Fasting

[Cello]

Pros Cons? Do you do it? Why?

I use fasting as both a spiritual discipline and a means to sort of purge or cleanse the ol system...

anyone else?

[Teallaura]

It's an interesting discipline - I've considered it, but at present I do it only once a year (unless I forget - those first few hours after the alarm goes off are kinda tough on me - it's not that I have anything against morning - but why does it have to come so early? I have realized I was supposed to be fasting about an hour after breakfast. Opps....).

[luv1another]

Pros Cons? Do you do it? Why?

I use fasting as both a spiritual discipline and a means to sort of purge or cleanse the ol system...

anyone else?

I have fasted a few times from 2 days to 3 weeks. the two day and three day ones were spiritual fasts before prayer events at church (no our church doesn't ask us to) the longer fasts have been to get my body back inline... sometimes I find that no matter what I do I tend to get down a bit and when it starts happening to frequently I will fast... usually a juice fast though... nothing but fresh fruit juice... I have tried the bought juices you know in cartons or bottle but that does not work first there seems to be not near the upness the body gets from live juice, secondly I seemed to feel a lot hungrier all the tim... not sure why though.

I believe that everyone should fast now and again... it gives the body time to breathe so to speak... also God mentions fasting in the bible so much that it's obviously something good for us :wink:

[BeHereNow]

Pros Cons? Do you do it? Why?

I use fasting as both a spiritual discipline and a means to sort of purge or cleanse the ol system...

anyone else?

I fasted when I stopped eating fast food, and when I stopped eating meat. Both times were for relatively short periods, 3 days and 1 day respectively.

Fasting is great if it's done correctly. A lot of Christians read God's Chosen Fast, which is an old book about fasting. I read it and found it helpful back in the day.

[freethinker]

I do a two-week grape diet every year. It is not a real fast, I do eat unlimited grapes. After about 25 years of this I haven't experienced any bad effects, so for me there are no cons. There are several pros.
One pro is that in a fast your body adapts by switching cell metabolism to repair mode. More repair enzymes are produced to repair DNA. It's a survival mechanism. Cells stay in repair mode for a long time afterward. This may be a sort of hormesis mechanism which you may be interested in looking up. In an article in New Scientist it is claimed that diabetes type 2 can be cured by 3 weeks of some sort of fasting!
Another pro is that fasting reduces inflammation, maybe because your body acidity level (Ph) changes, I'm not sure.

[Heartablaze]

I've fasted for spiritual reasons. Sometimes it has been from entertainment and a couple of times it has been from food itself. If you fast, it helps sharpen your concern for something. Every time I have pains for the food or tv, I am reminded what I should be praying about and what needs to get worked out.
Pros: Focus and time
Cons: If you have to do this in public, it's a tad hard to explain and you can lose your focus and/or give in to the thing you are fasting from.

[Timothy Leary]

I used to do it for religious reasons, but if i do it these days it's just to detox my body.

[Baobabtree]

Pros Cons? Do you do it? Why?
Yes, on Maha Shivratri I try not to eat anything at all (although this year I did eat three small meals) in honor of lord Shiva. The biggest con obviously, is the hunger that eats away at your stomach like a starving dog eats a steak. The biggest pro though was that meditation almost seemed easier and more fulfilling. I don't know why but I felt closer to Lord Shiva then, then I had ever before, it was so spiritually awakening. So, despite the hunger it really helped me focus upon my meditation, and reach a level of happiness and spiritual fullness that I had never experienced before.

[medical 2933]

Fasting is part of the faith life of religions old and new all over the world. In a fast, the believer chooses, for a set time, to do without something that is hard to do without.