At 01:57 PM 7/22/97 -0400, Jean-Louis wrote:

>I think that most "information" about fasting you can gather on the
>Web lack of objectivity (far too positive). It's seemingly the same
>problems as those who promote raw food as a "cure-all", and who
>pretend that all problems are due to toxemia and are temporary...

Fasting is something you won't find much objectivity on because it is
experimental for the most part.  I am trying to find the "best" way to fast,
and I keep on hearing conflicting view like the HPS site strongly recommends
doing a colonic irrigation.  Paul Bragg, who has fasted for many years now,
discourages colonics.  Which to follow?  I take information from both and
improvise my own fast.  Fasting is a practice that isn't scientifically
investigated like vitamins and herbs are by the medical community.

I am 21 years old, and I did my first 6 day fast a couple months ago.  I
have been more productive in those 6 days than in 3 weeks previous.  It has
given me the motivation to eat more raw foods, and commit to life long
fasting.  I plan on doing 4 7-day fasts a year.  Paul Bragg, at the age of
95, was examined by the Mayo Clinic and they found his arteries as healthy
as a 20 year old.  That's another reason that motivates me...seeing other
people's health at an old age.  Another interesting note is that some of the
great religious leaders and philosophers fasted.  I want to be a smart
person too. :-)

>I quote, from the "multiple fasts" link:
>
>              Usually, by the fourth or fifth day one really starts to
>              begin to feel spectacular...and by the 7 or eight day one
>              really feels great; energetic, confident, and vibrant. The
>              most enjoyable part of this feeling/experience, is the fact
>              that one begins to recognize that these feelings are not a
>              temporary relief from the past, but are the beginnings of
>              an ascending "upward spiral" that will continue for many
>              months to come. That realization takes the great leap
>              forward to 'years', once one commences on a program
>              of multiple fasts.

>Clearly, that doesn't correspond to my limited experience at all. On
>the contrary, I think that lack of energy is more common (but to
>be sure, one would need to make a survey).

Have you ever fasted before?  Maybe you should try it.  Surely the above
won't correspond to your limited experience, if you don't try it.

>However, IMO, it is quite plausible that a cooked food eater will benefit
>from fasting, [rest deleted]

With these "IMO"s I'm sensing subjectivity. :-)

>There are also other alternatives to fasting, such as the use of
>cassia. Apparently, many instinctos have benefited from that
>(but not myself yet).

You have to be mentally prepared in order to do a fast.  If you are healthy
and living life to your potential, I guess you won't have a reason to fast.
I did a fast because I had a sugar addiction and ate a lot of cooked foods
and felt tired a lot.  The result of the fast just made me feel like a new
person.

Walter.
Paul Bragg's web site:  http://www.bragg.com
HPS site: http://www.samart.co.th/hps/tbhealth.htm