Fasting has been practised for centuries all over the planet and is dearly appreciated by yogis. Uriel, a senior teacher at Mahasiddha Yoga, sums up some contemporary scientific research in this domain, the benefits of fasting, some challenges to look out for, and also talks us through his experience of a 14-day fast.
Recent Research on the Effects of Long-Term Fasting on the Immune System
There was recent research on the effects of long-term fasting on mice. If you give old mice a three-day fast twice a month, in a matter of a few months they have an immune system that is similar to that of young mice. There is something in the process of fasting that profoundly regenerates the immune system.
In human beings, it was found that after 3 days of fasting the body starts eating the immune system (a process called autophagy). It starts dissolving the old parts of the immune system. It’s as if you had an army and you have the pensioners there in the army that receive a salary but can’t engage in combat. They haven’t killed a bacteria since you were 5! Fasting recycles these parts of the immune system.
Once the fasting ends the body produces stem cells. Stem cells can transform into anything. When we are an embryo or a young baby we have stem cells that can turn into whatever the body needs. Eye cells, heart cells, skin cells, whatever. After 3 days of fasting the body releases stem cells that then turn into a new immune system.
I’m not an old mouse, but also not a young mouse. I am 38 now (2018). And I thought to myself: “Well, it would be good to have an immune system like I had when I was 16.”
When does the Body Repair Itself?
Another effect of fasting is that it creates the conditions for the body to repair itself. Our bodies have been designed to fast. As a speecies, we have had to pass through hard periods, droughts, frozen periods etc. Our body can live without food for weeks and it’s adapted to that.
It is even built in a way that it kind of says: “Okay now I’m eating so I do the stuff I do when I eat. I’ll probably starve for a few days this year and then I will do some of the other functions.”
One fasting expert mentioned that about 70% of bodily energy goes into digestion. Once you stop digesting your body still has energy and it starts repairing itself. It doesn’t do the repairing if you eat all the time. Especially if you eat 3 times a day. It takes a Westerner on average about 48 hours until they are done digesting.
Healing of Cancer by Long-term Fasting
There are many cases of the miraculous healing of people from all sorts of diseases. There was one famous case of a 91-year-old man. He had cancer of the vocal cords and he fasted for 40 days (at the age of 91). His son came to rush him to the hospital to undergo surgery and the cancer was gone. There are many more cases like this.
Precautions
Long fasts are not recommended to start with directly. You cannot just say: “Okay, oh I heard this. That’s it. Done. I’m not eating for 49 days.” You can really hurt yourself, because of the other effect of fasting, which is: detoxification.
When you stop eating, the body, the liver, the kidneys, and the skin start to break impurities. You can detoxify too much at once. If you are living a toxic life and then you fast for 5 days you can have permanent damage. So you need to be supervised if you want to do a long fast.
Fasting Recommendations for Beginners
You can start with a weekly fast of one day. Start with 24 hours and then 30 hours and then gradually increase to 3 days. It becomes familiar and that’s basically what I did. I did a day a week for more than a decade and then three days for maybe 20 times. And this summer I felt ready to do seven days. Don’t try it at home. Try it with a doctor under supervision or with somebody to take care of you.
My Experience with a 14-day Fast
Preparation
I did some preparation before the fasting which helped very much. I was eating raw food for a couple of weeks before. Around 80 – 90% raw food and then the day before I only had some smoothies. So the system was very ready.
The actual fast
From day three it got pretty tough. I had a very low level of energy. I became anaemic and had to sleep a lot. For about 2 – 3 days it was really hard.
And then I discovered the power of taking hot and cold showers. As soon as I took two or three hot & cold shower,s especially in the area of the feet and the arms my blood pressure became normal again and I had my normal level of energy again.
By day six and seven I felt fantastic. I had maybe 70% or 80% of the energy I normally have. I would still do six to seven hours of spiritual practice. I would sleep more than normal. I would normally have a good siesta for an hour or two and also sleep for longer in the night.
How does our Body Manage its Resources during Fasting?
For the first two or three days your body goes into the digestive tract and takes the food, whatever is left in the colon and then whatever is left in the liver. After day three to day four it starts eating your muscles to get glucose.
What happens from around day four to day five is that the whole digestive system shuts down completely. I was still drinking lemon water, but even that was difficult to digest. It’s like everybody’s on vacation. There’s nobody left at home. It’s an empty building there, you cannot digest anything. “I’m sorry send your food somewhere else”.
Then the body starts to digest fat and it doesn’t create glucose it creates ketose. That’s actually very potent food-wise. It’s a better energy substance than glucose – it releases more energy.
Effects of Ketosis
On day 5 and day 6, I became very peaceful. There is something about glucose which is a little agitating. Having very little glucose you become very peaceful. It’s a very nice feeling of having a quiet mind. Ketosis really gives this feeling.
And then I stopped losing body weight. I lost 5 kilos in the first five to six days and then in the next 10 days I lost two kilos. It became quite stable.
The seven days finished and by then I felt so good that I said: “Ok I will continue a bit more.” And then the retreat ended and we needed to come back to Chiang Mai. It became a bit much so I stopped the fasting after two weeks.
Healing Crisis
The effect that I felt was very much of the body repairing itself. I would sometimes feel really bad and have a low level of energy and then I noticed that a part of my body was fixing itself. First the feet, especially the ankles were hurting. Maybe from the long sitting and meditation. I would have a feeling of discomfort that then became acute and I became very tired. This is what is called the healing crisis.
The same thing happened with my shoulder. I haven’t felt pain in the shoulder for more than a decade and suddenly it came back again and got fixed.
From day 13 to day 14, the whole area of the diaphragm was hurting. I had gastritis. On day thirteen I woke up completely smashed as if I hadn’t slept. I was extremely exhausted.
Once I realized it and became relaxed with the level of energy I had, many emotions came up. It was a very difficult purification. Yet since I knew what was happening, I was rejoicing that my body was fixing itself. Something that had been bothering me for more than a decade, by day 14 it was over. It was healed.
Spiritual Effects of Fasting
I felt a peace that I hadn’t felt in years. And such a silence of the mind. The tensions that were in the actual tissues were creating mental agitation. The fixing of the body brought this very profound, very fulfilling state of peace that I still carry with me. This is one of the most amazing effects of the fasting.
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This article was transcribed and edited by Adriana from the following video: