Each time the patient fasts he is forced to go through the same
experience. Never 
experiencing the comfortable stages of the fast, he tends to rebel against another
fast, he hesitates, draws back, and dreads the whole routine. In spite of the difficulties attending a series of short fasts, there are cases in which this is all that
can be done, and then the plan should be undertaken with determination, but under supervision, to
the end that the greatest good may be accomplished by it. These questions of where, when, and for
how long are seen to be variables that must be handled and decided upon with common sense. The
approach must be flexible, humane, understanding, wise. We are dealing with human beings, and
not machines. 4910
What to Expect while Fasting
Whether undertaken for reasons of weight reduction, or general health, or for some special
physical impairment, the fast involves certain developments which should be examined and
understood. These developments are for the most part mild, particularly where the individual is
fasting only to reduce weight. Let it be understood: I do not think it is possible to over-emphasize the fact that the physical
sensations of fasting are, for the most part, far more pleasurable than the real or illusory delights of
feasting. The patient, for example, who has previously suffered from being forced to eat when he
had no desire for food, is likely to feel a great sense of relief and satisfaction from the outset of the
fast. Whatever the condition of the faster at the start, it is true that a fast can sometimes be somewhat
uncomfortable, at least in certain of its stages. It is also true that in most cases the faster is more
comfortable than when he was eating. Many can go through protracted fasting in a relaxed state
with little or no discomfiture. During the fast, every abnormal sensation, every discomfort, every ache and pain is likely to be
blamed upon the fast. This may be true even though, as the fast proceeds, discomfort ceases. The
condition of the individual's own tissues is the chief cause of the symptoms he experiences in the
beginning. As these tissues are cleansed, discomforts disappear. Most of us know something of the suffering and prostration brought on by the “withdrawal
symptoms” of the inebriate when he is taken off 
alcohol. In a parallel way many who go on fasts
have become so used to 
food stimulants
 through the years, that they go through a period of
depression similar to that of the inebriate deprived of his alcohol. They may become nauseous and
vomiting may occur. They may become irritable, sleepless, weak; there may be pains and aches in
the body; there may be severe headache. It is not proper to call these developments “withdrawal
symptoms,” in my opinion. It is important to know that they are evanescent, of brief duration, are
rarely severe. Sometimes, to avoid and to ameliorate these symptoms, the faster is given fruits. I doubt that this
is wise. With these foods, the fast is interrupted when the first signs of discomfort appear, and then
it is resumed after two or three days of light eating of this nature. The interruption with light feeding may have to be repeated two or three times during a fast of
considerable length, if this plan is resorted to. It is doubtful that the interruption saves the faster a
single slight twinge of discomfort and it is certain that it prolongs the time he has to be under
observation. If the faster will grit his teeth, clench his fists, grin and bear the evanescent
discomforts until the crisis is over the first time, there will be no recurrence of the symptoms. Frequently such a crisis is of extremely brief duration, no more than an hour or so. Only
infrequently does it last longer than three to four days. In addition to the foregoing general developments in fasting, there are a number of specific areas
where changes and developments are usual and should be understood. Even though they present no
problem or serious difficulty whatsoever, they should, as a part of the fasting routine, be discussed
frankly with the experienced 
Hygienist
 who is directing the fast. When one starts a fast, certain physical developments occur almost invariably and should not
50cause alarm. Chief among them are: The tongue coats heavily, a bad taste develops in the mouth
and breath acquires a bad odor. Teeth may become pasty. The whole complex resembles the
tongue, mouth and breath in fever. Indeed, there are fasting advocates who liken this to the
depurative work of an acute illness, a 
fever. Disagreeable as this condition may be, it represents a cleansing process. As the body unloads its
toxic burden, a process of slow clearing of the tongue begins at the tip and on the sides and
gradually clearing backward and towards the middle, until, by the time hunger returns, the tongue
and mouth are clean and the breath sweet. However light the urine may be at the beginning of the fast, it will become very dark and foul
within a few hours to a day after the fast is started. It may become almost black in many cases and
the odor will be very strong. After a week to two weeks, depending on the condition of the faster
—the urine begins to clear, becomes lighter, loses its strong odor until by the time hunger returns it
is normal in color and odor. The whole procedure is part of the evidence that the kidneys are
engaged in throwing 
out unusual quantities of waste. Urine tests verify this fact. As purification
continues, the urine returns to normal. Loss of weight that results from fasting is consequent upon the utilization of the body’s reserves
in nourishing the vital tissues and the excretion of toxic accumulations. This loss should be
regarded as part of the process of purification and the resulting improvement should be welcomed. The degree of unwholesomeness of the tissues helps to determine the rapidity with which weight is
lost. Loss is greatest in the early days of the fast, fat people losing at a faster rate than thin
individuals. There are however, thin individuals who because of the toxic state of their tissues
lose as rapidly as overweight fasters during the first few days. Losses at this stage range from a
pound and a half a day, at the start of the fast, to four to six pounds in very stout individuals. After
a few days of fasting, the rate of loss slackens. In the later stages of a long fast, less than a quarter
of a pound a day may be lost. It is easily possible to exaggerate the importance of weight loss in any consideration of fasting. The emaciated person who remains thin on his various “weight gaining” diets may be very
reluctant to lose more weight, although generally after the fast, he will gain weight on much less
food than he has been in the habit of eating. It is an error to think that fasting is of benefit only to
fleshy people. The 
feeling
 of weakness, sometimes experienced during a fast is due, in the main to functional
inactivity. There is a general functional let-down as the organism takes full advantage of the
proffered opportunity to rest. The heart slows, circulation slows, there is a slowing of respiration. The glands of the body reduce their activities. In general, the tired body heaves a sigh of relief and
goes to bed. This is just what is needed and proof that it is beneficial is seen by the fact that vigor
returns as the body rests and is cleansed, long before food is taken. Indeed weakness during the
first few days of the fast may be nothing more significant than an absence of the accustomed
stimulation. Many people undertake to fast with the mistaken idea that the cleansing processes carried on
during this period are necessarily of extremely trying and of disagreeable nature. This is true in
only a minute percentage of cases; it is by no means the rule. On the contrary, most fasters go
through even long fasts without the development of any dramatic or extraordinary crises. Most of
the work of excretion is carried on without the production of troublesome crises. When a crisis
does develop it should be welcomed, as it is almost always of a remedial nature. 51Skin eruptions rarely develop during the fast, but are definitely eliminative processes when they
do occur. Giddiness, fainting, palpitation of the heart, and symptoms of this nature, though not
common, should not be regarded as crises. They present no danger to the faster. Perhaps the most annoying development that occurs while a fast is in progress is that of nausea
and vomiting. Not only is it a trying time while it 
lasts, but the faster is very weak also. Fortunately, there can be no doubt that this crisis is definitely beneficial and it does not occur in
more than fifteen percent of cases. Nausea and vomiting can develop on the first day of the fast or
at any time thereafter. Generally, a crisis develops after several days of abstinence. In a few
instances they develop after four or more weeks of fasting. What is ejected is usually a rather abnormal and watery bile with considerable mucus. The liver
works over-time (for a day to a few days) and much of the bile thus turned out is regurgitated into
the stomach, and is thrown out. The faster is so greatly benefited by the ordeal that he is well
compensated for the discomfort. These episodes may last a day or they may last two, three, four
days or a week. Rarely does vomiting persist beyond a week. The faster's strength returns when
vomiting ceases. If it persists for several days and water is not retained there is some inevitable dehydration. This is a serious matter, especially in cases where vomiting lasts for several days. The possibility
of breaking the fast must be considered promptly. The faster is weakened by the dehydration and
the recovery of strength is slow. If there is diarrhea along with the vomiting, and this occurs very
rarely, the dehydration is more severe. In such cases, if vomiting does not subside after a reasonable time, break the fast. This is not
always easy as there is a tendency to vomit the food as well as the water. In supervising some
fasters, I have often tried several kinds of juice before finding one that could be retained. Diarrhea in a fast is not as common as vomiting, but it does occur occasionally. When it does
develop, it may come at any period of the fast, even after thirty-five days. The discharge is
composed of bile, mucus and retained feces. This crisis is undoubtedly of a cleansing character. It
may be viewed in the same light as the diarrhea that accompanies marked edema in nephritis
(Bright’s disease) by which much of the edematous fluid is expelled from the body. That this ever
occurs in non-fasters I am not sure, but it is a common development in fasting a dropsical case. 5211
Nine Basic Steps
Let me warn emphatically that fasting is a much more complicated process than generally realized
even by some of its ardent advocates. It involves much more than merely going without food. There
is an art to fasting as 
well as a science of fasting. The uses of fasting seem, at times, almost
unlimited. Its inconveniences are not great, its dangers are few and rarely seen. Yet for the most
satisfactory results it must be conducted in accordance with a few well-ascertained rules and
techniques by an experienced man. It is not a process to be left to the guidance of anyone of meager
knowledge or no experience in conducting fasts. Paradoxically, less supervision of the fast is required in acute disease than in chronic disease. When disease is the result of years of wrong life, and if the condition of the patient is one of grave
weakness, with severe organic impairment, much skill will be required to take the individual
through a fast of sufficient duration to accomplish the desired results. In such situations, it would be hazardous to rely on inexperienced and untrained men. I am
aware that there are some untrained laymen attempting to conduct fasts. I believe it is vitally
important to investigate beforehand to be sure you have the best and most experienced man
available. In this connection I must point out also that, while there are several schools of so-called
healing recognized by law in this country, few of the practitioners of any of these schools have any
knowledge of and experience with fasting. We cannot select any 
doctor
 at random, without
knowing his special training, to supervise a fast. It is a fundamental rule of 
hygienic
 practice that all the needs of normal physiology are present
in states of illness. And in periods of abstinence, they must be met according to a degree of need
and functional ability, to the end that organic and functional integrity may be preserved or restored. Let us understand this clearly: when we fast we do not also cease to breathe or to take water. There is never an absence of need for oxygen; we continue to become thirsty at intervals and we
drink. Fasting is abstinence from food, not abstinence from all of the essentials of life. And it is
abstinence from food only in the sense that we abstain from taking in the raw materials of nutrition
for a period of time, while the body draws on its stored-up supplies. We still need and use food. Fasting is not suspended animation. Indeed, although it is a period of greatly reduced activity,
some of the processes of life are actually accelerated during periods of abstinence. The ordinary
needs of life: food, air, water, warmth, sunshine, activity, rest, sleep, cleanliness, poise of mind,
remain basic needs of the fasting organism. Food (nutriment) with which to sustain the functioning tissues of the body is obtained from the
reserve stores within the body. Water is taken according to the demands of thirst; warmth is
required so that the body does not become chilled; sunshine is needed in keeping with the
somewhat reduced metabolic activities of life; cleanliness is still a requirement; sleep is a
necessity; mental and emotional stabilization is especially important. This means that the techniques of fasting are significant and should at 
least, in a broad general
sense, be recognized and understood by anyone interested in this field or contemplating a fast. Where do these techniques begin? Some say they should begin long before the fast starts—with
the earliest stages of fast preparation! 1. PREPARATION
53Many complicated plans have been designed to prepare the individual or patient for a fast. Some of these involve a period on special foods intended to empty the intestinal tract of material
before the fast is started. Others are rituals involving fasting a day, eating two days, fasting two
days, eating four days, and so on in this manner, with the goal of gradually preparing one for a fast
of considerable length. All such plans are wasteful of the patient’s time and money, since they
revolve around the idea of feeding at a time when a fast is needed. As there is no reason why one
may not go into a fast abruptly and without these rituals, they are not recommended here. The truly
essential preparation is in the mental and emotional attitudes. If you can understand the wisdom and rationality of fasting, and rid your mind of all fear of this
perfectly normal process, you can fast with ease. Satisfy yourself that the fast will prove to be
highly beneficial and enter upon it without fear and anxiety. Mental unrest and fear can make
fasting difficult or impossible in cases in which it would otherwise prove of the greatest possible
benefit. When I first started my work, I served for a few months under the direction of Milo A.
Crane, M.D., who conducted the Crane Sanitariums in Elmhurst, Illinois. Dr. Crane never placed a
patient on a fast if the patient feared it. Instead, he would put him on a diet and permit him to
mingle with the other patients. Usually within a few days the patient would ask if he could not fast. This is one of the advantages of being with others. One sees and realizes that they are not
starving but actually benefiting. Fears vanish before reality. 2. REST
The techniques of fasting are based on simple physiological principles. They do not involve the
need for nor the use of any measures that are foreign to the regular needs of the living organism. Treatments, special modalities, and forcing measures have no place in fasting. The most important
technique of the fast is that of reducing activity, mental, sensory, and physical, to a bare minimum,
so that the energy of the faster may be conserved and his healing and excretory processes may be
accelerated. The faster should bear in mind the simple rule of compensation. In order to expend on one side,
nature must conserve on the other. What he does not expend in unneeded activity is available for
use in elimination and repair. Physical rest is secured by ceasing physical activities, by resting in bed, by relaxing. Physical
activities expend considerable energy and prevent the recuperation of energy that is essential to
restoration of normal nerve energy. Mental rest is secured by curtailing mental activities and emotional 
unrest. Debating highly
controversial issues is harmful. Allowing oneself to become upset or involved in trivial disputes
of any nature is harmful. Emotional poise is the secret of mental rest. It is not always easy for the
faster to cease worrying or to overcome anxiety, but everything constructive should be done to
provide for tranquility. Sensory rest is secured by retiring to a quiet place and avoiding use of the eyes in reading,
viewing television, going to the movies or similar eye-straining activities. Noise is especially
destructive of poise and wasteful of energy. Quiet, peace, and sensory inactivity provide for
conservation of energy. In using rest, however, we do not urge a state of suspended animation nor dormancy, nor a state
of embryonic passivity. What is sought here is the absence of strain, the physical sense of peace by
which rest becomes possible. Rest does not heal, but is one of the essentials of efficient healing, as well as in maintaining
health. It is of great value to the enervated and toxemic. Not 
tonics
 and 
stimulants,
 not 
sedation
54and 
tranquilization,
 nor 
hypnotization,
 but rest is the great need of the organism that has been
lashed into impotency by stimulation and excesses in food, sex, emotional unrest, work and the
various deficiencies from which man suffers. Organs that have been lashed into impotency by overwork and 
stimulation
 may be rested into
full functioning vigor. Added 
stimulation,
 whatever its nature, only further depletes them. 3. ACTIVITY
The faster rests during the time he abstains from food for the reason that in the normal exercise
of the functions of life, feeding and activity should balance each other. There are authorities who
permit their fasters to take long walks and require them to take daily exercise of various kinds. In
reducing fasts, some moderate exercise, under supervision is permissible. For other fasts I believe
even moderate exercising is a needless expenditure of energy and a waste of reserves. Activity
should be geared to the food eaten. When no food is taken, activities should be reduced to a
minimum. Rest is the need, not expenditure. 4. WARMTH
A faster’s resistance to cold is likely to be lower than that of the person who is eating regularly. He chills easily. Chilling inhibits elimination, increases the discomforts of the faster and causes a
more rapid utilization of reserves. It is important, therefore, that the faster keep warm. This is
necessary even in July and August. The feet, in particular, should be kept warm. Cold feet will
prevent the faster from sleeping. 5. WATER
The faster will be thirsty at intervals, though rarely as often as when he was eating. The normal
demand for water should be met with the purest water available. Mineral waters and waters with a
bad taste are not 
advisable. A soft spring water, rain water, distilled water, filtered water or any
water that is free of impurities is acceptable. It should be taken only as thirst demands. There is nothing to be gained by drinking large
quantities of water, despite a lack of demand for this, on the theory that this flushes the system. It is
true that the more water one drinks the more fluid will the kidneys excrete, but this does not
represent an increase of elimination of waste. Indeed it may result in a lessening of the amount of
waste excreted. In summer, there may be a desire to drink cold water. Cool water is excellent, but very cold or
ice water may slow down and retard recovery. Hot water may be relished under certain conditions
more than cold water or water at room temperature. In some cases hot water may be sipped in
moderation with the advice or permission of the supervisor; in others its use is inadvisable. 6. BATHING
There is the same need for cleanliness while fasting as while eating. Bathing should be
performed daily or as often as needed. The bath should be of a character to cause the least amount
of energy expenditure. To insure this the following requirements should be observed. (a.) The bath should be of short duration. The faster should not remain long under the shower or
in the tub. The common practice of soaking for long periods in water is enervating and should be
avoided. (b.) Bath water should be lukewarm, neither hot nor cold. It requires considerable energy
expenditure to resist both heat and cold. The closer the temperature of the bath water is to the
temperature of the body, the less energy expenditure will be occasioned. Bear in mind, always,
that bathing is for cleanliness and not for any alleged 
therapeutic
 effects. Bathe quickly and get out
of the water. 55(c.) If the faster is very weak and is unable to take his or her own bath, a sponge bath in bed may
be given by an assistant. 7. SUNBATHING
Sunshine is an essential nutrient factor in both plant and animal nutrition and is helpful while
fasting. It should not be thought of as a 
cure,
 for it is not, but as a normal element in the regular
nutritional processes of life. Its role in calcium metabolism is especially important, but it is also
important in phosphorus utilization and in assuring strength of the muscles. Indeed, it serves
several important purposes in the normal processes of life and is of far greater importance to us
than we generally realize. Unless overdone, sunbathing results in relaxation and no measurable expenditure of energy. If
the sun is too hot, if the bath is too prolonged, if getting to and from the solarium is too taxing on
the patient, any of these factors may result in an excessive expenditure of energy. It is necessary to
“temper the wind to the shorn lamb” in supervising the sunbathing. To accomplish this, the
following rules should be observed:
Take the sunbath in the early morning while it is still cool, or in the late afternoon during the
summer. In mild weather, when it is not hot at midday, a sunbath may be taken at any time of the
day that the temperature is comfortable. Start the sunbath with five minutes of exposure for the front of the body and five minutes for the
back. On the second day this may be increased to six minutes on each side. Increase the exposure
one minute a day for each side, to a maximum of thirty minutes for each surface. It will be well to
level off at this exposure time. If the fast is continued beyond twenty days, reduce the exposure to about eight minutes on front
and eight minutes on the rear surfaces, and continue this exposure until after the fast is broken. At any time if the sunbath leaves the faster weak or irritated, the duration of the exposure should
be reduced. Avoid overdoing. 8. PURGES
It is sometimes claimed, completely erroneously in my opinion, that during the fast, it is
necessary to keep the bowels, kidneys and skin active to carry away the toxins released into the
circulation by the liquidation of tissue. Daily enemas or saline purges are advised to clean the
bowels, much water drinking and even diuretics are advised to keep the kidneys active; sweat
baths are employed to keep the skin active. All of these forcing measures are not only unnecessary, they are actually hurtful. There is
nothing that so safely and so certainly increases kidney action as the fast itself. The bowels empty
themselves during a fast as often as there is a need for them to do so. If no need arises, they take a
long-needed rest. The skin is not an eliminating organ and sweat baths are delusions. These
measures further enervate the faster and tend to inhibit rather than accelerate elimination. These
suggested techniques are harmful and should be avoided. 9. SUFFERING
It has been said that the fast should not be continued when the faster is suffering greatly, as in
some general health impairment. The fact is that it is precisely under these circumstances that
digestive and assimilative powers are lowest. The greater the suffering the less able is the sufferer
to take and digest food. When the discomfort passes, the practitioner will know when to feed the
patient. Fasting tends to end suffering and the faster suffering may expect relief in a much shorter time if
he continues to fast than if he breaks the fast. 5612
Breaking the Fast
It is strange that the following simple truth, so obvious a truth indeed, is so difficult for many to
grasp: the ideal moment to break the fast, of course, is at the time when hunger returns. As hunger
returns, the tongue clears, the breath becomes sweet and there is a clean taste in the mouth. All the
indications are that the body has completed the work of cleansing itself and is ready to resume
eating. There is usually a watering of the mouth and a strong desire for food. Does hunger always
return? The correct answer is: nearly always. In terminal cases, such as advanced cancer,
advanced tuberculosis, serious heart disease, and other conditions where death is merely a
question of time, hunger rarely recurs. In all savable cases, and in those near normal individuals
who fast, hunger never fails to put in its appearance at the right time. Indeed it frequently recurs well in advance of the exhaustion of the body’s reserves. This is
particularly true following an acute disease. Within a day or two after all acute symptoms have
subsided, in almost all such cases, the invalid will express a desire for food, although his body
may still be amply supplied with reserves to carry him through many more days of abstinence. With the exceptions noted, the fasting chronic sufferer can count on the same thing. Indeed, the
difficulty he is likely to experience is not a failure of hunger to return, but in controlling himself
and his appetite when it does. After a fast of considerable length there is a period of several days, lasting up to two weeks,
during which the individual feels hungry most of the time. If he will control his eating until this
initial period of hunger has passed, he will settle down to a more normal appetite and the danger
of overeating will pass. Uncontrolled, he may eat so much during this period that he loses much that he gained in the fast. One important advantage of fasting in an institution is that control continues until the normal eating
level is stabilized. In such an institution the health seeker’s diet is carefully supervised;
 he is not
permitted to overeat. At home, he must be a more self-disciplined man than the average if he is to
avoid overeating. For numerous reasons most fasts are broken before the return of hunger. In a small percentage of
cases, the faster is too thin or too weak to carry the fast to a natural termination. In many instances,
there is a lack of time or funds, or there may be an unwillingness to fast so long. Some fasters, even when fasting solely for health reasons, object to getting so thin. Most of them
are anxious to end the fast as soon as they are free of their annoying symptoms. Many have the idea
that they can complete the recovery begun with the fast by shifting to a diet. This is a mistaken
notion, but it is not easy to convince those who are attracted to this half-way notion. They usually
regret their action—afterward. Some go on a fast during their vacation and have but a limited time for fasting, breaking the fast,
and getting ready to return to work. Others feel that they can be away from their business or their
family for only a certain period of time. There are a thousand personal reasons for ending the fast
short of its natural termination. In many instances the results of these short fasts are disappointing. In some instances the premature breaking is the difference between complete success and partial
failure. 57A job only half done is not done at all. Certainly health is worth a little added effort. Missing a
few more meals is a small price to pay for the results that can accrue to the individual willing to
make the effort required. The animal breaks his fast on whatever food is available at the time he resumes eating. On the
whole, animals seem to be better controlled than man. They are not inclined to glut themselves
when they break a fast, but may take but a small portion of food in doing so. A dog that has fasted
for nearly a month, for example, may take but a few sips of milk at a time and may refuse all flesh
for the first four to six days after he resumes eating. If man’s instincts were still as reliable guides
to eating as are those of the animals, I doubt that we would need to supervise the breaking of a fast. It is possible to break a fast with any food available. Either whole fruits or whole vegetables
may be used. In order not to overconsume food, we have found it advisable to weigh the food for
the first few days. Dr. Virginia Vetrano, who has been my able associate for a number of years has been breaking
fasts on whole foods for several years and finds that in most cases it is far superior to breaking the
fast on juices, as was formerly advised. She reasoned that animals in the wild have no juicers or
blenders and therefore have to break their fasts naturally on whole foods. Why should man be an
exception? Using her knowledge of physiology, she further reasoned that the bulk in the food is necessary to
promote both peristalsis and mixing contractions in the stomach and intestines. Bulk is also
necessary to promote secretion of the digestive juices of the stomach and intestines. The bulk of the
food touching the stomach and intestinal walls is the 
stimulus
 for muscular 
contractions as well as
for proper digestive secretions. Because of this, solid food is digested and handled more
efficiently than juices. It is held in the stomach and intestines long enough for proper digestion and
absorption, whereas juices, lacking this bulk are hurried along the digestive tract. Lacking in bulk,
juices do not occasion strong peristaltic waves and do not elicit the gastrocolic reflex as strongly
as solid foods. Because of these facts when the fast is broken on juices the first bowel movement
after a fast is delayed. When solid foods are used to break the fast, bowel movements are
reestablished much earlier. Chewing of food is necessary both psychologically and physiologically. Another advantage of
breaking the fast with solids is that the faster does not become bloated and over-filled with fluids. Taking the bulk with the food prevents overeating and the post faster is more satisfied with his
meals. When fruit or vegetable juices are used there is a loss of vitamins and nutriments by
oxidation no matter how carefully nor how quickly the juice is prepared. Some fasters are afraid to
drink the juice rapidly and take one sip every fifteen minutes. By the time they have taken four
ounces of juice in this manner almost two hours have passed with the juice oxidizing all the while. Breaking the fast with four ounces of whole orange, a section at a time may be eaten with a
minimum of oxidation. The fast may be broken at any time of the day or night that hunger recurs. If broken in advance of
the return of hunger, it may be broken arbitrarily at 8:00 a.m. A number of techniques for breaking
the fast have been worked out. Indeed, almost every man who conducts fasts has his own favorite
plan. The main need is wholesome food; but not too much of it. Dr. Crane, previously mentioned in these pages, used to give a faster an orange to eat in
breaking the fast. The well-known Henry Lindlahr, M.D., now deceased, formerly of Chicago and
Elmhurst, Illinois, who was director of the College of Natural Therapeutics in Chicago, broke fasts
with a handful of pop com. His reason for this was that the com served as a broom to sweep out
58the digestive tract. In any case the pop com did no harm. The care exercised in breaking a fast is commonly proportioned to the length of a fast. Let me
describe the plan we now employ. Assume that the fast has extended beyond fourteen days. We
start the faster with four ounces of whole orange (weighed without the peeling) every two hours
during the first day feeding is resumed. We prefer to start feedings at eight o’clock in the morning
and stop at six in the evening—obviously this can be done only when the fast is broken in advance
of the return of hunger. When hunger returns the fast should be broken without regard to the time. No harm is done, however, if the faster waits until 8:00 a.m. should hunger recur at midnight or in
the wee hours of the morning. On the second day, we give the faster eight ounces of orange or any 
other fresh juice fruit in
season (weighed without rind or peeling) every two hours. A different fruit may be used for each
feeding. If a faster has no desire for a feeding he is advised to skip a feeding or two. But this rarely
occurs as it does when the fast is broken on juices. There is no compulsory amount of food he must
take during this period. On the third day we give twelve ounces of whole orange or melon for breakfast, two or three
oranges, or two or three tomatoes, depending on their size for lunch, and three or four oranges for
the evening meal. After the third day it is no longer necessary to weigh the food as the body again
becomes accustomed to handling food. Instead of oranges, the third day, an equivalent amount of
grapefruit or other juicy fruit in season may be given. The particular food given is not so important
as avoiding overfeeding the faster. These fruits should be fresh, well ripened, and well chewed. Any tendency of the feeder to hurried eating should be discouraged. On the fourth day the faster gets a small breakfast composed of citrus fruits or one or two other
fresh fruits, or melon in season; at noon, a vegetable salad without salt, oil, vinegar, lemon juice or
dressing of any kind, and one cooked nonstarchy vegetable. For the evening meal I feed fruit again. This meal should be light, but may be slightly larger than the breakfast. On the fifth day, another fruit breakfast; a salad, two cooked green vegetables and a baked
potato or a protein (small quantity) at noon, and a fruit meal again in the evening. I permit a glass
of sour milk, (made from unpasteurized milk) at this fruit meal for those who are not vegetarians. On the sixth day the feeding is about the same as on the fifth day, except that the amounts are
increased. By the end of the first week the faster should be able to take normal amounts of food. No between meal eating is permitted and no eating in the evening before retiring is allowed. Three
meals a day, simple and composed of fresh foods, constitute the best plan of feeding following a
fast. If, later, the individual desires to adopt a two-meal or a one-meal plan of eating, this is best
done after he has acquired some weight. Bed rest should be continued through the first week of eating and activity begun very gradually. It is common for the faster to want to become active as soon as he resumes eating. This is unwise. He is not so strong and he does not have the endurance he thinks he has. Also activity retards his
gain in weight if he has fasted to add weight. Some fasters want to take long walks as soon as eating is resumed. Such activity is often over
indulged to the extend that it often retards recuperation and causes the individual's weight to stand
still. One must take it easy for a few days before resuming normal activities. If the fast has been less than two weeks in duration, breaking it may be done with eight ounces of
whole fruit every two hours the first day, then the preceding program followed from there. Less
caution is required in 
breaking a short fast of this kind, and activity may be resumed sooner after a
short fast. 59All of this is true, of course, in those individuals who are in a fair state of health. If there is need
for added rest and for light eating for some time after breaking a short fast, the faster must be
guided by the judgment of his adviser. But the most important advice, for all fasters at the breakfast point, is this: 
Go slowly! 6013
Can Fasting Keep You Well? There is no such miracle as permanent recovery in the sense that we can become so healthy we
need give no further attention to our health. Nor is there any such thing as permanent weight
reduction in the sense that we can eat all we want and stay thin. Caring for the needs of life to secure health and proper weight maintenance is a constant
Hygienic
 responsibility. We have all the health we deserve and no more. No genuine recovery can be made until the cause of the impairment of health is removed and no
perpetuation of the recovery is possible except upon a basis of continued avoidance of the causes
of ill health. To remain well requires that we live in a way to perpetuate good health. Whatever breaks down
health in the first place will do so again, if it is returned to after health has been restored. Fasting
will not provide man with a license to debauch himself. Fasting followed by gourmandizing is
stupid. The drunk who sobers up can and will get drunk again if he returns to drink. If he ignores
the drink he will not again become drunk. When a man learns his limitations in food consumption, and respects these, he will remain well. If he habitually oversteps these, he will build disease and no plan of 
immunization
 can prevent
him from becoming ill.
A return to coffee and tobacco, to alcohol and poisoned soft-drinks, to overwork and late hours,
to unventilated bedrooms and slothfulness, to overeating and the conventional diet, in a word, to he
old disease-producing way of life will build again physical troubles that have subsided with
fasting. The only basis upon which to establish and maintain high-level health is supplied by first-
class living habits. What are the causes of disease? Any and all habits of mind and body that use up nerve energy in
excess. Whatever factor or combination of factors that produces enervation is a cause of disease. If
we squander our energies in many ways, we will enervate ourselves and begin the evolution of
more disease. It is inevitable, under such circumstances, that elimination shall be checked and
waste accumulate in the body. Thus it becomes apparent that a corrected pattern of life involves far more than a mere change in
eating habits. The sexual life, emotional life, working life, domestic life and all other elements of
living that make up the complex of our lives are each vital to health. Each habit must be ordered
and controlled in keeping with the unchanging laws that govern the living organism. Fasting results in a radical cleansing of the fluids and tissues of the body, but it cannot prevent
the subsequent fouling of these same fluids and tissues brought on by the return to overeating
patterns. We can stay well only so long as we live in a manner to maintain and increase the gains
we have made. If we cannot return to these old and discarded routines, what should we eat? Can we continue at
least in buying the ordinary dishes of average families? To answer that I must point out certain facts of modern food that affect all of our civilization. We are living in an over-processed age, in terms of our diet. Everything is refined, stripped of its
essential food values, baked, fried, cooked, over-stuffed. This is one of the great perils of our age. It is also one of the great problems of any person who wants to live on natural foods. 61Natural products, coming from the hands of nature before they have been tampered with by the
processors and refiners, are the one source that has consistently proved, throughout the ages,
dependable both for man and animal. In spite of claims that processed and packaged substitutes for
foods are as good or better than nature’s products, the fact remains that no truly adequate
substitutes for the products of nature have been discovered and prepared in the laboratories. The
acid test of a food, it seems to me, is its fitness to serve the nutritive needs of the human organism
just coming off a prolonged fast. In all of my experience with feeding I have found nothing turned out synthetically by foods
manufacturers to equal the untouched products of garden, orchard and field. Processing removes
vitally important minerals from the foods, and either removes or makes valueless some or all of
the precious vitamins. Enzymes are destroyed and many of the amino acids of the proteins in the
food are destroyed. (Amino acids are destroyed by heat.) Because of the destruction of food values by cooking and the removal of 
essential food factors
by processing and refining, I emphasize the importance of eating fresh, uncooked fruits and
vegetables daily. Indeed, these foods should constitute no less than sixty percent of the daily diet. There can be no doubt that less protein will be required to supply the daily amino acid needs of the
body if these are taken in the uncooked state. Cooking also has the added disadvantage of leeching out much of the values of the food. Nourishment is lost in the juices that ooze from the foods in cooking; it is lost in the water in which
the foods are boiled or steamed. Food values are evaporated by the high temperature and are
chemically altered and rendered unusable as foods. One should make it a rule, from which there should be no variations, to have one meal of fresh,
uncooked fruit each day and at least one large raw vegetable salad daily. The salads commonly
eaten are too small to meet our needs and are often made up of such things as mashed potatoes,
boiled eggs, pickled olives and other such substances, to which is added a greasy dressing—but
with little in the way of either fresh fruits or vegetables. Some of them contain a leaf or two of
semi-wilted lettuce, a slice of half-ripened tomato, and dressing. Hardly enough to nourish a
canary. Salads of raw vegetables and meals of fresh fruits are essential sources of minerals and
vitamins. These foods are more abundant in these food factors, and are as necessary to the nutrition
of man as an abundance of green grass is essential to the horse or cow. He who partakes of these
foods each day will have no need to add mineral concentrates and vitamin pills to his diet. These
raw properties are the normal or natural sources of such food factors and nothing has yet been
produced by the food chemists that can take their places. Minerals are as essential to the formation and preservation of the body as proteins. They are
important to the formation and maintenance of the blood, bones, teeth, muscles, glands, nerves. There is a continuous demand for these substances by the active organism. Each day some of the
minerals are used and excreted and each day they must be replenished. But we are not able to
supply the body with minerals by eating lime and scrap iron. We are able to make use of minerals only in certain forms as these are prepared for our use by
the processes of plant life. The drug store cannot supply us with any just-as-good minerals to
replace those that are removed from our foods in the refining processes. Nor do we get our best
supply of minerals from powdered egg shells and bone meal. From the vegetable kingdom comes
our best mineral supply. Proteins are abundant in nature and there is rarely an excuse for protein deficiency in this
62country. Every food that grows contains proteins so that in eating natural foods one receives these
from several sources each day. Whatever essential amino acids may be lacking in one protein is
sure to be compensated by other amino acids in the other proteins of the diet. Nuts are one of the finest sources of the best and most adequate proteins. Green leaves contain
small quantities of most excellent proteins. There are proteins in bananas, dates, figs, legumes,
cereals and in a hundred other foods eaten daily. After a fast, when the body’s food reserve has been somewhat depleted, the three food
essentials that are most needed are proteins, minerals and vitamins. These are best secured from
the sources indicated. Canned foods, preserved foods, processed and refined foods, adulterated foods, sulphured
fruits, white flour, white sugar, white rice, constitute poor materials with which to build healthy
tissue. Man’s need for fats or oils is not as great as may be supposed, but he does require a small daily
amount of these and he instinctively seeks such foods. In many seeds, such as sunflower seed,
peanuts, soy beans, nuts and in the avocado, olive, and other fruits, nature has packaged an
abundant supply of the finest and tastiest oils. We do not need to seek for refined oils in order to
supply the fat needs of our body. Indeed, the oils stored in natural foods are associated with
minerals and vitamins, so that they are far superior to the refined fats and oils on the market. What I have written here of fats and oils applies with equal force to sugars and starches. In their
natural state, these food factors are ideally associated with minerals and vitamins and they are best
eaten in the unrefined state. Syrups and refined sugars are devoid of minerals and vitamins and are
poor foods. The sweet fruits: dates, figs, raisins, sweet grapes, well-ripened bananas,
persimmons, and similar products are the finest and best sources of sugars and should be eaten as
fruits rather than as fragmented food particles produced by manufacturers of refined products—out
of a tin can. In summarizing, any return to the overeating that may have characterized the pre-fasting way of
life will quickly build a state of ill health. Learn to be moderate in eating habits. One of the best
aids to moderation is the eating of whole natural foods. We are practically forced to overeat when
we try to live on a diet that is composed predominantly of processed and refined foods. We do this
in an effort to secure the food needs that are lacking in these foodless foods. Fasting cannot keep you well. Only sound habits will do so. 6314
Rejuvenation through Fasting
She was sixty years of age and had suffered for years with a minor heart ailment. I put her on a fast
of three weeks. She rested in bed while the fast was in progress. At the end of her fast she
remarked: “My heart feels so rested! It is so quiet I hardly know I have one in my body.”
This represented an improvement in the condition of the woman that was genuine and lasting. Overweight when she started, with high blood pressure, she lost twenty pounds and her blood
pressure was greatly reduced, lifting a great burden from her heart. Her general feeling of vigor and well-being matched the improvement of her heart. Her former
sleeplessness had given way to restful nightly repose. The improvement in her bowel action was
as marked as that of her heart function. Certainly her improved youthfulness of appearance and the
brightness of her eyes, spoke volumes for the rejuvenating effects of her physiological rest. Anyone experienced with fasting has seen great numbers of such instances of physical
rejuvenation achieved by means of the fast. The mental improvements commonly match the
physical improvements. Occasional restoration of hearing in ears that have been deaf for years,
improved vision, discarding glasses that have been worn for years (but rarely restoration of sight
to blind eyes), increased acuteness of the senses of taste and smell, restoration of ability to sense
delicate flavors, recovery of the sense of feeling in instances of sensory paralysis, stepped-up
vigor, increased mental powers, loss of weight, greatly increased functional vigor, with better
digestion and better bowel action, clear sparkling eyes, clearing of the complexion with a
restoration of youthful bloom, the disappearance of some of the finer lines of the face, reduced
blood pressure, better heart action, reduction of enlarged prostate, sexual rejuvenation—these and
many other evidences of rejuvenation are seen by everyone who has a wide experience with
fasting. Fasting can bring about a virtual rebirth, a revitalization of the organism. As the fast progresses,
all of the cells of the body undergo refinement and there is a removal from the protoplasm of the
cells of stored foreign 
substances (metaplasmic materials) so that the cells become more youthful
and function more efficiently. Some of these stored materials are highly toxic and have long remained in the fatty cells and in
the cells of the connective tissues which have been appropriately termed the “dumping ground of
the body” to get them out of the circulation. Freeing the tissues of such materials renders the body
more efficient as a physiologic mechanism. Besides the renovation that fasting enables the body to
undergo, there is created a potential for better function which continues long after the fast has been
broken. Wear and waste with repair and replenishment are continuous and almost simultaneous
processes in all living structures. The one is a building up, the other a tearing down. The two
processes have received the technical name of 
metabolism
 as described above, and are called
respectively, 
anabolism,
 the building up, and 
catabolism
 which is the tearing down. Catabolism
predominates during periods of activity; anabolism during periods of rest and repose. Anabolism may be defined as the process by which the body is repaired, reinvigorated and
prepared for renewed activity. It is the dominant process during periods of active growth; it is
somewhat slowed down in age. 64Fasting has been shown to result in an accelerated metabolism, with the emphasis after the fast
is broken, on the anabolic, or constructive phase. This is to say: the general cleansing of the body
renews the building-up process of life. It is true that under experimental conditions, this
improvement of the process of life is not lasting. But this has been due, in great measure, to the
failure of experimenters to follow up the fasts with anything other than a speedy return to
conventional modes of living. A man’s age is the duration of his life. When we use the term age to mean several aspects of that
life, the stage of one’s development (physiological age), the mental development attained
(psychological age) or any other such term or phrase which signifies something other than
chronological age, we are confusing age with body condition or with stages of growth and
development. When we say that a man is old at forty and that another man is young at seventy we actually refer
to the physical and mental states of the two men and not to their ages. The suggestion that we use
the phrase “functional age” in speaking of an individual and make no reference to his birthdays is
based on the same confusion. It is true that birthdays do not tell the condition of one's body, nor do they tell how well
developed the mind may be, but conditions are related to age only incidentally and are not
essential parts of age. A man of seventy may be youthful in physical condition or in mental outlook,
or a man of forty may be old in condition, flaccid and depressed, but the first is still seventy years
old and the other is only forty years of age. Knowing these things, we may ignore the objection often offered that we are “trying to set the
clock back.” The changes called “aging” that take place in the body are not related so much to the
clock of time as to causes totally unrelated to time as such. If the clock had casual relation to “aging,” we should expect the man of seventy to show all the
signs of “aging” that are common to this time of life, and the man of forty to present all the signs of
“youthfulness” that are common then. That we so frequently see these facts in reverse should cause
us to question the assumption that the condition of the body is irrevocably related to the number of
years we have lived. We should not find it difficult to understand that we “age” in time, but time is
not the cause of the “aging” process. Think of the stone worn away by water. It changes in time, but
time does not wear it away. The water wears it away. The process of wearing away the stone
takes time—time is not the wearing process. Two stones subjected to the same amount of water-wearing, will wear away at different rates,
depending on their respective hardness and density. For this same reason, two men, under the same
amount of impairing influences will “age at different rates,” depending on the resistance each
offers to the causes of impairment. A stone will wear faster or slower depending on the amount of water that flows over it; wearing
slowly if only a small amount of water washes its surface, wearing faster if much water flows over
it. In the same way, a man will “age” slowly or rapidly, depending on the amount of impairing
influence to which he is subjected. Carrying our comparison a bit further: if we can conceive of a self-repairing rock being worn
away and then having the water cease flowing over it, we’d see the rock repair itself and restore
much of its former substance, and would witness a process similar to that which takes place in the
human organism (which is self-repairing) when the causes of “aging” are removed. The body is capable of tearing down some of its damaged structures and replacing these with
new structures; it is capable of renewing its cells, of casting off its accumulated burdens and of
65repairing much of its damages. Unlike the lifeless rock, the living organism is capable of taking an
active hand in its affairs and doing something constructive. Man is constituted for longer and better life than he now enjoys. He should live considerably
many more years than he now does. And he should enjoy the possession of full health and vigor. He should not fall apart at sixty or earlier. The fact is that, barring death by accident or killing, as
in war, human beings die of disease. If we live in such a manner as to prevent the evolution of
disease, we not only may live much longer than is now thought possible, but we may live in full
possession of all our mental and physical powers. Aging has been defined as “the accumulation of body changes that increase one’s chances of
dying with the passage of time.” This simply means that aging is the slow accumulation of
pathological (diseased) changes in the organs and tissues of the body. It signifies the accumulation
of damages to the structures of the body and a slow impairment of the functions of life. Old age is
simply one more chronic disease. This is the reason we may 
age
 early or late, and why some men
are younger at seventy than others are at forty. Age takes place in time but is not caused by time. It is not important, therefore, that means be
found of determining accurately one’s physiological age. What is important is that we find and
recognize the causes of the aging process. Remove the cause of aging; and the physiological age
takes care of itself. It is claimed that no one knows precisely what the body changes that constitute aging consist of,
or what exactly the changes might be. The experiments of the noted French scientist. Dr. Alexis
Carrell, author of 
Man, the Unknown,
 in keeping fragments of a chicken heart alive for many
years, revealed that they aged when not kept free of their own cell waste. In other words, they aged
as a consequence of the accumulation, in the culture medium in which they were kept, of their own
metabolic waste. If these wastes were regularly washed away, so that the cells were not poisoned by them, the
chicken heart did not age. We have indications again that aging is the result of chronic toxic
saturation. This important finding has received all too little attention, perhaps because there was
no way to exploit it. Carrell’s experiments and many more like them have led to the conclusion by some authorities
that the cells are potentially 
immortal. Normally they continue to divide and redivide, but they do
not die. From this viewpoint death would seem to be abnormal. What we observe, however, under
all ordinary conditions of life, is that the cells do age and they do die in great numbers. To go on
living indefinitely, all conditions must be favorable. If the cells are potentially ageless, as is now believed by scientists, and the complex body ages,
then it is evident that one of two things is true. Either the functional specialization of cell groups—
the organs of the body—is inadequate, or there is some lack of coordination of the cell groups in
the body. Perhaps there may be both. If one or both of the propositions is true, the question
becomes: is the inadequacy of specialization or the inadequacy of coordination a primary state of
life or is it a result of ascertainable and removable causes? If it is primary, we cannot hope to
prevent, for more than a brief span, the aging process, which seems to set in, in most cases, rather
early in life. If it is due to avoidable and removable causes, as seems likely, we should be able to
do much to prevent aging. At least in many of the lower forms of life numerous experiments have 
demonstrated that not
only can the aging process be indefinitely held off, but also that it can be reversed and youthfulness
restored. 66For more than fifteen years. Professor C. M. Child of the University of Chicago did research on
aging in animals. His results revealed that periodic fasting is generally conducive to
rejuvenescence. In certain species of insects he found that, with abundant food, insects pass through their whole
life-history in three to four weeks, but when the food is greatly reduced or the insects are forced to
fast, they may continue active and young for at least three years. His conclusion was that “partial
starvation (fasting) inhibits senescence. The starveling is brought back from an advanced age to the
beginning of postembryonic life; it is almost reborn.”
Child pointed out that in the organic world generally, rejuvenescence is but the regular or
ordinary process of cell renewal that is in continuous operation throughout the life of every
organism. The failure to maintain youthfulness is due to causes that prevent the ideal operation of the
regular renewal process. Any removal of these hindering causes, at any age, results in a movement
in the direction of renewed youthfulness. Professor Child’s experiments led Anton J. Carlson, Professor of Physiology in the same
university, to experiment for years with both fasting and feeding, in an effort to determine how
much rejuvenation could be brought about in man by the same means that result in rejuvenation of
lower forms of life. He was convinced that he found evidence of the rejuvenating effects of fasting
in man. Unfortunately his experiments with human subjects were all too few and most of them were
performed on more or less youthful subjects. Frederick Hoelzel, who did much of the fasting that Professor Carlson observed, thinks that the
possibilities of rejuvenescence progressively decrease as age advances and that little rejuvenation
may be expected after the age of thirty-five. On this I am compelled to take issue with him. I think
that his observations in this field have been too narrowly limited to justify setting any such
arbitrary limit to the possibilities of human rejuvenation. Thirty-five is not a fixed landmark in
human life. It is not an age in which irreversible changes have been made in human tissues. It must be recognized that there exist sharply defined limits to the possibilities of human
rejuvenation. There are irreversible changes in the tissues of man’s body and trying to undo them is
like attempting to grow a new leg after one has been lost. In many of the lower forms of animal
life, some of them very complex animals, the ability to grow new members or internal organs
(even new heads, brains and eyes) is possible, and the possibilities of rejuvenation are much
greater in such organisms than in the higher forms. But a greater degree of rejuvenation is possible
in man than we have heretofore thought. We may accept as true the claim that the greater the amount and extent of pathological changes
that have taken place in the body of man, the less are his possibilities of rejuvenation. We may
agree with Hoelzel that the older one grows, the less are his possibilities of renewing
youthfulness. Yet some of the most remarkable examples of rejuvenation I have witnessed have
been in men and women past sixty. Without the least desire to discount the value of the work done
by laboratory experimenters with fasting, I think that I am justified in saying that these observations
have been too narrowly restricted to enable the laboratory workers to give us the final word. Yet I do not think the greatest possibilities of the fast are in the rejuvenation of old men and
women. Its possibility for reversing the process of senescence in younger men and women so that
the aging process is slowed down, represents an equally important role. If we can employ fasting
to prevent damaging changes in vital organs, by periodically freeing the body of its toxic load, and
by giving the organs of life much needed rest, we should be able to accomplish far more lasting
67good in preventing aging than in seeking rejuvenation of the aged. Some investigators stress the evanescent character of the rejuvenating effects of fasting and have
taken the position that they are not worth the effort required to bring them about. To this objection
there are two important replies. First: A temporary regeneration is all that is needed to remove many structural defects and to
improve the functioning efficiency of the organism. The removal of the toxic load is not evanescent
and this is vitally important to the future of the organism. Second: In making their investigations, as already noted, these research men have guaranteed the
evanescent character of the gains made by the readiness with which they have returned the subjects
of the experiments to their prior toxogenic ways of life. In 1960, Tara Singh of India underwent a 48-day fast for political reasons. He was seventy-six
years of age and his physicians gave it as their belief, after examining him, that his period of
abstinence had “increased his life span by at least ten years.”
This statement of his physicians, issued from New Delhi, added that the fasting period had
“relieved illness from which he was suffering.” While the improvement of the health of Singh was
a by-product of his fast, it is both interesting and significant to find that his physicians are candid
enough to give credit to the period of abstinence for the benefits to his health. It is usual for
physicians to discredit all reports of benefits resulting from fasting. Perhaps this incident
represents a turning point in their attitude. We hope that physicians will soon come to recognize in fasting a natural means of rejuvenation
that is actually superior to gland grafts, the mascerated 
organs of unborn lambs, and the use,
generally, of animal and insect products, which, so far, have provided no genuine rejuvenation. Perhaps this change in attitude can lead to a recognition of the fact that whatever rejuvenation an
organism is capable of effecting, is the product of the operation of intrinsic forces and processes
under favorable conditions, and not a forced state resulting from exotic impositions. Recovery of
health (this is to say, clearing up of pathological states) and rejuvenation may yet be seen to be one
and the same process. Brown-Sequard’s seminal fluid rejuvenator; Steinach’s subcutaneous division of the 
vas
deferens
 (the duct or tube carrying the secretion of the testes), supposed to result in rejuvenation;
Voronoff’s monkey gland transplantation; Brinkley’s goat gland transplantation; Funk’s vitamin
rejuvenation plan all having failed, perhaps we can turn our attention to a more rational approach
to the problems created by aging. If we can see in fasting a means of enabling the body to free itself, not alone of its accumulated
toxic load, but also of its burden of accumulated abnormal changes in its tissues, we can use this
means of rejuvenation to great advantage. Recognizing its limitations and not expecting the impossible, we may still find in the fast an
avenue perhaps not to eternal youth but to a protracted youth that endures long into what we once
considered—old age! 6815
Fasting to Gain Weight
Almost everybody can understand fasting to lose weight, but it may be difficult for many of the
readers to understand fasting to gain weight. However, it is a common experience with fasting, that
in a great number of cases, the first weight gains made, follow a fast.
Fasting_Can_Save_Your_Life_by_Herbert_M._Shelton.txt
Summarize the following text section accurately and concisely. Maintain specific details and numerical information, and use anti-repetition mechanisms:

        Each time the patient fasts he is forced to go through the same
experience. Never 
experiencing the comfortable stages of the fast, he tends to rebel against another
fast, he hesitates, draws back, and dreads the whole routine. In spite of the difficulties attending a series of short fasts, there are cases in which this is all that
can be done, and then the plan should be undertaken with determination, but under supervision, to
the end that the greatest good may be accomplished by it. These questions of where, when, and for
how long are seen to be variables that must be handled and decided upon with common sense. The
approach must be flexible, humane, understanding, wise. We are dealing with human beings, and
not machines. 4910
What to Expect while Fasting
Whether undertaken for reasons of weight reduction, or general health, or for some special
physical impairment, the fast involves certain developments which should be examined and
understood. These developments are for the most part mild, particularly where the individual is
fasting only to reduce weight. Let it be understood: I do not think it is possible to over-emphasize the fact that the physical
sensations of fasting are, for the most part, far more pleasurable than the real or illusory delights of
feasting. The patient, for example, who has previously suffered from being forced to eat when he
had no desire for food, is likely to feel a great sense of relief and satisfaction from the outset of the
fast. Whatever the condition of the faster at the start, it is true that a fast can sometimes be somewhat
uncomfortable, at least in certain of its stages. It is also true that in most cases the faster is more
comfortable than when he was eating. Many can go through protracted fasting in a relaxed state
with little or no discomfiture. During the fast, every abnormal sensation, every discomfort, every ache and pain is likely to be
blamed upon the fast. This may be true even though, as the fast proceeds, discomfort ceases. The
condition of the individual's own tissues is the chief cause of the symptoms he experiences in the
beginning. As these tissues are cleansed, discomforts disappear. Most of us know something of the suffering and prostration brought on by the “withdrawal
symptoms” of the inebriate when he is taken off 
alcohol. In a parallel way many who go on fasts
have become so used to 
food stimulants
 through the years, that they go through a period of
depression similar to that of the inebriate deprived of his alcohol. They may become nauseous and
vomiting may occur. They may become irritable, sleepless, weak; there may be pains and aches in
the body; there may be severe headache. It is not proper to call these developments “withdrawal
symptoms,” in my opinion. It is important to know that they are evanescent, of brief duration, are
rarely severe. Sometimes, to avoid and to ameliorate these symptoms, the faster is given fruits. I doubt that this
is wise. With these foods, the fast is interrupted when the first signs of discomfort appear, and then
it is resumed after two or three days of light eating of this nature. The interruption with light feeding may have to be repeated two or three times during a fast of
considerable length, if this plan is resorted to. It is doubtful that the interruption saves the faster a
single slight twinge of discomfort and it is certain that it prolongs the time he has to be under
observation. If the faster will grit his teeth, clench his fists, grin and bear the evanescent
discomforts until the crisis is over the first time, there will be no recurrence of the symptoms. Frequently such a crisis is of extremely brief duration, no more than an hour or so. Only
infrequently does it last longer than three to four days. In addition to the foregoing general developments in fasting, there are a number of specific areas
where changes and developments are usual and should be understood. Even though they present no
problem or serious difficulty whatsoever, they should, as a part of the fasting routine, be discussed
frankly with the experienced 
Hygienist
 who is directing the fast. When one starts a fast, certain physical developments occur almost invariably and should not
50cause alarm. Chief among them are: The tongue coats heavily, a bad taste develops in the mouth
and breath acquires a bad odor. Teeth may become pasty. The whole complex resembles the
tongue, mouth and breath in fever. Indeed, there are fasting advocates who liken this to the
depurative work of an acute illness, a 
fever. Disagreeable as this condition may be, it represents a cleansing process. As the body unloads its
toxic burden, a process of slow clearing of the tongue begins at the tip and on the sides and
gradually clearing backward and towards the middle, until, by the time hunger returns, the tongue
and mouth are clean and the breath sweet. However light the urine may be at the beginning of the fast, it will become very dark and foul
within a few hours to a day after the fast is started. It may become almost black in many cases and
the odor will be very strong. After a week to two weeks, depending on the condition of the faster
—the urine begins to clear, becomes lighter, loses its strong odor until by the time hunger returns it
is normal in color and odor. The whole procedure is part of the evidence that the kidneys are
engaged in throwing 
out unusual quantities of waste. Urine tests verify this fact. As purification
continues, the urine returns to normal. Loss of weight that results from fasting is consequent upon the utilization of the body’s reserves
in nourishing the vital tissues and the excretion of toxic accumulations. This loss should be
regarded as part of the process of purification and the resulting improvement should be welcomed. The degree of unwholesomeness of the tissues helps to determine the rapidity with which weight is
lost. Loss is greatest in the early days of the fast, fat people losing at a faster rate than thin
individuals. There are however, thin individuals who because of the toxic state of their tissues
lose as rapidly as overweight fasters during the first few days. Losses at this stage range from a
pound and a half a day, at the start of the fast, to four to six pounds in very stout individuals. After
a few days of fasting, the rate of loss slackens. In the later stages of a long fast, less than a quarter
of a pound a day may be lost. It is easily possible to exaggerate the importance of weight loss in any consideration of fasting. The emaciated person who remains thin on his various “weight gaining” diets may be very
reluctant to lose more weight, although generally after the fast, he will gain weight on much less
food than he has been in the habit of eating. It is an error to think that fasting is of benefit only to
fleshy people. The 
feeling
 of weakness, sometimes experienced during a fast is due, in the main to functional
inactivity. There is a general functional let-down as the organism takes full advantage of the
proffered opportunity to rest. The heart slows, circulation slows, there is a slowing of respiration. The glands of the body reduce their activities. In general, the tired body heaves a sigh of relief and
goes to bed. This is just what is needed and proof that it is beneficial is seen by the fact that vigor
returns as the body rests and is cleansed, long before food is taken. Indeed weakness during the
first few days of the fast may be nothing more significant than an absence of the accustomed
stimulation. Many people undertake to fast with the mistaken idea that the cleansing processes carried on
during this period are necessarily of extremely trying and of disagreeable nature. This is true in
only a minute percentage of cases; it is by no means the rule. On the contrary, most fasters go
through even long fasts without the development of any dramatic or extraordinary crises. Most of
the work of excretion is carried on without the production of troublesome crises. When a crisis
does develop it should be welcomed, as it is almost always of a remedial nature. 51Skin eruptions rarely develop during the fast, but are definitely eliminative processes when they
do occur. Giddiness, fainting, palpitation of the heart, and symptoms of this nature, though not
common, should not be regarded as crises. They present no danger to the faster. Perhaps the most annoying development that occurs while a fast is in progress is that of nausea
and vomiting. Not only is it a trying time while it 
lasts, but the faster is very weak also. Fortunately, there can be no doubt that this crisis is definitely beneficial and it does not occur in
more than fifteen percent of cases. Nausea and vomiting can develop on the first day of the fast or
at any time thereafter. Generally, a crisis develops after several days of abstinence. In a few
instances they develop after four or more weeks of fasting. What is ejected is usually a rather abnormal and watery bile with considerable mucus. The liver
works over-time (for a day to a few days) and much of the bile thus turned out is regurgitated into
the stomach, and is thrown out. The faster is so greatly benefited by the ordeal that he is well
compensated for the discomfort. These episodes may last a day or they may last two, three, four
days or a week. Rarely does vomiting persist beyond a week. The faster's strength returns when
vomiting ceases. If it persists for several days and water is not retained there is some inevitable dehydration. This is a serious matter, especially in cases where vomiting lasts for several days. The possibility
of breaking the fast must be considered promptly. The faster is weakened by the dehydration and
the recovery of strength is slow. If there is diarrhea along with the vomiting, and this occurs very
rarely, the dehydration is more severe. In such cases, if vomiting does not subside after a reasonable time, break the fast. This is not
always easy as there is a tendency to vomit the food as well as the water. In supervising some
fasters, I have often tried several kinds of juice before finding one that could be retained. Diarrhea in a fast is not as common as vomiting, but it does occur occasionally. When it does
develop, it may come at any period of the fast, even after thirty-five days. The discharge is
composed of bile, mucus and retained feces. This crisis is undoubtedly of a cleansing character. It
may be viewed in the same light as the diarrhea that accompanies marked edema in nephritis
(Bright’s disease) by which much of the edematous fluid is expelled from the body. That this ever
occurs in non-fasters I am not sure, but it is a common development in fasting a dropsical case. 5211
Nine Basic Steps
Let me warn emphatically that fasting is a much more complicated process than generally realized
even by some of its ardent advocates. It involves much more than merely going without food. There
is an art to fasting as 
well as a science of fasting. The uses of fasting seem, at times, almost
unlimited. Its inconveniences are not great, its dangers are few and rarely seen. Yet for the most
satisfactory results it must be conducted in accordance with a few well-ascertained rules and
techniques by an experienced man. It is not a process to be left to the guidance of anyone of meager
knowledge or no experience in conducting fasts. Paradoxically, less supervision of the fast is required in acute disease than in chronic disease. When disease is the result of years of wrong life, and if the condition of the patient is one of grave
weakness, with severe organic impairment, much skill will be required to take the individual
through a fast of sufficient duration to accomplish the desired results. In such situations, it would be hazardous to rely on inexperienced and untrained men. I am
aware that there are some untrained laymen attempting to conduct fasts. I believe it is vitally
important to investigate beforehand to be sure you have the best and most experienced man
available. In this connection I must point out also that, while there are several schools of so-called
healing recognized by law in this country, few of the practitioners of any of these schools have any
knowledge of and experience with fasting. We cannot select any 
doctor
 at random, without
knowing his special training, to supervise a fast. It is a fundamental rule of 
hygienic
 practice that all the needs of normal physiology are present
in states of illness. And in periods of abstinence, they must be met according to a degree of need
and functional ability, to the end that organic and functional integrity may be preserved or restored. Let us understand this clearly: when we fast we do not also cease to breathe or to take water. There is never an absence of need for oxygen; we continue to become thirsty at intervals and we
drink. Fasting is abstinence from food, not abstinence from all of the essentials of life. And it is
abstinence from food only in the sense that we abstain from taking in the raw materials of nutrition
for a period of time, while the body draws on its stored-up supplies. We still need and use food. Fasting is not suspended animation. Indeed, although it is a period of greatly reduced activity,
some of the processes of life are actually accelerated during periods of abstinence. The ordinary
needs of life: food, air, water, warmth, sunshine, activity, rest, sleep, cleanliness, poise of mind,
remain basic needs of the fasting organism. Food (nutriment) with which to sustain the functioning tissues of the body is obtained from the
reserve stores within the body. Water is taken according to the demands of thirst; warmth is
required so that the body does not become chilled; sunshine is needed in keeping with the
somewhat reduced metabolic activities of life; cleanliness is still a requirement; sleep is a
necessity; mental and emotional stabilization is especially important. This means that the techniques of fasting are significant and should at 
least, in a broad general
sense, be recognized and understood by anyone interested in this field or contemplating a fast. Where do these techniques begin. Some say they should begin long before the fast starts—with
the earliest stages of fast preparation. 1. PREPARATION
53Many complicated plans have been designed to prepare the individual or patient for a fast. Some of these involve a period on special foods intended to empty the intestinal tract of material
before the fast is started. Others are rituals involving fasting a day, eating two days, fasting two
days, eating four days, and so on in this manner, with the goal of gradually preparing one for a fast
of considerable length. All such plans are wasteful of the patient’s time and money, since they
revolve around the idea of feeding at a time when a fast is needed. As there is no reason why one
may not go into a fast abruptly and without these rituals, they are not recommended here. The truly
essential preparation is in the mental and emotional attitudes. If you can understand the wisdom and rationality of fasting, and rid your mind of all fear of this
perfectly normal process, you can fast with ease. Satisfy yourself that the fast will prove to be
highly beneficial and enter upon it without fear and anxiety. Mental unrest and fear can make
fasting difficult or impossible in cases in which it would otherwise prove of the greatest possible
benefit. When I first started my work, I served for a few months under the direction of Milo A. Crane, M. D. , who conducted the Crane Sanitariums in Elmhurst, Illinois. Dr. Crane never placed a
patient on a fast if the patient feared it. Instead, he would put him on a diet and permit him to
mingle with the other patients. Usually within a few days the patient would ask if he could not fast. This is one of the advantages of being with others. One sees and realizes that they are not
starving but actually benefiting. Fears vanish before reality. 2. REST
The techniques of fasting are based on simple physiological principles. They do not involve the
need for nor the use of any measures that are foreign to the regular needs of the living organism. Treatments, special modalities, and forcing measures have no place in fasting. The most important
technique of the fast is that of reducing activity, mental, sensory, and physical, to a bare minimum,
so that the energy of the faster may be conserved and his healing and excretory processes may be
accelerated. The faster should bear in mind the simple rule of compensation. In order to expend on one side,
nature must conserve on the other. What he does not expend in unneeded activity is available for
use in elimination and repair. Physical rest is secured by ceasing physical activities, by resting in bed, by relaxing. Physical
activities expend considerable energy and prevent the recuperation of energy that is essential to
restoration of normal nerve energy. Mental rest is secured by curtailing mental activities and emotional 
unrest. Debating highly
controversial issues is harmful. Allowing oneself to become upset or involved in trivial disputes
of any nature is harmful. Emotional poise is the secret of mental rest. It is not always easy for the
faster to cease worrying or to overcome anxiety, but everything constructive should be done to
provide for tranquility. Sensory rest is secured by retiring to a quiet place and avoiding use of the eyes in reading,
viewing television, going to the movies or similar eye-straining activities. Noise is especially
destructive of poise and wasteful of energy. Quiet, peace, and sensory inactivity provide for
conservation of energy. In using rest, however, we do not urge a state of suspended animation nor dormancy, nor a state
of embryonic passivity. What is sought here is the absence of strain, the physical sense of peace by
which rest becomes possible. Rest does not heal, but is one of the essentials of efficient healing, as well as in maintaining
health. It is of great value to the enervated and toxemic. Not 
tonics
 and 
stimulants,
 not 
sedation
54and 
tranquilization,
 nor 
hypnotization,
 but rest is the great need of the organism that has been
lashed into impotency by stimulation and excesses in food, sex, emotional unrest, work and the
various deficiencies from which man suffers. Organs that have been lashed into impotency by overwork and 
stimulation
 may be rested into
full functioning vigor. Added 
stimulation,
 whatever its nature, only further depletes them. 3. ACTIVITY
The faster rests during the time he abstains from food for the reason that in the normal exercise
of the functions of life, feeding and activity should balance each other. There are authorities who
permit their fasters to take long walks and require them to take daily exercise of various kinds. In
reducing fasts, some moderate exercise, under supervision is permissible. For other fasts I believe
even moderate exercising is a needless expenditure of energy and a waste of reserves. Activity
should be geared to the food eaten. When no food is taken, activities should be reduced to a
minimum. Rest is the need, not expenditure. 4. WARMTH
A faster’s resistance to cold is likely to be lower than that of the person who is eating regularly. He chills easily. Chilling inhibits elimination, increases the discomforts of the faster and causes a
more rapid utilization of reserves. It is important, therefore, that the faster keep warm. This is
necessary even in July and August. The feet, in particular, should be kept warm. Cold feet will
prevent the faster from sleeping. 5. WATER
The faster will be thirsty at intervals, though rarely as often as when he was eating. The normal
demand for water should be met with the purest water available. Mineral waters and waters with a
bad taste are not 
advisable. A soft spring water, rain water, distilled water, filtered water or any
water that is free of impurities is acceptable. It should be taken only as thirst demands. There is nothing to be gained by drinking large
quantities of water, despite a lack of demand for this, on the theory that this flushes the system. It is
true that the more water one drinks the more fluid will the kidneys excrete, but this does not
represent an increase of elimination of waste. Indeed it may result in a lessening of the amount of
waste excreted. In summer, there may be a desire to drink cold water. Cool water is excellent, but very cold or
ice water may slow down and retard recovery. Hot water may be relished under certain conditions
more than cold water or water at room temperature. In some cases hot water may be sipped in
moderation with the advice or permission of the supervisor; in others its use is inadvisable. 6. BATHING
There is the same need for cleanliness while fasting as while eating. Bathing should be
performed daily or as often as needed. The bath should be of a character to cause the least amount
of energy expenditure. To insure this the following requirements should be observed. (a. ) The bath should be of short duration. The faster should not remain long under the shower or
in the tub. The common practice of soaking for long periods in water is enervating and should be
avoided. (b. ) Bath water should be lukewarm, neither hot nor cold. It requires considerable energy
expenditure to resist both heat and cold. The closer the temperature of the bath water is to the
temperature of the body, the less energy expenditure will be occasioned. Bear in mind, always,
that bathing is for cleanliness and not for any alleged 
therapeutic
 effects. Bathe quickly and get out
of the water. 55(c. ) If the faster is very weak and is unable to take his or her own bath, a sponge bath in bed may
be given by an assistant. 7. SUNBATHING
Sunshine is an essential nutrient factor in both plant and animal nutrition and is helpful while
fasting. It should not be thought of as a 
cure,
 for it is not, but as a normal element in the regular
nutritional processes of life. Its role in calcium metabolism is especially important, but it is also
important in phosphorus utilization and in assuring strength of the muscles. Indeed, it serves
several important purposes in the normal processes of life and is of far greater importance to us
than we generally realize. Unless overdone, sunbathing results in relaxation and no measurable expenditure of energy. If
the sun is too hot, if the bath is too prolonged, if getting to and from the solarium is too taxing on
the patient, any of these factors may result in an excessive expenditure of energy. It is necessary to
“temper the wind to the shorn lamb” in supervising the sunbathing. To accomplish this, the
following rules should be observed:
Take the sunbath in the early morning while it is still cool, or in the late afternoon during the
summer. In mild weather, when it is not hot at midday, a sunbath may be taken at any time of the
day that the temperature is comfortable. Start the sunbath with five minutes of exposure for the front of the body and five minutes for the
back. On the second day this may be increased to six minutes on each side. Increase the exposure
one minute a day for each side, to a maximum of thirty minutes for each surface. It will be well to
level off at this exposure time. If the fast is continued beyond twenty days, reduce the exposure to about eight minutes on front
and eight minutes on the rear surfaces, and continue this exposure until after the fast is broken. At any time if the sunbath leaves the faster weak or irritated, the duration of the exposure should
be reduced. Avoid overdoing. 8. PURGES
It is sometimes claimed, completely erroneously in my opinion, that during the fast, it is
necessary to keep the bowels, kidneys and skin active to carry away the toxins released into the
circulation by the liquidation of tissue. Daily enemas or saline purges are advised to clean the
bowels, much water drinking and even diuretics are advised to keep the kidneys active; sweat
baths are employed to keep the skin active. All of these forcing measures are not only unnecessary, they are actually hurtful. There is
nothing that so safely and so certainly increases kidney action as the fast itself. The bowels empty
themselves during a fast as often as there is a need for them to do so. If no need arises, they take a
long-needed rest. The skin is not an eliminating organ and sweat baths are delusions. These
measures further enervate the faster and tend to inhibit rather than accelerate elimination. These
suggested techniques are harmful and should be avoided. 9. SUFFERING
It has been said that the fast should not be continued when the faster is suffering greatly, as in
some general health impairment. The fact is that it is precisely under these circumstances that
digestive and assimilative powers are lowest. The greater the suffering the less able is the sufferer
to take and digest food. When the discomfort passes, the practitioner will know when to feed the
patient. Fasting tends to end suffering and the faster suffering may expect relief in a much shorter time if
he continues to fast than if he breaks the fast. 5612
Breaking the Fast
It is strange that the following simple truth, so obvious a truth indeed, is so difficult for many to
grasp: the ideal moment to break the fast, of course, is at the time when hunger returns. As hunger
returns, the tongue clears, the breath becomes sweet and there is a clean taste in the mouth. All the
indications are that the body has completed the work of cleansing itself and is ready to resume
eating. There is usually a watering of the mouth and a strong desire for food. Does hunger always
return. The correct answer is: nearly always. In terminal cases, such as advanced cancer,
advanced tuberculosis, serious heart disease, and other conditions where death is merely a
question of time, hunger rarely recurs. In all savable cases, and in those near normal individuals
who fast, hunger never fails to put in its appearance at the right time. Indeed it frequently recurs well in advance of the exhaustion of the body’s reserves. This is
particularly true following an acute disease. Within a day or two after all acute symptoms have
subsided, in almost all such cases, the invalid will express a desire for food, although his body
may still be amply supplied with reserves to carry him through many more days of abstinence. With the exceptions noted, the fasting chronic sufferer can count on the same thing. Indeed, the
difficulty he is likely to experience is not a failure of hunger to return, but in controlling himself
and his appetite when it does. After a fast of considerable length there is a period of several days, lasting up to two weeks,
during which the individual feels hungry most of the time. If he will control his eating until this
initial period of hunger has passed, he will settle down to a more normal appetite and the danger
of overeating will pass. Uncontrolled, he may eat so much during this period that he loses much that he gained in the fast. One important advantage of fasting in an institution is that control continues until the normal eating
level is stabilized. In such an institution the health seeker’s diet is carefully supervised;
 he is not
permitted to overeat. At home, he must be a more self-disciplined man than the average if he is to
avoid overeating. For numerous reasons most fasts are broken before the return of hunger. In a small percentage of
cases, the faster is too thin or too weak to carry the fast to a natural termination. In many instances,
there is a lack of time or funds, or there may be an unwillingness to fast so long. Some fasters, even when fasting solely for health reasons, object to getting so thin. Most of them
are anxious to end the fast as soon as they are free of their annoying symptoms. Many have the idea
that they can complete the recovery begun with the fast by shifting to a diet. This is a mistaken
notion, but it is not easy to convince those who are attracted to this half-way notion. They usually
regret their action—afterward. Some go on a fast during their vacation and have but a limited time for fasting, breaking the fast,
and getting ready to return to work. Others feel that they can be away from their business or their
family for only a certain period of time. There are a thousand personal reasons for ending the fast
short of its natural termination. In many instances the results of these short fasts are disappointing. In some instances the premature breaking is the difference between complete success and partial
failure. 57A job only half done is not done at all. Certainly health is worth a little added effort. Missing a
few more meals is a small price to pay for the results that can accrue to the individual willing to
make the effort required. The animal breaks his fast on whatever food is available at the time he resumes eating. On the
whole, animals seem to be better controlled than man. They are not inclined to glut themselves
when they break a fast, but may take but a small portion of food in doing so. A dog that has fasted
for nearly a month, for example, may take but a few sips of milk at a time and may refuse all flesh
for the first four to six days after he resumes eating. If man’s instincts were still as reliable guides
to eating as are those of the animals, I doubt that we would need to supervise the breaking of a fast. It is possible to break a fast with any food available. Either whole fruits or whole vegetables
may be used. In order not to overconsume food, we have found it advisable to weigh the food for
the first few days.
The recommended approach to fasting is not to force the body to fast, but to supervise it with determination, but with understanding and wisdom, as it is a complicated process that requires knowledge and experience.
What is the recommended approach to fasting, and why is it important?
The recommended method for breaking a fast is to reintroduce food gradually and in small amounts, with an emphasis on whole, unprocessed foods, as this helps to avoid overeating and promotes a more natural and sustainable recovery.
What is the recommended method for breaking a fast, and why is it important?
The recommended way to break a fast is to reintroduce food in a gradual and controlled manner, focusing on whole, unprocessed foods, as this helps to prevent overeating and supports a more natural and sustainable recovery.
What is the recommended way to break a fast, and why is it important?
Rest and relaxation are crucial during a fast, as they allow the body to conserve energy and focus on the cleansing and elimination processes, which is essential for the fast to be effective and for the body to recover properly.
What is the importance of rest and relaxation during a fast, and why is it crucial?
The author does not believe in the idea of eternal youth, but rather emphasizes the importance of maintaining a healthy lifestyle and avoiding the causes of aging, as it is not the clock that determines aging, but the accumulation of toxic substances and the lack of a healthy lifestyle.
What is the author's perspective on the idea that fasting can lead to eternal youth, and why is it important?