Fasting is the voluntary abstention from food.

Of course , all living beings fast without realizing it: animals fast when they are sick, and we humans also abstain from food for many hours, for example during the night.

Fasting is a natural part of the organism ‘s activity, whose actions are often a filling and emptying cyclically, maintaining the situation of full or empty for different periods of time.

Even in popular or religious cultures, fasting is present as a practice , the purpose of which varies from situation to situation.

The founder of hygiene , H. Shelton , prescribed fasting as a therapeutic activity with a detoxifying effect on the body, and also on the mind.

According to Shelton, fasting also made it possible to resolve situations of physical or emotional imbalance dating back to the past and never resolved, which had become silent but not completely disappeared.

Read also Shelton’s 10 laws of vitalism >>

The main theory according to which a controlled and not excessively prolonged fast is able to have a revitalizing and detoxifying effect derives from the fact that, by putting the digestive system at rest, energy resources are freed up so that the other organs eliminate what is no longer necessary, including toxins.

The autolysis that occurs for the recovery of nourishment is finally borne by non-useful elements, such as fat, for example, and not by the primary ital organs, such as brain, heart, and cells themselves.

What is first eliminated by the body’s intelligence during fasting is, therefore, what is not useful for survival at all.

Fasting means abstaining from solid food: water, herbal teas, centrifuged, juices that have been removed from fibers and without adding sugar or anything other than water are allowed .

Therapeutic fasting can be for a few hours and intermittent , up to a few days. To have a significant detoxifying effect it is necessary to be in good health, not to have serious pathologies in progress, especially affecting the kidneys, liver, intestine, stomach , and to approach fasting gradually, followed by an expert and qualified therapist, to continue it. in total for at least 3 days.

The first stage of fasting can lead to “healing crisis”: the body is activated to quickly eliminate toxins, therefore it is possible the onset of headaches, canker sores, insomnia, skin manifestations, bad smell of the skin and breath , whitish patina on the tongue, secretions from the excretory organs, migrating pains, and even mild fever.

Constipation can also arise and especially for fasting of more than one day: for this reason it is important to use intestinal washes ( enema ) based on water only once a day. In fact, the intestine does not stop functioning, and everything that is not evacuated is reabsorbed with overloading of the secondary excretory organs.

The body, if placed in facilitating conditions, is able to purify itself and restore its lost balance due to an unbalanced diet and an incorrect lifestyle.

During fasting you may feel tired : it is therefore important to rest. But it is not necessary, if the energies allow it, to avoid any activity: fasting is not a state of disease , on the contrary. Often, after the first detoxification period, the body regains a new and greater vitality, and the mind is clearer.

Fasting is within the reach of all those who may be curious about it, for those with some small ailments as well as for those who are well. It is a very valid self-knowledge tool , which allows us to investigate the mechanisms of the body, and also those of the mind towards food.

However, it is essential to have common sense and to respect the signals of your body , to be advised and followed by those who know fasting. In case of illness it is absolutely necessary to ask your doctor for advice, and never act on your own just to follow a trend or to lose weight: fasting cannot replace a balanced diet to lose weight ; indeed, it is counterproductive if the goal is only to lose weight.