      
    • Fasting Examples
      
    • Hazard of Fasting
      
    • How to Fast
      
    • Timing of Fasts
      
    • Breaking a Fast
      
    • Juice Specifics
      
    • Other Aspects of Healthy Fasting
      
    • Conclusions
      

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    Fasting is the single greatest natural healing therapy. It is nature’s ancient, universal “remedy” for many problems. Animals instinctively fast when ill. When I first discovered fasting, 15 years ago, I felt as if it had saved my life and transformed my illnesses into health. My stagnant energies began flowing, and I became more creative and vitally alive. I still find fasting both a useful personal tool and an important therapy for many medical and life problems.
    

    
    Of course, most of the problems for which I recommend fasting as treatment are ones that result from overnutrition rather than malnutrition. Dietary abuse problems, more common in the Western world than in Third World countries, generate many of the chronic degenerative diseases that I have written so much about; these include atherosclerosis, hypertension and heart disease, allergies, diabetes, and cancer. I believe that fasting is therapeutic and, more importantly, preventive for many of these conditions and more.
    

    
    As I use the term here, fasting is the avoidance of solid food and the intake of liquids only (true fasting would be the total avoidance of anything by mouth). The most stringent form of fasting is taking only water; more liberally, fasting includes the use of fresh juices made from fruits and vegetables as well as herbal teas. All of these limited diets generate varying degrees of detoxification—that is, elimination of toxins from the body. Individual experiences with fasting depend on the condition of the body (also mind and attitude). Detoxification might be intense and temporarily increase sickness or might be immediately helpful and uplifting.
    

    
    Juice fasting is commonly used (rather than water alone) as a mild and effective cleansing plan; this is suggested by myself and other doctors and authors and by many of the European fasting clinics. Fresh juices are easily assimilated and require minimum digestion, while they supply many nutrients and stimulate our body to clear its wastes. Juice fasting is also safer than water fasting, because it supports the body nutritionally while cleansing and probably even produces a better detoxification and quicker recovery.
    

    
    Fasting (cleansing, detoxification) is one part of the triology of nutrition; balancing and building (toning) are the others. I believe that fasting is the “missing link” in the Western diet. Most people overeat, eat too often, and eat a high-protein, high-fat, rich-food, building and congesting diet more consistently than they need. If we regularly eat a more balanced and well-combined diet, such as my Ideal Diet, we will have less need for fasting and toning plans, although both would still be required at certain intervals throughout the year.
    

    
    In a sense, detoxification is an important corrective and rejuvenative process in our cycle of nutrition. It is a time when we allow our cells and organs to breathe out, become current, and restore themselves. We do not necessarily need to fast to experience some cleansing, however. Minor shifts in the diet such as including more fluids, more raw foods, and fewer congesting foods will allow for better detoxification; for a carnivore, for example, a vegetarian or macrobiotic diet will be cleansing and purifying. The general process of detoxification is discussed thoroughly in the General Detoxification program; here we focus on fluid fasting—its history, therapeutic use, benefits, contraindications, and, of course, how to do it, along with other aspects of lifestyle that support fasting.
    

    
    Fasting is a time-proven remedy. Its use goes back many thousands of years, really to the beginning of life forms. As a healing process and spiritual-religious process, it has continued to be more intelligently applied, we hope, in the last several thousand years.
    

    
    Voluntary abstinence from food has been a tradition in most religions and is clearly a spiritual purification rite. Many religions, including Christianity, Judaism, and the Eastern religions, have encouraged fasting for a variety of reasons, such as penitence, preparation for ceremony, purification, mourning, sacrifice and union with God, and the enhancement of knowledge and powers. From Moses, Elijah, and Daniel to Christ, the Bible is filled with fasters, who employed it to assist their purification and communion with God. Fasts as long as 40 days were employed to cleanse people of sins and the “devil.”
    

    
    The Essenes, authors of the Dead Sea Scrolls, also advocated fasting to purify themselves and commune with God. This was one of their primary healing methods. The Essene Gospel of Peace, transcribed by Edmond Bordeaux Szekely from the third-century Aramaic manuscript, suggests that Satan, his evil spirits, and his plagues will be cast out of our being by fasting and prayer. The Essenes believed that disease came from Satan (they claimed that it took three days without food to starve Satan) and from sins upon our body—the temple, which must be purified for God to reside there. To bring God into our life more completely, we would fast on water and “go to the waters (stream, lake) and find a hollow reed, insert it in our rear ends and flush the evils from our bowels.”
    

    
    For many philosophers, scientists, and physicians, fasting was an essential part of life, health, and the healing process needed to recreate health where there was sickness. Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Galen, Paracelsus, and Hippocrates all used and believed in fasting therapy. Most spiritual teachers also recommend fasting as a useful tool. In a booklet from the 1947 lecture entitled Healing by God’s Unlimited Power, Paramahansa Yogananda suggested that fasting is a way to increase our natural resistance to disease, stating that “Fasting is a natural method of healing. When animals or savages are sick, they fast.” He continued, “Most diseases can be cured by judicious fasting. Unless one has a weak heart, regular short fasts have been recommended by the yogis as an excellent health measure.” Yogananda referred to an Armenian doctor, Grant Sarkisyan, who had treated many patients successfully with fasting therapy for such disorders as asthma, skin diseases, digestive problems, and early stages of atherosclerosis and hypertension.
    

    
    Throughout the centuries, many doctors have treated a variety of patients and maladies with fasting, acknowledging that ignorance (of how to live in accordance with nature) may be our greatest disease. Knowledge, not necessarily from books, but our inherent and experienced knowing of how to live according to the natural laws and spiritual truth, leads to the sacred wisdom of life and subsequent good health. Knowing when and how long to fast is part of this knowledge. Through fasting, we can turn our energies inward, where we can use them for healing, clarity, and change.
    

    
    Physicians with a spiritual orientation tend to be more inclined than others to employ fasting, both personally and medically. Many of my life transitions were acknowledged, stimulated, and supported through fasting; and when I felt blocked or needed creative juice in my writing, fasting would be very useful. In Spiritual Nutrition and the Rainbow Diet, Gabriel Cousens, M.D., a California physician and spiritual teacher, includes an excellent chapter on fasting in which he describes his concepts of fasting and his own 40-day fast. According to Dr. Cousens,
    

    
    

    . . . fasting in a larger context, means to abstain from that which is toxic to mind, body, and soul. A way to understand this is that fasting is the elimination of physical, emotional, and mental toxins from our organism, rather than simply cutting down on or stopping food intake. Fasting for spiritual purposes usually involves some degree of removal of oneself from worldly responsibilities. It can mean complete silence and social isolation during the fast which can be a great revival to those of us who have been putting our energy outward.
    

    
    

    
    From a medical point of view, I believe that fasting is not utilized often enough. We go on vacations from work to relax, recharge, and to gain new perspectives on our life; why not take occasional breaks from food? Or, for that matter, we might consider fasts from phones, cars, computers, talking, or from whatever activity/consumption we feel is excessive. Most people cannot break out of the conditioned pattern of eating three meals daily. Eating is a habit, an addiction. Most of us do not need nearly the amounts (and types) of food we consume. I have discussed allergy-addiction in many sections of this book; in a sense, eating itself is an allergy-addiction. When we stop and let our stomach remain empty, our body goes into an elimination cycle, and most people, especially when toxicity exists, will experience some “withdrawal” symptoms, such as headaches, irritability, or fatigue (only pure hunger is a clear sign of need for food). When they eat again, their withdrawal symptoms subside, and they feel better. This situation is worse when it involves allergic people eating allergenic foods.
    

    
    I believe that fasting is one of the best overall healing methods because it can be applied to so many conditions and people. Those who are acid, sympathetic, or yang types, who tend to develop congestive symptoms and diseases rather than those of deficiency, do better on fasting than do other types. Some acid conditions, including colds, flus, bronchitis, mucus congestion, and constipation, can lead to headaches, other intestinal problems, skin conditions, and many other ailments. Those who follow a basic, wholesome, and balanced diet such as outlined in this book have less need to fast or detoxify, although on occasion it is a good idea for anyone, provided that they are not undernourished. Most of us living in Western, industrialized nations are mixed types, with both overnutrition and undernutrition. We may take in excessive amounts of potentially toxic nutrients, such as fats and chemicals, and inadequate amounts of many essential vitamins and minerals. Juice fasting supplies some of these needed nutrients and allows the elimination of toxins. Excess mucus and clogging of the eliminative systems constitute the basic process of congestive diseases; deficiency problems result from poor nourishment or ineffective digestion/assimilation.
    

    
    In the General Detoxification program, a number of symptoms and diseases of toxicity that can be alleviated by detoxification are discussed. Juice fasting is mentioned as part of the treatment plans in many other sections as well. It can be used to detoxify from drugs or whenever we want to embark on a new plan or life transition, provided that there are no contraindications to fasting (discussed later in this section). Fasting is very versatile and generally fairly safe; however, when it is used in the treatment of medical conditions, proper supervision should be employed, including monitoring of physical changes and biochemistry values. Many doctors, clinics, acupuncturists, nutritionists, and chiropractors feel comfortable overseeing people during fasting.
    

    
    

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    Conditions for which Fasting May Be Beneficial
    

    
    

    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    

    colds	atherosclerosis
    flus	coronary artery disease
    bronchitis	angina pectoris
    headaches	hypertension
    constipation	diabetes
    indigestion	fever
    diarrhea	fatigue
    food allergies	back pains
    environmental allergies	mental illness
    asthma	obesity
    insomnia	cancer
    skin conditions	epilepsy

    
    
    
    

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    The use of fasting to treat fevers is controversial. Eastern medicine thinks of fasting as increasing body fire, so that it might worsen fever. In actuality, when we consume liquids, we generate less heat, so this really helps to cool the body. With fever, we need more liquids than usual; with high temperatures and sweating, we need even more.
    

    
    Some cases of fatigue will respond well to fasting, particularly when the fatigue results from congested organs and energy. With fatigue that results from chronic infection, nutritional deficiency, or serious disease, more nourishment is probably needed, rather than fasting.
    

    
    Back pains that are due to muscular tightness and stress rather than from bone disease or osteoporosis are usually alleviated with a lighter diet or juice fasting. Many tight muscles and sore areas along the back may result from referred pain from colon or other organ congestion. In my experience, poor bowel function and constipation are fairly commonly associated with back pains.
    

    
    Many patients with mental illness, from anxiety to schizophrenia, may be helped by fasting. The purpose of fasting in this case, however, is not to cure these problems but to help understand the relationship of foods, chemicals, or drugs to the mental difficulties. Allergies and hypersensitive environmental reactions are not at all uncommon in people with mental illness. Care must be exercised with the use of fasting in mental patients as the toxicity or lack of nourishment may worsen their problems. If, however, the patient is strong and congested, fasting may be indicated.
    

    
    Obesity can be remedied by fasting. Obesity is the problem for which fasting is currently most often used (mainly protein drinks) in the traditional medical system, although it is not the best use of this healing technique. Fasting is not even a good treatment for those who are overweight; it is too temporary and may generate feasting reactions in people coming off the fast. Better would be a change of diet and a longer-term weight-release plan; something that will allow new dietary habits and food choices to replace the old ones. A short fast, perhaps of five to ten days, can be useful as a motivator and catalyst for making these necessary dietary changes and new commitments and to help release a pound or two daily.
    

    
    Some very obese patients have been monitored by doctors while on water fasts done in hospitals for months at a time to shed weights of a hundred pounds or more. With other patients, the jaws have been wired shut so that they can take in only fluids drunk through straws. Newer fasting programs substitute a variety of protein-rich powders for meals. These are usually medically supervised programs for people who are at least 30-50 pounds overweight and make use of a prepackaged, low-calorie powder, such as Optifast or Medifast. This high-protein, low-calorie diet allows patients to burn more fat. These programs are not nearly as healthful as vital juice fasts, but they are nutritionally supportive over a longer time period and can be used on a outpatient basis fairly safely if people are monitored regularly. They provide all the needed vitamins, minerals, and amino acids to sustain life and help many obese people to lower their weight, blood fats, blood pressures, and blood sugars. However, as with any weight-loss program, if it does not motivate the participants to change their diets and habits, they then may stay in the “yo-yo” syndrome (weight going up and down and up), which may actually be more harmful than just remaining overweight.
    

    
    A balanced, low-calorie diet with lots of exercise is still the best way to reduce and maintain a good weight and figure. Many obese people are also deficient in nutrients because they eat a highly refined, fatty, sweet diet. Often, these obese people are fatigued, and they need to be nourished first before they will do well on any fast.
    

    
    Fasting to treat cancer is also a controversial topic. Many alternative clinics outside the United States use fasting in the treatment of cancers. Since cancer can be a devitalizing, debilitating disease, this may not be wise. Possibly with early cancer, and definitely as a cancer preventive to reduce toxicity, juice fasting may be helpful. Anyone with cancer needs adequate nourishment, and adding fresh juices to an already wholesome diet can help induce a mild detoxification and enhance vitality.
    

    
    The Process and Benefits of Fasting
    
    Although the process of fasting may generate various results, depending on the individual condition of the faster, there are clearly a number of common metabolic changes and experiences. First, fasting is a catalyst for change and an essential part of transformational medicine. It promotes relaxation and energization of the body, mind and emotions, and supports a greater spiritual awareness. Many fasters feel a letting go of past actions and experiences and develop a positive attitude toward the present. Having energy to get things done and clean up old areas, both personal and environmental, without the usual procrastination is also a common experience. Fasting clearly improves motivation and creative energy; it also enhances health and vitality and lets many of the body systems rest.
    

    
    In other words, fasting is a multidimensional experience. Physiologically, refraining from eating minimizes the work done by the digestive organs, including the stomach, intestines, pancreas, gallbladder, and liver. Most important here is that our liver, our body’s large production and metabolic factory, can spend more time during fasting cleaning up and creating its many new substances for our use. Breakdown of stored or circulating chemicals is the basic process of detoxification. The blood and lymph also have the opportunity to be cleaned of toxins as all the eliminative functions are enhanced with fasting. Each cell has the opportunity to catch up on its work; with fewer new demands, it can repair itself and dump its waste for the garbage pickup. Most fasters also experience a new vibrancy of their skin and clarity of mind and body.
    

    
    Initially, the reduction of calories allows the liver to convert glycogen stores to glucose and energy. Body fat can be used for energy (ATP) but it cannot generate or reform glucose; although many cells can metabolize fatty acids for energy, the brain and central nervous system need direct glucose. Proteins can be broken down into amino acids; of these, alanine and serine can be used to produce glucose. With fasting, some protein breakdown occurs, less if calories are provided by juices. When there is no stored glycogen left, our body will convert protein to amino acids and to energy. Fatty acids can also be a fair source of energy, usually after being converted to ketones. With total fasting, ketosis occurs as an adaptation by the body to prevent protein loss by burning fats. Still, protein and fats can be used to provide energy for brain cell function. With juice fasting, there is less ketosis, and the simple carbohydrates in the juices are easily used for energy and cellular function. The high-protein diets and fasts do burn fat and generate ketosis and weight loss, but they also add more toxin buildup in the body from the foods or powders used. Also, they do not rest and cleanse the digestive tract and other organs as well.
    

    
    Fasting increases the process of elimination and the release of toxins from the colon, kidneys and bladder, lungs and sinuses, and skin. This process can generate discharge such as mucus from the gastrointestinal tract, respiratory tract, sinuses, or in the urine. This is helpful to clear out the problems that have arisen from overeating and a sedentary lifestyle. Much of aging and disease, I believe, results from “biochemical suffocation,” where our cells do not get enough oxygen and nutrients or cannot adequately eliminate their wastes. Fasting helps us decrease this suffocation by allowing the cells to eliminate and clear the old products.
    

    
    

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    Some Benefits of Fasting
    

    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    

    Purification	More energy
    Rejuvenation	Better sleep
    Revitalization	More relaxation
    Rest for digestive organs	Better attitude
    Clearer skin	More clarity, mentally
    Antiaging effects	and emotionally
    Improved senses—vision,	Inspiration
    hearing, taste	Creativity
    Reduction of allergies	New ideas
    Weight loss	Clearer planning
    Drug detoxification	Change of habits
    Better resistance to disease	Diet changes
    Spiritual awareness	Right use of will

    
    

    
    
    

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    This physiological rest and concentration on cleanup can also generate a number of toxicity symptoms. Hunger is usually present for two or three days and then departs, leaving many people with a surprising feeling of deep abdominal peace; yet, others may feel really hungry. It is good to ask ourselves, “What are we hungry for?” Fasting is an excellent time to work on our psychological connections to consumption.
    

    
    As far as fasting symptoms, headache is not at all uncommon during the first day or two. Fatigue or irritability may arise at times, as may dizziness or lightheadedness. Our sensitivity is usually increased. Common sounds like television, music, refrigerators may irritate us more now. The sense of smell is also exaggerated, both positively and negatively; I have had whole meals of smells while fasting. The tongues of most people will develop a thick white or yellow fur coating, which can be scraped or brushed off. Bad breath and displeasing tastes in the mouth or foul-smelling urine or stools may occur. Skin odor or skin eruptions such as small spots or painful boils, may also appear, depending on the state of toxicity. Digestive upset, mucusy stools, flatulence, or even nausea and vomiting may occur during fasting. Some people experience insomnia or bad dreams as their body releases poisons during the night. The mind may put up resistance, with doubt or lack of faith or a fear that the fasting is not right. (This can be influenced even more by listening to other people’s fears.) Most of these symptoms, however, will occur early if they do appear and are usually transient. The general energy level is usually good during fastings, although there can be ups and downs. Every two or three days, as the body goes into a deeper level of dumping wastes, the energy may go down, and resistance and fears as well as symptoms may arise. Between these times, we usually feel cleaner, better, and more alive.
    

    
    The natural therapy term for periods of cleansing and symptoms is “crisis,” or “healing crisis.” During these times, old symptoms or patterns from the past may arise, usually transiently, or new symptoms of detoxification may appear. This “crisis” is not predictable and is thus often accompanied with some question by the fasters as well as their practitioners—is this some new problem arising or is it part of the healing process? Usually only time will tell, yet if it is associated with the fasting and one or more of the common symptoms, it is likely a positive part of detoxification. We should use the maxim of healing, Hering’s Law of Cure, to guide us—it states that healing happens from the inside out, the top down, from more important organs to less important ones, and from the most recent to the oldest symptoms. Most healing crises pass within a day or two, although some cleansers experience several days of “cold” symptoms or sinus congestion. If any symptom lasts longer than two or three days, it should be considered as a side effect or a new problem possibly unrelated to cleansing. If there is a problem that worsens or is severe and causes concern, such as fainting, heart arrhythmias, or bleeding, the fast should be stopped and a doctor consulted.
    

    
    A doctor or knowledgeable practitioner should supervise anyone for whom fasting is questionable—that is, anyone in poor health or without fasting experience. If the fast is extended for more than three to five days, regular monitoring, including physical examination and blood work should be done, probably about weekly. Fasting may reduce blood protein levels and will definitely lower blood fats. Uric acid levels may rise secondary to protein breakdown, while levels of some minerals, such as potassium, sodium, calcium, or magnesium, may drop. Iron levels are usually lower, and the red blood count may also drop during this time.
    

    
    Nutritionally, fasting helps us appreciate the more subtle aspects of diet, since less food and simple flavors become more satisfying. My early fasts definitely reawakened my taste buds and allowed me to appreciate and desire more natural foods. Mentally, fasting improves clarity and attentiveness; emotionally, it may make us more sensitive and aware of feelings. I have seen on several occasions individuals making decisions based on new clarities brought out during fasts. Fasting clearly supports the transformational evolutionary process. For example, when we really “get” that our spouse is not going to change his or her habits of eating, watching TV, or being too busy to really relate to us—that the priority of the relationship is very low and the love is clearly not there—it may be time to make a change. With fasting, we can feel empowered to do things we only thought about before. Fasting can precipitate emotional cleansing as well. Attitude and general motivation are usually uplifted with cleansing. Spiritually, juice fasting offers a lesson in self-restraint and control of passions, which help us in many avenues of life.
    

    
    Fasting is a simple process of self-cleansing. We do not need any special medicines to do it; our body knows how. Provided that we are basically well-nourished, systematic undereating and fasting are likely the most important contributors to health and longevity. Fasting is even more important to balance the autointoxication that results from common dietary and drug indiscretions.
    

    
    I look at fasting as “taking a week off work” to handle the other aspects of life for which there is often little time. With fasting we can take time to nurture ourselves and rest. Fasting is also like turning off and cleaning a complex and valuable machine so that it will function better and longer. Resting the gastrointestinal tract, letting the cells and tissues repair themselves, and allowing the lymph, blood, and organs to clear out old, defective, or diseased cells and unneeded chemicals all lead to less degeneration and sickness. As healthy cell growth is stimulated, so is our level of vitality, immune function and disease resistance, and our potential for greater longevity.
    

    
    Fasting Examples
    
    J.R. did a 67-day fast on juices at age 20 when he joined a fasting and health-food-oriented community in 1975. He describes feeling great and very light. In fact, he lost a lot of weight. His only problems were skin sores that would not heal. These were of course, seen as a detox process. Medically, they could be attributed to protein/nutrient deficiency as well. This long fast on juice nutrients was a major transitional period for J.R. to change his diet to raw foods and strict vegetarianism. It also helped change his beliefs and motivation for life.
    

    
    S.R. was very overweight and in a family relationship that was not supporting her growth. She clearly grasped for spiritual unfoldment. She was very strong, had loads of energy and various congestive symptoms—a prime candidate for fasting. After she began her fast, she decided to go 30 days on Master Cleanser with my support. She did wonderfully, lost 24 pounds, and wasn’t through yet. For the next 30 days, she did my seven-food diet (apples, lemons, alfalfa sprouts, brown rice, carrots, almonds, and broccoli), picking seven primary foods to make up her diet, thus continuing her willpower and diet focus. After that, S.R. did another 30-day fast on Master Cleanser and other juices. She did well. During these months she moved from bookkeeping and typing into the healing arts. She left her husband and moved to the Midwest to take a job assisting a well-known physician in her healing research.
    

    
    

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    *There are many choices that will make up a relatively balanced diet.
    

    
    B.D. and C.D.—This father (B.D., age 46) and son (C.D., age 15) attended a recent fasting group. B.D. was 50 pounds overweight (231, 5’9″) and had high blood pressure. On exam B.D.’s cholesterol was 214. He had in the past followed a low-
    fat, Pritikin-like diet and felt better. He was really ready for a change and wanted to
    fast. He wanted me to see his son to evaluate whether he also could join the fasting group. C.D. was an overweight (181, 5’9″) teenager on a typical teenage diet but inspired toward health.
    

    
    B.D. did incredibly well on the Master Cleanser for 10 days, feeling fine and energetic and dropping his weight to 213. His new diet plan became more vegetarian, wholesome, and low fat, and included one- to two-day fasts weekly, plus a week-long fast every few months. A follow-up four months later found him well and busy in a new job. His weight had gotten to a low of 195 and he stabilized at about 202 with his diet. The positive value he received was that he realized that he could be in control of his diet. He was in much better shape and his self-esteem was much higher; of course he could see his feet and the earth again as his pant size dropped from 42″ to 36″.
    

    
    C.D. dropped his weight from 182 to 171 with the fast and was an inspiration to the fasting group. His body and face changed dramatically. New activities and exercise were added to his regimen, and he now is a more serious bicyclist. C.D.’s diet also changed dramatically to enjoying salads and fruits, some grains, and fish and poultry. He got away from the sweets, sodas, salt snacks, and fried foods he was eating before. Now at 165, he feels great!
    

    
    Hazards of Fasting
    
    If fasting is overused, it may create depletion and weakness, lower resistance, and allow diseases to begin. Certain people are not good candidates for fasting or cleansing. Others may enjoy fasting so much that they overindulge in it and take it beyond the limits of normal elimination, resulting in protein and other nutritional deficits, reduced immunity, and loss of energy. While fasting allows the organs, tissues, and cells to rest, clean house, and handle excesses, the body needs the nourishment provided by food to function after it has used its stores.
    

    
    Many people of the world are involuntary fasters, while those of the Western nations are more likely to be feasters. In Third World countries, many starvation deaths result from the disease of protein deficiency, termed kwashiorkor, and protein-calorie malnutrition, known as marasmus. What happens to these people is what happens with chronic fasting—loss of muscle mass, weight, and energy, and finally swelling and death.
    

    
    Malnourished people should definitely not fast, nor should some overweight people who are undernourished. Others who should not fast include people with fatigue resulting from nutrient deficiency, those with chronic degenerative disease of the muscles or bones, or those who are underweight. Diseases associated with clogged or toxic organs respond better to fasting. Sluggish men or women who retain water or whose weight is concentrated in their hips and legs often do poorly with fasting. Those with low daytime energy and more vitality at night (more yin or alkaline types) may not enjoy fasting, either.
    

    
    I do not suggest fasting for pregnant or lactating women. People who have weak hearts, such as those with congestive heart failure, or who have weakened immunity usually are not good candidates for fasting. Before or after surgery is not a good time to fast, as the body then needs its nourishment to handle the stress and healing demands of surgery. Although some of the nutritional therapies for cancer include fasting, I do not recommend fasting for cancer patients, especially those with advanced problems. Ulcer disease is not something for which I usually suggest fasting, either, although fasting may be beneficial for other conditions present in a patient whose ulcer is under control. Many clinics and fasting practitioners do believe in fasting for ulcers, however. In the first test case of the Master Cleanser (lemon juice, maple syrup, cayenne pepper, and water), Stanley Burroughs claims to have cured a patient with an intractable ulcer. Mr. Burroughs used the two main ingredients that all doctors suggested that this patient avoid, citrus and spice, which he figured were the only things left that might heal the ulcer. The fasting process itself probably is helpful for ulcers, since it reduces stomach acid and aids in tissue healing. And cayenne pepper, even though it is hot, has a healing effect on mucous membranes, and in herbal medicine, it is commonly recommended for ulcers. So, even though peptic ulcers are on the contraindication list, some ulcer people may do very well with fasting, especially with cabbage/vegetable juices.
    

    
    

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    Contraindications for Fasting
    

    
    

    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    

    Underweight	Pregnancy
    Fatigue	Nursing
    Fatigue	Nursing
    Alkaline type	Pre- and postsurgery
    Low immunity	Mental illness
    Weak heart	Cancer
    Low blood pressure	Peptic ulcers
    Cardiac arrhythmias	Nutritional deficiencies
    Cold weather

    
    
    
    

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    As with any therapy that has some physiological effect and benefit, fasting also may have some hazards. The potential for the development of these problems is maximized with lengthy, noncaloric or water fasts and minimized with juice fasting of reasonable length, such as one to two weeks. Clearly, excessive weight loss and nutritional deficiencies may occur, again more marked with water fasts (juices provide calories and nutrients, although they do not provide complete nutrition). Weakness may occur, or muscle cramps may result from mineral deficits. Sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus losses occur initially but diminish after a week. Blood pressure drops, and this can lead to episodes of dizziness, especially when changing position from lying to sitting or sitting to standing. Uric acid levels may rise, which may result in acute gout attacks or a uric acid kidney stone, although this is rare. This problem is minimized with adequate fluid intake.
    

    
    Some research reports have described hormone level changes with fasting. Initially, the level of thyroid hormone falls, but it rises again in association with protein-sparing ketosis. Female hormone levels fall, possibly as a result of protein malnutrition, and this can lead to loss of menstrual flow; that is, secondary amenorrhea. This cessation of the periods in women is also seen in longtime vegetarians, especially those who engage in extensive exercise programs.
    

    
    Cardiac problems, such as abnormal rhythms (arrhythmias), can occur more easily with prolonged fasting and/or with subclinical preexisting problems. Extra beats, both ventricular and atrial, have been seen, and there have been deaths from serious ventricular arrhythmias, such as ventricular tachycardia, most often occurring during long water fasts. Similar problems have occurred recently in people using the nutrient-deficient protein powders that have been freely sold; many unhealthy weight reducers have been put at risk by using these powders over extended periods on unmonitored fasts. This risk is minimized with juice fasting (up to two weeks) or when basic minerals, mainly potassium, calcium, and magnesium, are supplemented during water fasts. Having our progress followed medically through physical exams, blood tests, and even electrocardiograms is a way to protect ourselves from the potential hazards of fasting.
    

    
    Another side effect of fasting involves its transformative aspects and how they relate to personal life changes. Often we maintain certain relationships and attitudes toward other people or our careers by resisting inner guidance, feelings, and desires to do something new. Divorce, job changes, and moves are all more likely after fasts, because fasting often stimulates self-realization and change, enhances our potential, and leads us to focus on where we are going, rather than where we have been. During fasting transitions, many people question all aspects of their lives and make new plans for the future. They also have new sensitivity to and awareness of their job, mate, home, and so on. I warn fasters before they begin that these experiences may arise and their lives may change, especially when I sense that they are not really committed to or believe in what they are doing. Even though these insights and changes may be traumatic, my belief is that they are ultimately positive, as they support the evolutionary purpose of the human being. In this way, fasting helps us follow our true nature.
    

    
    How to Fast
    
    In the thousands of people I have observed during fasting and detox programs, the complications have been negligible, provided that proper procedures have been followed and attention paid to the ongoing body changes. Usually, people feel fine, even euphoric after a few days, although there may be ups and downs or various symptoms; yet, overall, in my experience, changes are positive.
    

    
    The general plan for fasting works progressively, from a moderate approach for new fasters and unhealthy subjects to a stricter program for the more experienced. It is important to take the proper time with this potentially powerful process and not jump into a water fast from an average American carnivorous diet. Although many people do fine even if they make such extreme changes, it clearly maximizes the risks of fasting.
    

    
    A sensible daily plan is one where fasting is mixed with eating. Each day can include a 12-14 hour period of fasting in the evening and during sleep before awakening and getting ready for the day. (Breakfast was given that name to denote the time where we break the fast of the night.) Many people eat very lightly or not at all in the early morning to extend their daily fast. This is more important if dinner or snacking tends to be extended into the later evening, though this is not ideal. On the other hand, if we eat a decent, not excessive, meal in the early evening and awaken hungry, a good breakfast can be consumed after water intake and some exercise.
    

    
    In preparation for our first day of fasting, we may want to take a few days to eliminate some foods or habits from our diet. When many self-indulgent habits exist, longer preparations may be indicated. Eliminating alcohol, nicotine, caffeine, and sugar if possible is very helpful, although some people choose to wait until their actual fast days to clear these. Red meats and other animal foods, including milk products and eggs, could be avoided for a day or two before fasting. Intake of most nutritional supplements can also be curtailed the day before fasting; these are usually not recommended during a fast. Many people do well by preparing for their fasts with three or four days of consuming only fruit and vegetable foods. These nourish and slowly detoxify the body so that the actual fasting will be less intense.
    

    
    The first one-day fast (actually 36 hours, including the nights—from 8 p.m. one night until 8 a.m. the following day) gives us a chance to see what a short fast can be like, to see that it is not so very difficult and does not cause any major distress. Most people will feel a little hungry at times and may experience a few mild symptoms (such as a headache or irritability) by the end of the day, usually around late afternoon or dinnertime, but this depends on the individual and the state of toxicity. In actuality, the first two days are the hardest for most people. Feeling great usually begins around day three, so longer juice fasts are really needed for the grand experience.
    

    
    One of the problems with fasting is that it can be the most difficult for those who need it the most, such as the regular three-square-meals-plus-snacks consumers who eat whatever and whenever they want. Often such people must start with more subtle diet changes and prepare even more slowly for fasting. A transition plan that can be used before even going on the one-day fast is the one-meal-a-day plan. The one daily meal is usually eaten around 3 p.m. Water, juices, and teas and even some fresh fruit or vegetable snacks can be eaten at other times. The one wholesome meal is not excessive or rich. It can be a protein-vegetable meal, such as fish and salad or steamed vegetables, or a starch-vegetable meal, such as brown rice and mixed steamed greens, carrots, celery, and zucchini. People on this plan start to detox slowly, lose some weight, and after a few days feel pretty sound. The chance of any strong symptoms developing, as might occur with fasting, is minimal with this type of transition, and the actual fast, when begun, will be handled more easily, also.
    

    
    The goal, then, is to move into a one-day fast and then a few two- and three-day fasts with one or two days between them when light foods and more raw fruits and vegetables are consumed, and also provide fluids, juices, soups, and a generally alkaline cleansing diet. This way, we can build up to a five- to ten-day fast. When the transition is made this slowly, even a water fast can be less intense and more profound for those wishing a powerful personal and spiritual experience. With a water fast, however, I strongly suggest medical monitoring and retreating from usual daily life.
    

    
    A juice fast, which I usually recommend, can be longer and is much easier for most people. The fresh juices of raw fruits and vegetables are what most fasting clinics and practitioners recommend. They provide calories and nutrients on which to function and build new cells, and also provide the inherent enzymes contained in these vital foods. (Food enzyme theories, discussed throughout this century, have recently been described in books such as Enzyme Nutrition by Dr. Edward Howell.) Raw foods are considered the healing force in our diet because they contain active enzymes, which are broken down when foods are cooked. Many health enthusiasts consider a raw-food diet the most healing and most nutritious diet.
    

    
    For the inexperienced faster, it is best to go slowly through the various steps and to avoid being excessive or impatient so that we learn about ourselves in the process. To do this, we need to make a plan and put it into effect, observing or “listening” to our body and even keeping notes in a journal. Get to really know yourself. Then, once we have fasted successfully, we could continue to do one-day fasts weekly or a three-day fast every month if we need them. This helps to reconnect us with a better diet and to remotivate us toward our goal of optimum health.
    

    
    In a more adventurous mode, many people, even some who have never fasted, begin with a seven- to ten-day or even longer fast on fresh juices. I recommend this for most people who have any of the indications and none of the contraindications discussed in this program (also see General Detoxification). People planning these longer fasts, especially inexperienced fasters who have been eating a random diet, should spend a period about equal in length to the planned fast preparing for it. During this preparatory period we can follow some of the previous suggestions, such as eliminating sugar and refined foods, fatty foods, chemicals, and drugs from the diet and reducing consumption of meats and other acid-forming foods, and then moving into several days of consuming primarily fruits and vegetables and more fluids. This will lead into an easier and more energizing fast.
    

    
    For any cleansing period, it is essential to plan times to meditate, exercise, get fresh air and sunshine, clear our intestines, get massages, take baths, clean our house, brush our skin, and more. Maybe you thought you were going to sit back and relax and have juice delivered to your room? With less shopping, food preparation, and eating time, we have more hours in the day to take care of ourselves in other ways. These supportive aspects of cleansing are discussed further below.
    

    
    Timing of Fasts
    
    The two key times for natural cleansing are the times of transition into spring and autumn. (This is discussed in other sections of this book, such as in Chapter 9 on Diets and the General Detoxification program earlier in this chapter, and emphasized in
    my first book, Staying Healthy With the Seasons.) In Chinese medicine, the transition time between the seasons is considered to be about ten days before and after the equinox or solstice. For spring, this period is about March 10 through April 1; for autumn, it is from about September 11 through October 2. In cooler climates, where spring weather begins later and autumn earlier, the fasting can be scheduled appropriately, as it is easier to do in warmer weather. With fasting, the body tends to cool down.
    In the General Detoxification program, there is also a complete yearly cycle for cleansing with a variety of ideas and options. For spring, I usually suggest lemon and/or greens as the focus of the cleansing. Diluted lemon water, lemon and honey, or, my favorite, the Master Cleanser, could be used.
    

    
    

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    Spring Master Cleanser
    

    
    

    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    

    	2 Tablespoons fresh lemon or lime juice
    	1 Tablespoon pure maple syrup
    	¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
    	8 ounces spring water

    
    
    
    

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    Mix and drink 8-12 glasses a day. Eat or drink nothing else except water, laxative herb tea, and peppermint or chamomile tea.
    
    

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    Fresh fruit or vegetable juices diluted with an equal amount of water will also provide a good cleansing. Some vegetable choices are carrots, celery, beets, and lots of greens. Soup broths can also be used. Juices with blue-green algae, such as spirulina or chlorella, mixed in can provide more energy, as these are high-protein plants and easily assimilable.
    

    
    Autumn is the second most important cleansing time, when we prepare for a new health program, focus on our career or school year, and let go of the fun and games of summer. At this time, a fast of at least three to five days can be done, using water or a variety of juices, including the Master Cleanser, apples and/or grapes (usually mixed with a little lemon and water to reduce sweetness), vegetable juices, and warm broths.
    

    
    How do we know how long to fast? We may use a certain time plan, such as discussed above. Ideally, though, we should follow our own individual cycles and our body’s needs. As we gain some fasting experience, we should become attuned to when we need to strengthen or lighten our diet and when we need to cleanse. Usually, if we are under stress or have been overindulging or develop some congestive symptoms, we want to lighten our diet to balance this. If more changes are needed, a more cleansing, raw-food diet or a fast can be begun.
    

    
    

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    A special light, purifying soup is offered by Bethany ArgIsle.
    

    
    

    Autumn Rejuvenation Ration
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    

    	3 cups spring water
    	1 Tablespoon ginger root, chopped
    	1-2 Tablespoons miso paste
    	1-2 stalks green onion, chopped
    	cilantro, to taste, chopped
    	1-2 pinches cayenne pepper
    	2 teaspoons olive oil
    	juice of ½ lemon

    
    
    
    

    
    Boil water. Add ginger root. Simmer 10 minutes. Stir in miso paste to taste. Turn
    off fire. Then add green onion, some cilantro, cayenne, olive oil, lemon juice. Remove from burner and cover to steep for 10 minutes. May vary ingredient portions to satisfy flavors. Enjoy.
    

    
    

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    Breaking a Fast
    
    When to stop fasting and make a transition back into eating also takes some inner attunement. Things to watch for include energy level, weight, detox symptoms, tongue coating, and degree of hunger. If our energy is up and then falls for more than a day or if our weight gets too low, these may be signs that we should come off the fast. If symptoms are intense or if any suddenly appear, it is possible that we need food. Generally, the tongue is a good indicator of our state of toxicity or cleansing and clarity. With fasting, the tongue usually becomes coated with a white, yellow, or gray film. This represents the body’s cleansing, and it will usually clear when the detox cycle is complete. Tongue observation is not a foolproof indicator, however. Some people’s tongues may coat very little, while others will remain coated. In this case, if we were to wait until it totally cleared, we may overextend our cleanse. If in doubt, it is better to make the transition back to foods and then cleanse again later. Hunger is another sign of readiness to move back into eating. Often during cleansing times, hunger is minimal. Occasionally, people are very hungry throughout a fast, but most lose interest in food from day three to day seven or ten and then experience real, deep-seated hunger again. This is a sign to eat (carefully!).
    

    
    It is important to make a gradual transition into a regular diet, rather than just going out to dinner after a week-long fast. Breaking a fast must be planned and done slowly and carefully to prevent creating symptoms and sickness. It is suggested that we take several days, or half of our total cleansing time, to move back into our diet, which is hopefully a newly planned, more healthful diet. Our digestion has been at rest, so we need to go slowly and chew our foods very well. If we have fasted on water alone, we need to prepare our digestive tract with diluted juices, perhaps beginning with a few teaspoons of fresh orange juice in a glass of water and progressing to stronger mixtures throughout the day. Diluted grape or orange juice will stimulate the digestion. Arnold Ehret, a European fasting expert and proponent of the “mucusless” diet, suggests that fruits and fruit juices should not be used right after a meat eater’s first fast because they may coagulate intestinal mucus and cause problems. More likely, a meat eater’s colon bacteria are different than a vegetarian’s; with fruit sugars, the active gram-positive anaerobic bacteria in the meat eater will produce more toxins. Initially, a transition from meats to more vegetable foods will then allow a smoother fast, mainly with vegetable juices and broths. They could also take extra acidophilus to begin to shift their colon ecology.
    

    
    With juice fasting, it is easier to make the transition back into foods. A raw or cooked low-starch vegetable, such as spinach or other greens, can be used. A little sauerkraut, a fermented cabbage, helps to stimulate the digestive function. A laxative-type meal, such as grapes, cherries, or soaked or stewed prunes, can also be used to initiate eating, as it is important to keep the bowels moving. Some experts say that the bowels should move within an hour or two after the first meal. If not, take an enema. Some people may do a saltwater flush (drinking a quart of water with 2 teaspoons of sea salt dissolved in it) before their first day of food.
    

    
    However you make the transition, go slowly, chew well, and do not overeat or mix too many foods at a meal. Simple vegetable meals, salads, or soups can be used to start. Fruit should be eaten alone. Soaked prunes or figs are helpful. Well-cooked brown rice or millet is handled well by most people by the second day. From there, progress slowly through grains and vegetables. Some nuts, seeds, or legumes can be added, and then richer protein foods if these are desired. Coming back into foods is a crucial time for learning individual responses or reactions to them. You may even wish to keep notes, following such areas as energy level, intestinal function, sleep patterns, and food desires. If you respond poorly to a food, avoid it for a while, perhaps a week, and then eat it alone to see how it feels.
    

    
    Juice Specifics
    
    Some juices work better for certain people or conditions. In general, diluted fresh juices of raw organic fruits and vegetables are best. Canned and frozen juices should be avoided. Some bottled juice may be used, but fresh squeezed is best, as long as it is used soon after squeezing.
    

    
    Water and other liquids are what primarily cleanse our system, increasing waste elimination—rather like squeezing out a dirty sponge in clean water. Lemon tends to loosen and bring out mucus and is useful for liver cleansing. Diluted lemon juice, with or without a little honey, or the Master Cleanser can loosen mucus fast, so if this is used, we need to cleanse the bowels regularly to prevent getting sick. Most vegetable juices are a little milder than lemon juice.
    

    
    Each juice has a certain nutritional composition and probably certain physiological actions, although these have not been studied extensively. We can think of fresh juices as natural vitamin pills with a very high assimilation percentage, and we do not need to do the work of digesting them.
    

    
    In general, some juices are more caloric than others and might be used less if more weight loss is desired. The juices of apples, grapes, oranges, and carrots are good cleansing juices but might be minimized for weight loss. More grapefruit, lemon, cucumber, and greens, such as lettuce, spinach, or parsley, may be more helpful in this situation. Also, a variety of juices can be used in a fast with different ones squeezed daily.
    

    
    

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    Fruit Juices
    
    
    Lemon—liver, gallbladder, allergies, asthma, cardiovascular disease (CVD), colds
    
    Citrus—CVD, obesity, hemorrhoids, varicose veins
    
    Apple—liver, intestines
    
    Pear—gallbladder
    
    Grape—colon, anemia
    
    Papaya—stomach, indigestion, hemorrhoids, colitis
    
    Pineapple—allergies, arthritis, inflammation, edema, hemorrhoids
    
    Watermelon—kidneys, edema
    
    Black cherry—colon, menstrual problems, gout
    
    
    
    Vegetable Juices
    Greens—CVD, skin, eczema, digestive problems, obesity, breath
    
    Spinach—anemia, eczema
    
    Parsley—kidneys, edema, arthritis
    
    Beet greens—gallbladder, liver, osteoporosis
    
    Watercress—anemia, colds
    
    Wheat grass—anemia, liver, intestines, breath
    
    Cabbage—colitis, ulcers
    
    Comfrey—intestines, hypertension, osteoporosis
    
    Carrots—eyes, arthritis, osteoporosis
    
    Beets—blood, liver, menstrual problems, arthritis
    
    Celery—kidneys, diabetes, osteoporosis
    
    Cucumber—edema, diabetes
    
    Jerusalem artichokes—diabetes
    
    Garlic—allergies, colds, hypertension, CVD, high fats, diabetes
    
    Radish—liver, high fats, obesity
    
    Potatoes—intestines, ulcer
    
    
    

    
    

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    These juices may be helpful for particular organs or illnesses, based on my experience as well as information contained in Paavo Airola’s How to Get Well. To prepare juices, we obviously want to start with the freshest and most chemical-free fruits and vegetables possible. They should be cleaned or soaked and stored properly. If there is a question of toxicity, sprays, or parasites, a chlorine bleach bath can be used (see Chapter 11). If not organic, they should be peeled, especially if they are waxed. With root vegetables such as carrots or beets, the above-ground ends should be trimmed. Some people like to drop their vegetables into a pot of boiling water for a minute or so for cleansing as well.
    

    
    The best juicers are the compressors, such as the Norwalk brand, but these are very expensive. The rotary-blade juicers, such as the Champion, are good at squeezing the juice with minimum molecular irritation. The centrifuge juicers are also fine, but they waste juice left in the pulp. Blenders are not really juicers; what they make is more like liquid salads. These are high in fiber. I once did a energizing week-long fast with two blender drinks a day, fruits in the morning and vegetables in the late afternoon, with teas and water in between.
    

    
    Other Aspects of Healthy Fasting
    
    

    
    
    • Fresh air—plenty is needed to support cleansing and oxygenation of the cells and tissues.
      

      
      

    • Sunshine—also needed to revitalize our body; avoid excessive exposure.
      

      
      

    • Water—bathing is very important to cleanse the skin at least twice daily. Steams and saunas are also good for giving warmth as well as supporting detoxification.
      

      
      

    • Skin brushing—with a dry, soft brush prior to bathing; this will help clear toxins from the skin. This is a good year-round practice as well.
      

      
      

    • Exercise—very important to support the cleansing process. It helps to relax the body, clear wastes, and prevent toxicity symptoms. Walking, bicycling, swimming, or other usual exercises can usually be done during a fast, although more dangerous or contact sports might be avoided.
      

      
      

    • No drugs—none should be used during fasts except mandatory prescription drugs. Particularly, avoidance of alcohol, nicotine, and caffeine is wise.
      

      
      

    • Vitamin supplements—these are not used during fasting; thus, no program of nutrients will follow at the end of this section. Some supplemental fiber, such as psyllium husks, can be part of a colon detox program. Special chlorophyll foods, such as green barley, chlorella, and spirulina, may also be vitality enhancers and purifiers during cleanses. Occasionally, some mineral support, especially potassium, calcium, and magnesium, or vitamin C will be suggested, usually in powdered or liquid forms (pills are not suggested) to help in preventing cramps, if there is a lot of physical activity, sweating, and fluid and mineral losses, or for an extended fast. Some people even use amino acid powders and other vitamin powders with some benefit during cleanses. In general, most of these supplemental nutrients are best used with foods.
      

      
      

    • Colon cleansing—an essential part of healthy fasting. Some form of bowel stimulation is recommended. Colonic irrigations with water are the most thorough. These can be done at the beginning, midpoint, and end of the fast. It is suggested that enemas be used at least every other day if these are the primary colon cleansing. Fasting clinics often suggest that enemas be used daily, even up to several times a day. With these, usually water alone is used to flush the colon of toxins. It may be helpful for an enema or laxative preparation to be used the day before the fast begins to lessen initial toxicity. Herbal laxatives are commonly taken orally during fasting, and many formulas are available, as capsules or for making teas. These include cascara sagrada, senna leaves, licorice root, buckthorn, rhubarb root, aloe vera, and the LB formula of Dr. Christopher. Laci LeBeau tea is also very effective. The saltwater flush, or internal bath, recommended by Stanley Burroughs to be used with the Master Cleanser, is useful for those who can tolerate it. A solution of 2 teaspoons of sea salt is dissolved in a quart of warm purified water (not distilled) and is drunk first thing in the morning on alternate days throughout the fast to flush the entire intestinal tract, an advantage of this cleansing formula. It does not, however, work well for everyone. For example, it is not recommended for salt-sensitive or water-retaining people, or for hypertensives. Whatever colon cleansing method is used, keep in mind that regular cleansing of the intestines and colon is a key component to healthy and stress-free fasting.
      

      
      

    • Work and be creative—and make plans for your life. Staying busy is helpful in breaking our ties to food. We also need time for ourselves. Most fasters experience greater work energy and more creativity and, naturally, find lots to do.
      

    • Cleanup—a motto during fasting. As we clean our body, we want to clean our room, desk, office, closet, and home—just like “spring cleaning.” It clearly brings us into harmony with the cleansing process of nutrition. If we want to get ready for the new, we need to make space by clearing out the old.
      

    • Joining others in fasting can generate strong bonds and provide an added spiritual lift. It opens up new supportive relationships and new levels of existing ones. It will also provide support if we feel down or want to quit. Most people feel better as their fast progresses—more vital, lighter, less blocked, more flexible, clearer, and more spiritually attuned. For many, it is nice to have someone with whom to share this. Call our clinic or another that offers this service.
      

    • Avoid the negative influence of others who may not understand or support us. There are many fears and misconceptions about fasting, and they may affect us. We need to listen to our own inner guidance and not to others’ limitations, but we also need to maintain awareness and insight into any problems should they arise. Being in contact with fasters will provide us with the positive support we need.
      

    • The economy of fasting allows us to save time, money, and future health care costs. While we may be worried about not having enough, we may already have too much. Many of us are inspired to share more of ourselves when we are freed from food.
      

    • Meditation and relaxation are also an important aspect of fasting to help attune us to deeper levels of ourselves and clear the stresses that we have carried with us.
      

    • Spiritual practice and prayer will affirm our positive attitude toward ourselves and life in general. This supports our meditation and relaxation and provides us with the inner fuel to carry on our life with purpose and passion.
      
    
    

    
    
    Conclusion
    
    Fasting can easily become a way of life and an effective dietary practice. Over a period of time (different for each of us), through newly gained clarity, we can go from symptom cleansing to prevention fasting. Ideally, we should fast at specific times to treat symptoms and/or to enhance our vitality and spiritual practice. (See the cleansing schedule in the General Detoxification program.) Otherwise, we should support ourselves regularly with a balanced, wholesome diet. This diet may change somewhat through the year as we experience different needs, and occasional fasting or feasting may be valuable. We also must maintain good digestion and elimination.
    

    
    Fasting is needed more frequently by those who have abused themselves with foods or other agents so readily available these days. We all need to return to the cycle of a daily fast of 12-14 hours overnight until our morning “break-fast,” and then find our own natural pattern of food consumption. This usually means one main meal and two lighter ones. For low-weight, high-metabolism people, two larger or three moderately sized meals are probably needed. If we eat a heavier evening meal, we need only a light breakfast, and vice versa. Through awareness and experience, we can find our individual nutritional needs and listen to that inner nutritionist, our body.
    

    
    Choosing healthful foods, chewing well, and maintaining good colon function minimize our need for fasting. However, if we do get out of balance, we can employ the oldest treatment known to us, the instinctive therapy for many illnesses, nature’s doctor and knifeless surgeon, the great therapist and tool for preventing disease—fasting!
    

    ]]> 22227 https://healthy.net/2000/12/06/leaky-gut-syndromes-breaking-the-vicious-cycle/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=leaky-gut-syndromes-breaking-the-vicious-cycle Wed, 06 Dec 2000 13:28:02 +0000 https://healthy.net/2000/12/06/leaky-gut-syndromes-breaking-the-vicious-cycle/ From the perspective of function, the contents of the gut lumen lie outside the body and contain a toxic/antigenic load from which the body needs to be protected. Protection is supplied by complex mechanisms which support one another: intestinal secretions (primarily mucus and secretory IgA), the mucosal epithelium, and intramural lymphocytes [1]. This primary, intestinal barrier is supported by the liver, through which all enterically-derived substances must pass before entering the arterial circulation for transport to other tissues and organs. Kupffer cells in the hepatic sinusoids remove absorbed macromolecules by phagocytosis. Hepatic microsomal enzymes alter gut-derived chemical substrates by oxidation and by conjugation to glycine and glutathione(GSH) for excretion into bile and for circulation to the kidneys. The cost of detoxification is high; reactive intermediates and free radicals are generated and anti-oxidants like GSH are consumed [2, 3]. Any compromise of intestinal barrier function increases the production of oxygen radicals and carcinogens by the liver’s cytochrome P-450 mixed-function oxidase system. The excretion of oxidation by-products into bile and the reflux of this “toxic” bile into the pancreatic ducts may be the major cause of chronic pancreatic disease.[4, 5]

    Compromised intestinal barrier function can also cause disease directly, by immunological mechanisms.[6-9] Increased permeability stimulates classic hypersensitivity responses to foods and to components of the normal gut flora; bacterial endotoxins, cell wall polymers and dietary gluten may cause “non-specific” activation of inflammatory pathways mediated by complement and cytokines. [10] In experimental animals, chronic low-grade endotoxemia causes the appearance of auto-immune disorders.[11-13]

    Leaky Gut Syndromes are clinical disorders associated with increased intestinal permeability. They include inflammatory and infectious bowel diseases [14-19], chronic inflammatory arthritides [9, 20-24], cryptogenic skin conditions like acne, psoriasis and dermatitis herpetiformis [25-28], many diseases triggered by food allergy or specific food intolerance, including eczema, urticaria, and irritable bowel syndrome [29-37], AIDS [38-40], chronic fatigue syndromes [Rigden, Cheney, Lapp, Galland, unpublished results], chronic hepatitis [41], chronic pancreatitis [4, 5], cystic fibrosis [42] and pancreatic carcinoma. Hyperpermeability may play a primary etiologic role in the evolution of each disease, or may be a secondary consequence of it which causes immune activation, hepatic dysfunction, and pancreatic insufficiency, creating a vicious cycle. Unless specifically investigated, the role of altered intestinal permeability in patients with Leaky Gut Syndromes often goes unrecognized. The availability of safe, non-invasive, and inexpensive methods for measuring small intestinal permeability make it possible for clinicians to look for the presence of altered intestinal permeability in their patients and to objectively assess the efficacy of treatments. Monitoring the intestinal permeability of chronically ill patients with Leaky Gut Syndromes can help improve clinical outcomes.

    Triggers and Mediators of the Leaky Gut
    
    Leaky Gut Syndromes are usually provoked by exposure to substances which damage the integrity of the intestinal mucosa, disrupting the desmosomes which bind epithelial cells and increasing passive, para-cellular absorption. The commonest causes of damage are infectious agents (viral, bacterial and protozoan) [43-46], ethanol [47, 48], and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs [20, 49, 50]. Hypoxia of the bowel (occurring as a consequence of open-heart surgery or of shock) [51, 52], elevated levels of reactive oxygen metabolites (biliary, food-borne or produced by inflammatory cells) [53], and cytotoxic drugs [54-56] also increase para-cellular permeability.

    
    

    The Four Vicious Cycles

    Cycle One: Allergy
    
    The relationship between food sensitivities and the leaky gut is complex and circular. Children and adults with eczema, urticaria or asthma triggered by atopic food allergy have baseline permeability measurements that are higher than control levels [57-59]. Following exposure to allergenic foods, permeability sharply increases. Most of this increase can be averted by pre-treatment with sodium cromoglycate [32, 34, 57-59], indicating that release from mast cells of atopic mediators like histamine and serotonin is responsible for the increase in permeability. It appears that an increase in intestinal permeability is important in the pathogenesis of food allergy and is also a result of food allergy.

    Claude Andre, the leading French research worker in this area, has proposed that measurement of gut permeability is a sensitive and practical screening test for the presence of food allergy and for following response to treatment [57]. In Andre’s protocol, patients with suspected food allergy ingest 5 grams each of the innocuous sugars lactulose and mannitol. These sugars are not metabolized by humans and the amount absorbed is fully excreted in the urine within six hours. Mannitol, a monosaccharide, is passively transported through intestinal epithelial cells; mean absorption is 14% of the administered dose (range 5-25%). In contrast, the intestinal tract is impermeable to lactulose, a disaccharide; less than 1% of the administered dose is normally absorbed. The differential excretion of lactulose and mannitol in urine is then measured. The normal ratio of lactulose/mannitol recovered in urine is less than 0.03. A higher ratio signifies excessive lactulose absorption caused by disruption of the desmosomes which seal the intercellular tight junctions. The lactulose/mannitol challenge test is performed fasting and again after ingestion of a test meal. At the Hospital St. Vincent de Paul in Paris, permeability testing has been effectively used with allergic infants to determine which dietary modifications their mothers needed to make while breast feeding and which of the “hypoallergenic” infant formulas they needed to avoid in order to relieve their symptoms [60].

    Cycle Two: Malnutrition
    
    Disruption of desmosomes increases absorption of macromolecules. If the epithelial cells themselves are damaged, a decrease in trans-cellular absorption may accompany the increased para-cellular absorption. Because nutrients are ordinarily absorbed by the trans-cellular route, malnutrition may occur, aggravating strucutural and functional disturbances [61]. Under normal conditions, intestinal epithelium has the fastest rate of mitosis of any tissue in the body; old cells slough and a new epithelium is generated every three to six days [62, 63]. The metabolic demands of this normally rapid cell turnover must be met if healing of damaged epithelium is to occur. When they are not met, hyperpermeability exacerbates [64, 65].

    Correction of nutritional deficiency with a nutrient-dense diet and appropriate supplementation is essential for the proper care of patients with Leaky Gut Syndromes. Specific recommendations are made in the last section of this review. Because of the association between hyperpermeability and pancreatic dysfunction, pancreatic enzymes may also be required.

    Cycle Three: Bacterial Dysbiosis
    
    Dysbiosis is a state in which disease or dysfunction is induced by organisms of low intrinsic virulence that alter the metabolic or immunologic responses of their host. This condition has been the subject of a recent review article [66]. Immune sensitization to the normal gut flora is an important form of dysbiosis that has been implicated in the pathogenesis of Crohn’s disease and ankylosing spondylitis[67-81]. Recent research findings suggest that bacterial sensitization is an early complication of altered permeability and exacerbates hyperpermeability by inducing an inflammatory enteropathy [82, 83]. This has been most studied in the response to NSAIDs. Single doses of aspirin or of indomethacin increase para-cellular permeability, in part by inhibiting the synthesis of protective prostaglandins [20, 49, 50, 84, 85]. Hyperpermeability is partially prevented by pre-treatment with the prostaglandin-E analogue, misoprosterol. Chronic exposure to NSAIDs produces a chronic state of hyper-permeability associated with inflammation, which can not be reversed by misoprosterol but which is both prevented and reversed by the administration of the antibiotic, metronidazole [83, 86]. The effectiveness of metronidazole in preventing NSAID-induced hyperpermeability probably reflects the importance of bacterial toxins in maintaining this vicious cycle. A single dose of bacterial endotoxin, administered by injection, increases the gut permeability of healthy humans [87]. Chronic arthritis can be induced in rats by injection of cell wall fragments isolated from normal enteric anaerobes[88]. Patients with rheumatoid arthritis receiving NSAIDs have increased antibody levels to Clostridium perfringens and to its alpha toxin, apparently as a secondary response to NSAID therap[89].

    There is ample documentation for a therapeutic role of metronidazole and other antibiotics in Crohn’s disease and rheumatoid arthritis[90-98]. The mechanism underlying the response has been in dispute. In the case of tetracyclines, one group has asserted that mycoplasma in the joints cause rheumatoid arthritis, others have countered this argument by demonstrating that minocycline is directly immunosuppressive in vitro [99]. Because all patients with arthritis have used NSAIDs, and because NSAID enteropathy is associated with bacterial senisitization, it is possible that the the antibiotic-responsiveness of some patients with inflammatory diseases is a secondary effect of NSAID-induced bacterial sensitization which then exacerbates the Leaky Gut Syndrome. Altering gut flora through the use of antibiotics, synthetic and natural, probiotics, and diet is a third strategy for breaking the vicious cycle in Leaky Gut Syndromes. With regard to diet, patients whose disease responds to vegetarian diets are those in whom the diet alters gut ecology; if vegetarian diets does not alter gut ecology, the arthritis is not improved[100].

    Cycle Four: Hepatic Stress
    
    The liver of Leaky Gut patients works overtime to remove macromolecules and oxidize enteric toxins. Cytochrome P-450 mixed-function oxidase activity is induced and hepatic synthesis of free radicals increases. The results include damage to hepatocytes and the excretion of reactive by-products into bile, producing a toxic bile capable of damaging bile ducts and refluxing into the pancreas [4, 5]. In attempting to eliminate toxic oxidation products, the liver depletes its reserves of sulfur-containing amino acids [101]. These mechanisms have been most clearly demonstrated in ethanol-induced hepatic disease [47]. Sudduth [102] proposes that the initial insult is the ethanol-induced increase in gut permeability which creates hepatic endotoxemia. Endotoxemia can further increase permeability, alter hepatic metabolism, and stimulate hepatic synthesis of reactive species which are excreted in bile. This toxic bile, rich in free radicals, further damages the small-bowel mucosa, exacerbating hyperpermeability.

    
    
    

    A Practical Approach

    
    Suspect a pathological increase in gut permeability when evaluating any patient with the diseases listed in Table 1 or the symptoms listed in Table 2. Measure permeability directly using the lactulose/mannitol challenge test. Indirect measures of gut permeability include titres of IgG antibody directed against antigens found in common foods and normal gut bacteria. These tests may be useful but cannot substitute for the direct permeability assay, especially when one is following the response to treatment.

    IF ALL COMPONENTS OF THE LACTULOSE/MANNITOL TEST ARE NORMAL, repeat the challenge after a test meal of the patient’s common foods. If the test meal produces an increase in lactulose excretion (signifying hyperpermeability) or a decrease in mannitol excretion (signifying malabsorption), specific food intolerances are likely and further testing for food allergy is warranted. Once the patient has been maintained on a stable elimination diet for four weeks, repeat the lactulose/mannitol challenge after a test meal of foods permitted on the elimination diet. A normal result assures you that all major allergens have been identified. An abnormal result indicates that more detective work is needed.

    IF THE INITIAL FASTING MANNITOL ABSORPTION IS LOW, suspect malabsorption. This result has the same significance as an abnormal D-xylose absorption test. Look for evidence of celiac disease, intestinal parasites, ileitis, small bowel bacterial overgrowth and other disorders classically associated with intestinal malabsorption and treat appropriately. After eight weeks of therapy, repeat the lactulose/mannitol challenge. An improvement in mannitol excretion indicates a desirable increase in intestinal absorptive capacity. The lactulose/mannitol assay has been proposed as a sensitive screen for celiac disease and a sensitive test for dietary compliance [46, 103-106]. For gluten-sensitive patients, abnormal test results demonstrate exposure to gluten, even when no intestinal symptoms are present. Monitoring dietary compliance to gluten avoidance by testing small bowel permeability is especially helpful in following those patients for whom gluten enteropathy does not produce diarrhea but instead causes failure to thrive, schizophrenia or inflammatory arthritis [107-115].

    In the case of relatively mild celiac disease or inflammatory bowel disease, mannitol absorption may not be affected but lactulose absorption will be elevated. A recent study published in the Lancet found that the lactulose-mannitol ratio was an accurate predictor of relapse when measured in patients with Crohn’s disease who were clinically in remission [116].

    IF THE INITIAL FASTING LACTULOSE IS ELEVATED, OR IF THE INITIAL FASTING LACTULOSE/MANNITOL RATIO IS ELEVATED, consider the possibility of mild inflammatory bowel disease or gluten enteropathy. There are four other primary considerations:

    (A) Exposures. Does the patient drink ethanol, take NSAIDs or any potentially cytotoxic drugs? If so, discontinue them and have the lactulose/mannitol challenge repeated three weeks later. If it has become normal, drug exposures were the likely cause of leaky gut. If it has not, bacterial sensitization may have occurred. This may be treated with a regimen of antimicrobials and probiotics. My preference is a combination of citrus seed extract, berberine and artemisinin (the active alkaloid in Artemisia annua), which exerts a broad spectrum of activity against Enterobacteriaceae, Bacteroides, protozoa and yeasts [117-120].

    If the patient has no enterotoxic drug exposures, inquire into dietary habits. Recent fasting or crash dieting may increase permeability. Counsel the patient in consuming a nutritionally sound diet for three weeks and repeat the test.

    Patients with chronic arthritis may have difficulty stopping NSAIDs. Alternative anti-inflammatory therapy should be instituted, including essential fatty acids, anti-oxidants or mucopolysaccharides[121-125]. Changing the NSAID used may also be helpful. NSAIDs like indomethacin, which undergo enteroheaptic recirculation, are more likely to damage the small intestine that NSAIDs that are not excreted in bile, like ibuprofen [126]. Nabumetone (relafen) is a pro-NSAID that is activated into a potent NSAID by colonic bacteria; the active metabolite is not excreted in bile. Nabumetone is the only presently available NSAID that does not increase small intestinal permeability.

    (B) Infection. The possibilities include recent acute viral or bacterial enteritis, intestinal parasitism, HIV infection and candidosis. Stool testing is useful in identifying these. Repeat the permeability test six weeks after initiating appropriate therapy.

    (C) Food allergy. Approach this probability as described in the section above on food allergy in patients with normal fasting test results. The difference lies in degree of damage; food intolerant patients with abnormal fasting permeability have more mucosal damage than patients with normal fasting permeability and will take longer to heal.

    (D) Bacterial overgrowth resulting from hypochlorhydria, maldigestion, or stasis [41, 127, 128]. This is confirmed by an abnormal hydrogen breath test. Most of the damage resulting from bacterial overgrowth is caused by bacterial enzyme activity. Bacterial mucinase destroys the protective mucus coat; proteinases degrade pancreatic and brush border enzymes and attack structural proteins. Bacteria produce vitamin B12 analogues and uncouple the B12-intrinsic factor complex, reducing circulating B12 levels, even among individuals who are otherwise asymptomatic [129, 130]. In the absence of intestinal surgery, strictures or fistulae, bacterial overgrowth is most likely a sign of hypochlorhydria resulting from chronic gastritis due to Helicobacter pylori infection. Triple therapy with bismuth and antibiotics may be needed, but it is not presently known whether such treatment can reverse atrophic gastritis or whether natural, plant-derived antimicrobials can achieve the same results as metronidazole and ampicillin, the antibiotics of choice.

    Bacterial overgrowth due to hypochlorhydria tends to be a chronic problem that recurs within days or weeks after antimicrobials are discontinued. Keith Eaton, a British allergist who has worked extensively with the gut fermentation syndrome, finds that administration of L-histidine, 500 mg bid, improves gastric acid production in allergic patients with hypochlorhydria, probably by increasing gastric histamine levels [personal communication]. Dietary supplementation with betaine hydrochloride is usually helpful but intermittent short courses of bismuth, citrus seed extract, artemisinin, colloidal silver and other natural antimicrobials are often needed. The first round of such treatment, while the patient is symptomatic, should last for at least twelve weeks, to allow complete healing to occur. Repeat the lactulose/mannitol assay at the end of twelve weeks, while the patient is taking the antimicrobials, to see if complete healing has been achieved. The most sensitive test for recurrence of bacterial overgrowth is not the lactulose/mannitol assay but the breath hydrogen analysis.

    
    

    Atrophic Therapies

    
    Many naturally occurring substances help repair the intestinal mucosal surface or support the liver when stressed by enteric toxins. Basic vitamin and mineral supplementation should include all the B vitamins, retinol, ascorbate, tocopherol, zinc, selenium, molybdenum, manganese, and magnesium. More specialized nutritional, glandular and herbal therapies are considered below. These should not be used as primary therapies. Avoidance of enterotoxic drugs, treatment of intestinal infection or dysbiosis, and an allergy elimination diet of high nutrient density that is appropriate for the individual patient are the primary treatment strategies for the Leaky Gut Syndromes. The recommendations that follow are to be used as adjuncts:

    (1) Epidermal Growth Factor (EGF) is a polypeptide that stimulates growth and repair of epithelial tissue. It is widely distributed in the body, with high concentrations detectable in salivary and prostate glands and in the duodenum. Saliva can be a rich source of EGF, especially the saliva of certain non-poisonous snakes. The use of serpents in healing rituals may reflect the value of ophidian saliva in promoting the healing of wounds. Thorough mastication of food may nourish the gut by providing it with salivary EGF. Purified EGF has been shown to heal ulceration of the small intestine [131].

    (2) Saccharomyces boulardii is a non-pathogenic yeast originally isolated from the surface of lichee nuts. It has been widely used in Europe to treat diarrhea. In France it is popularly called “Yeast against yeast” and is thought to help clear the skin in addition to the gut. Clinical trials have demonstrated the effectiveness for S. boulardii in the treatment or prevention of C. difficile diarrhea, antibiotic diarrhea and traveler’s diarrhea[132, 133]. Experimental data suggest that the yeast owes its effect to stimulation of SIgA secretion[134]. SIgA is a key immunological component of gut barrier function.

    Passive elevation of gut immunoglobulin levels can be produced by feeding whey protein concentrates that are rich in IgA and IgG. These have been shown to be effective in preventing infantile necrotizing enterocolitis[135].

    (3) Lactobacillus caseii var GG is a strain of lactobacillus isolated and purified in Finland. Like S.boulardii, Lactobacillus GG has been shown effective in the prevention of traveller’s diarrhea and of antibiotic diarrhea and in the treatment of colitis caused by C. difficile. Lactobacillus GG limits diarrhea caused by rotavirus infection in children and in so doing improves the hyperpermeability associated with rotavirus infection.[136-139] The mechanism of action is unclear. The ability of other Lactobacillus preparations to improve altered permeability has not been directly tested, but is suggested by the ability of live cultures of L. acidophilus to diminish radiation-induced diarrhea, a condition directly produced by the loss of mucosal integrity.

    (4) Glutamine is an important substrate for the maintenance of intestinal metabolism, structure and function. Patients and experimental animals that are fasted or fed only by a parenteral route develop intestinal villous atrophy, depletion of SIgA, and translocation of bacteria from the gut lumen to the systemic circulation. Feeding glutamine reverses all these abnormalities. Patients with intestinal mucosal injury secondary to chemotherapy or radiation benefit from glutamine supplementation with less villous atrophy, increased mucosal healing and decreased passage of endotoxin through the gut wall[140-143].

    (5) Glutathione (GSH) is an important component of the anti-oxidant defense against free radical-induced tissue damage. Dietary glutathione is not well absorbed, so that considerable quantities may be found throughout the gut lumen following supplementation[144]. Hepatic GSH is a key substrate for reducing toxic oxygen metabolites and oxidized xenobiotics in the liver. Depletion of hepatic glutathione is a common occurence in Leaky Gut Syndromes contributing to liver dysfunction and liver necrosis among alcoholics and immune impairment in patients with AIDS. The most effective way to raise hepatic glutathione is to administer its dietary precursors, cysteine or methionine. Anti-oxidant supplementation for Leaky Gut Syndromes should therefore include both GSH and N-acetyl cysteine. Because protozoa are more sensitive to oxidant stress than are humans and because most anti-parasitic drugs and herbs work by oxidative mechanisms, high dose anti-oxidant supplementation should be witheld during the treatment of protozoan infection, especially during treatment with Artemisia.

    (6) Flavonoids are potent, phenolic anti-oxidants and enzyme inhibitors with varied effects depending on the tissues in which they act. Quercetin and related flavonoids inhibit the release of histamine and inflammatory mediators. Taken before eating, they may block allergic reactions which increase permeability. Catechins have been used in Europe to treat gastric ulcerations. The flavonoids in milk thistle (silymarin) and in dandelion root (taraxacum) protect the liver against reactive oxygen species[145].

    (7) Essential fatty acids (EFAs) are the substrates for prostaglandin synthesis. Differential feeding of EFAs can profoundly affect prostanoid synthesis and the systemic response to endotoxin. In experimental animals, fish oil feeding ameliorates the intestinal mucosal injury produced by methotrexate and, additionally, blunts the systemic circulatory response to endotoxin[146]. The feeding of gamma-linolenic acid (GLA), promotes the synthesis of E-series prostaglandins, which decrease permeability. EFAs should be consumed in the most concentrated and physiologically active form to avoid exposure to large quantities of polyunsaturated fatty acids from dietary oils. Consumption of vegetable oils tends to increase the free radical content of bile and to exacerbate the effects of endotoxin[147].

    (8) Fiber supplements have complex effects on gut permeability and bacterial composition. Low fibre diets increase permeability. Dietary supplementation with insoluble fibre, such as pure cellulose, decreases permeability. Dietary supplementation with highly soluble fibre sources, such as fruit pectin or guar gum, has a biphasic effect. At low levels they reverse the hyperpermeability of low residue diets, probably by a mechanical bulking effect which stimulates synthesis of mucosal growth factors. At high levels of supplementation, they produce hyperpermeability, probably by inducing synthesis of bacterial enzymes which degrade intestinal mucins[148-151]. For maximum benefit with regard to intestinal permeability, dietary fibre supplementation should therefore contain a predominance of hypoallergenic insoluble fibre.

    (9) Gamma oryzanol, a complex mixture of ferulic acid esters of phytosterosl and other triterpene alcohols derived from rice bran, has been extensively researched in Japan for its healing effects in the treatment of gastric and duodenal ulceration, thought to be secondary to its potent anti-oxidant activity[152, 153].

    
    

    Summary

    
    Altered intestinal permeability is a key element in the pathogenesis of many different diseases. Hyperpermeability initiates a vicious cycle in which allergic sensitization, endotoxic immune activation, hepatic dysfunction, pancreatic insufficiency and malnutrition occur; each of these increases the leakiness of the small bowel. Effective treatment of the Leaky Gut Syndromes requires several components: avoidance of enterotoxic drugs and allergic foods, elimination of infection or bacterial overgrowth with antimicrobials and probiotics, and dietary supplementation with trophic nutrients. Direct measurement of intestinal permeability allows the clinician to plan appropriate strategies and to gauge the effectiveness of treatment, using objective parameters.

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    Table 1

    
    Diseases Associated with Increased Intestinal Permeability

    
    

    Inflammatory bowel disease
    
    Infectious enterocolitis
    
    Spondyloarthropathies
    
    Acne
    
    Eczema
    
    Psoriasis
    
    Urticaria
    
    HIV infection
    
    Cystic fibrosis
    
    Pancreatic insufficiency
    
    AIDS, HIV infection
    
    Hepatic dysfunction
    
    Irritable bowel syndrome with food intolerance
    
    CFIDS
    
    Chronic arthritis/pain treated with NSAIDs
    
    Alcoholism
    
    Neoplasia treated with cytotoxic drugs
    
    Celiac disease
    
    Dermatitis herpetiformis
    
    Autism
    
    Childhood hyperactivity
    
    Environmental illness
    
    Multiple food and chemical sensitivities
    
    

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    Table 2

    
    Symptoms Associated with Increased Intestinal Permeability

    
    

    Fatigue and malaise
    
    Arthralgias
    
    Myalgias
    
    Fevers of unknown origin
    
    Food intolerances
    
    Abdominal pain
    
    Abdominal distension
    
    Diarrhea
    
    Skin rashes
    
    Toxic feelings
    
    Cognitive and memory deficits
    
    Shortness of breath
    
    Poor exercise tolerance
    
    

    
    

    ---

    
    

    NOTES:

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