Mark Twain says, "A little starvation can really do more for the average sick man than can the best medicines and the best doctors. I do not mean a restricted diet; I mean total abstinence from food for one or two days. I speak from experience; starvation has been my cold and fever doctor for 15 years, and has accomplished a cure in all instances."
It seems that Mark Twain did mean fasting, not starvation, because fasting starts with the omission of the first meal and ends with the return of natural hunger, while starvation only begins with the return of natural hunger and terminates in death. Natural hunger is the body saying that it is time to stop the fast.
Fasting is an effective and safe method of detoxifying the body. Fasting provides a period of concentrated physiological rest during which time the body can devote its self-healing mechanisms to repairing and strengthening damaged organs. The process of fasting also allows the body to cleanse cells of accumulated toxins and waste products.
One of the commonest complaints of the sick is that they have "lost their appetite". Loss of appetite is an indication that the system is overcharged with toxins. That is why they lose appetite – their body is telling them to stop eating and give a chance to the waste accumulation in the organs to escape from the system. In fact, the greatest blessing to them would be to lose their appetite long enough to find their hunger.
Each time you complete a fast, you will feel better. Your body will have a chance to heal and rebuild its immune system. You can fight off illness and the degenerative diseases so common in this chemically polluted environment we live in. When you feel a cold or illness coming on or are just depressed - fast!
It is important to understand that the key part of a fast is how a person lives after the fast. Fasting can provide a clean and revitalized foundation upon which you can build and maintain a strong and well-conditioned body by consistently making healthy food and lifestyle choices. Fasting can help reverse the aging process, and if we use it correctly, we will live longer, happier lives.
Of course, certain people who have medical problems should not fast or do so only under direct medical supervision. If you have very low fat reserves to begin with or suffer from anemia, bulimia or anorexia you should not fast. Pregnant or nursing women should also not start a fasting program. These people should pursue other methods of detoxification.