Benefits of Fasting for Health, Spirituality, Vitality and Longevity

There are many reasons to learn about fasting for health, fasting for spirituality and for weight loss. If you’re thinking about doing a fast for your health or any other reason, it’s a great idea to do some research and learn as much as you can about what happens to your body while you are fasting. There are benefits as well as some warnings when it comes to doing a fast for any period of time.

Some look to fasting for weight loss. There is a lot of information available to help you learn all the benefits of fasting with guidelines and safety precaution information or supporting herbs and vitamins.

A Few Warnings About Fasting

First: you need adequate hydration when you go without food. Dehydration is very dangerous and can happen quickly. Some people do nothing but drink water while fasting and others do a pure juice fast which can provide you with plenty of nutrients, hydration and electrolytes while still giving you some detoxifying benefits.

Second, if you have any health concerns or issues with blood sugar you might want to talk to your doctor first. Some people who do fasting for health benefits do it through a supervised medical treatment center although the vast majority do so at home. A fast is sometimes necessary regardless of your health status for a short term period due to the need for a specific medical test but you should find out if there are any precautions you need to take while fasting.

Try to keep it low key while you are not eating. Not only will you want to reserve your energy but you won’t want to be around the sights and smells of food unless absolutely necessary.

Understanding ways to do fasting as well as the best way to break your fast are important. The aim is typically to have the body go into autolysis and use up stores of energy and fat and resume to healthful eating before the body starts to use protein as energy and ease back into food in a healthful and beneficial way.

Benefits Of Fasting

When you fast you can go through a detoxification process. Your body can shed toxins and impurities. It can even help you overcome addiction. Fasting can make a lifestyle transition helpful. Rather than trying to wean your body off unhealthy foods and suffer cravings, fasting can be an excellent way to jump start the process and have a speedy detoxification process which can reduce the cravings.

Fasting can also help your body target all its resources to healing instead of processing food. When the body is in fasting mode this can result in damaged cells becoming healed, unhealthy growths and bacteria or yeasts being starved and the lymphatic system being energized.

In many cultures, fasting is linked to an increased spiritual connection and to longevity or increased life expectancy.

Is Fasting Right For You?

Part of our culture has made us believe that that food equals comfort. Deprivation is very different from fasting. Learning the benefits and learning tips for the first time you fast can be very beneficial and there’s a wealth of information available to help you.

Getting Benefits out of Lemons

When life gives you lemons you can make lemonade and you can also benefit from the lemons too. Lemons are a very important fruit and have some serious cleansing power. Not only can lemon bleach freckles, cleanse your skin and clean your house, it can also cleanse you internally. Lemons have a high amount of vitamin C and have potassium and magnesium too.

A glass of hot lemon water a day can do so much! Instead of artificial lemon flavour or lemon flavoured cold medicine when you’re ill, add some fresh lemon juice to a cup of tea or hot water. This can help fight off the bacteria in your body, soothe a sore throat and loosen phlegm in the chest. A lemon wedge in a glass of warm water is not only refreshing but cleansing for the body and good for the metabolism. Where I live lemons are three for a dollar and I use the rind for cooking and the lemons for baking, cooking and cleaning.

You can find a lot of information online about the vitamins, minerals and benefits of lemon. The master cleanse diet makes use of lemons as well. It can help detox your body, clean your digestive tract and boost your immune system. Those who suffer from heart burn and palpitations may find that having a glass of lemon water in the evenings can dramatically decrease their discomfort and even ward it off before it begins. Citric acid is also great for heart health. So if life gives you lemons make the most of them and use them for your good health!

Boost Your Immune System This Winter

Many people feel they should avoid the flu shot unless there’s a very specific reason for it I’m one of those people. I’ve sat through many debates on the subject but it’s how I feel. IF you want to read some more about it, stop by www.mercola.com and you can read some compelling stuff.

Anyway, instead of my family marching off to get flu shots, we try to boost our systems naturally. Here are a few of the things we do and some links in the document that explain a bit about some of these ideas.

-Take greens plus. It’s filled with LOADS of good stuff. I always feel healthier & better when I take it.
-Use coconut oil in a lot of my cooking. Coconut oil contains good stuff like lauric acid which is what helps babies get a boost of immunity from their mother’s milk
-up our fruits and vegetables
-wash our hands well everytime we come in from outside. We don’t bother with antibacterial soap at home, we simply sing the tune of happy birthday or the abc’s while we wash to help us wash long enough. I do keep instant hand sanitizer in my purse and the car for when we’re out and feel like we’ve touched something questionable.
-apple cider vinegar helps boost immunity as well
-Drink white tea. It can help kill bacteria like strep and staph.
-Clean your ears with hydrogen peroxide if you think you’re coming down with a cold.
-Get some good flora in your gut by eating yogurt and probiotic cheese

Sometimes our doctor advises us to get a flu shot for a specific reason and if your doctor does, by all means! But, don’t just assume you need one every year if you’re perfectly healthy. I do believe we are harming our immune systems by stopping our bodies from fighting off mild viruses alone. Too many immunizations and antibiotics can do more harm than good!