Ward wrote:
>What I noticed after 2 or 3 long fasts, was that, yes, fasting
> helped, but after a point, I was not really noticing any
> major differences anymore. So if detoxification was supposed
> to be all there was to health-building, then something was
> not working right.

While I think most of both of Ward's posts is essentially correct,
there is another reason to fast/detoxify: life extension.  Every
minute of our lives we are producing wastes, & I think it is
reasonable to argue that during a fasting state these
endogenously-generated wastes will be at a minimum & that wastes of
exogenous origin will of course be essentially zero.  There is a
great deal of animal data which all points to the fact that fasting
& caloric restriction in general will lead to longer life.  I would
be the first to argue that much of the aging process entails wastes
which are not eliminated.

If you define health as a nice physique with buffed out muscles,
then Ward's ideas are compatible with this definition.  If your
quest is maximal age at death, then an emaciated appearance should
be your goal, & a caloric intake which leads to a body temperature
considerably below normal ranges will be desirable.  If you want to
lead an active, athletic life, go with the former.  There is also a
lot of data which indicates that exercise (especially exercise above
minimal levels) is life-shortening.  So emaciation/lethargy may be
your goal, depending upon your objectives.

But regardless of whether you continue to notice any health
improvement from fasting, it is still a very positive thing which
should be indugled in.   I am convinced that the best eating pattern
is one which is intermitent: fasting down, building back up, &
fasting back down.

There are ways to partially quantify how successfully you are
eliminating various wastes.  I've been fasting on/off for about 17
years, eating a mostly raw diet for much of this time, & last year I
began EDTA chelation treatments (an intravenous administration of a
substance which locks on to heavy metals & minerals so they can be
excreted via the urine).  [Fasting isn't the only way to get the
lead out.]  Last month I was given a DMPS chelation treatment, which
is an industrial-strength chelator with a special affinity for
mercury.  Then I had to collect all my urine for 24 hours & ship it
off to the lab.  I was gratified that of 11 particularly toxic
metals (including lead, cadmium & aluminum), none were even at
detectable levels except a minimal amount of tin & some mercury.  At
some point in the future, after continued chelation treatments, this
test will be repeated to quantify the levels (hopefully lower) of
these substances at that point in time.

If health is a continuum (& if toxemia is too), then once you get
close to the desired end of the continuum you are unlikely to notice
much difference, but things such as urine tests might well be able
to give us a window into what is taking place.  But for someone
interested in longevity, what will happen is that your odds of
survivng to a greater age are increased the closer you come to the
optimum.

--Doug Schwartz
[log in to unmask]