In this blog I would like to show you the possibilities and limitations of this method. I will explain why you feel better at the beginning of fasting but I will also explain why and when intermittent fasting becomes harmful. And as always, I will show you what you can do to have much more energy at your disposition, be protected from serious diseases and to grow older in good health.
Since there is a lot of hype about this method and a lot of seeming inconsistencies, it is very important to me to inform people about the risks involved. Especially for people who are seriously ill, this method can hold great risks as well as leading to a great loss of time in the healing process.
One can indeed lose weight through intermittent fasting, it can reduce cancer cells, lower your cholesterol and positively affect many diseases. But the main cause is not intermittent fasting.
There are much more suitable methods to be healthy and without accompanying risks.
There are also studies and observations that describe positive effects, but wrong conclusions are often made and many effects are thoughtlessly attributed to intermittent fasting. It is incredibly difficult to make scientific statements in connection with food and metabolic processes, because their coherences are extremely complex. Results are then interpreted in whatever manner and more often as "user-friendly" as possible.
I would also ask die-hard fans of intermittent fasting to take a moment to consider the concerns expressed here in more detail. Because the long-term consequences may be more concerning than you realize at the moment.
What really happens during intermittent fasting?
The body is repeatedly deprived of food for several hours: No carbohydrates, proteins, fats, minerals and trace elements. This leads to the following consequences:
The body now obtains its energy from stored carbohydrates. Once these are used up, it begins to burn fats. Burning fats makes perfect sense, because we usually have far too much of them.
However, the body does not switch its energy production to fasting as it does during therapeutic fasting (abstaining from caloric food for at least 24 hours). Thus, there is no cleansing and purifying effect.
A shortage of glucose and minerals quickly develops and this lowers the blood sugar level. The adrenal cortex secretes adrenaline as a substitute for blood sugar so that the body remains protected and has energy. However, this artificially generated energy puts the adrenal glands under a lot of stress. But the body needs glucose, vitamins and minerals for its vital functions! An often high adrenaline level is harmful and also feeds viruses in our body.
So a regulation of blood sugar levels is not a result of fasting or not eating carbohydrates as is often claimed, but because the adrenal cortex releases adrenaline.
Today, our adrenal glands are much more stressed than they were before the industrial revolution. Most people today are exposed to a variety of stress factors, which puts enormous strain on the adrenal glands. It therefore urgently needs regular periods of rest and healing when it does not have to work and is well nourished.
This happens ONLY through natural foods that contain potassium, sodium, healthy sugars and more.
What do coffee and other stimulant drinks do during fasting?
A big mistake is to consume coffee or other caffeinated drinks during fasting. This forces the adrenal cortex to chase even more adrenaline through the body, which stays there for a long time. The human body is not designed to endure long periods of high adrenaline.
Over the years, this damages the adrenal glands and congests the liver, making it sluggish. Also, the liver of most people today is massively overloaded and requires urgent healing phases.
No one can seriously want to inflict the possible consequences on themselves:
rapidly aging skin and overall aging, brain fog, lack of concentration, permanent fatigue, hair loss and, as the years go by, weight gain.
Why do you achieve positive effects with intermittent fasting?
There are only two reasons:
More energy and concentration comes from increased levels of adrenaline (or epinephrine). It acts similar to a natural amphetamine and circulates in the brain, heating up electrical activity there. This effect does not come from the sacrifice of sugar, but is supported by not eating fat.
The second reason is quite simply the renunciation of unhealthy meals. It is very logical that omitting fatty foods such as butter, margarine, cheese, eggs, dairy products, all kinds of meat, nut mush, fried and processed foods etc. leads to improvement in health. The improvement mainly comes from the reduction of fat and not from fasting. If the intake of fat is left out long enough, the blood is thinned and oxygenated, which quickly has a relieving and healing effect on the body. This has a positive effect on all sorts of symptoms and ailments.
Nowadays we feed our body severly too much fat. I will write a newsletter next year about the consequences of an exaggerated fat consumption. For now only this: The true cause of insulin resistance (precursor of type 2 diabetes), which often already goes unnoticed for years, type 2 diabetes and further diseases are not the carbohydrates, but
the combination of unhealthy carbohydrates and fat!
When is intermittent fasting not indicated?
With no long-term risk, intermittent fasting can only be recommended for very healthy, robust and symptom-free people.
ALL diseases require a frequent intake of healthy foods for a sustained healing process.
By frequent means about every two hours. Healthy foods are: lots of fruits & wild fruits, lettuce, vegetables, wild herbs, herbs & barley grass juice powder, mushrooms, seaweed & spirulina, lentils & beans, potatoes & sweet potatoes. If some of these foods cause you digestive problems or bloating, it's usually just because you're consuming too much fat.
Again and again I read the recommendation that sports and intermittent fasting can be combined very well . This is absolutely not comprehensible for me. Athletes have a massively increased need for minerals, trace elements and of course healthy carbohydrates. If this need is not sufficiently and regularly fulfilled, this increases the risk of performance slumps, concentration and coordination problems, joint problems, Arthrose and even sudden cardiac arrest.
How do you achieve the same, even better positive effects without fasting?
Start the day with 4-5 dl of water mixed with the juice of half a fresh lemon. Then fast for at least half an hour.
The perfect solution ist to then drink at least 4.5 dl of fresh celery juice (from a de-juicer) and fast again for at least 30 minutes.
There is nothing better you could do to flush your liver, detoxify and at the same time cleanse, heal and feed your gut with probiotics. This will also regenerate your adrenal glands and all other organs of the body. With water only, the effect is not as efficient. Without fluids or with the intake of caffeine or fat, the liver cannot flush out the toxins which collect and build up again in the body. If this is not possible with celery juice, drink more lemon water or even better coconut water. However, this should not be pink in color.
If you really want to cleanse your body, lose weight or regenerate from diseases, you can drink more celery juice or other freshly de-juiced or squeezed vegetable- or fruit juices. Your body needs food intake to function and regenerate, ideally every two to three hours. But be careful - your stomach needs at least one hour break between these light meals. With long periods of fasting, however, you dry out your body and organs over the years.
From the moment you add caffeine or fat to your body, the liver stops the cleansing process. Fat, eggs, diary products and also meat thicken the blood plasma, slow down the blood flow so less oxygen gets to the important regions of the body. This throttles your immune system and your performance.
Of course, after the lemon water and celery juice, you can also eat solid meals or a detox smoothie (see my blog "Solutions Part II''). The process of becoming sustainably healthy takes place even then, just a little slower. The more you eat of the healthy foods listed above, the more efficient and sustainable the process will be and your adrenal glands, liver, heart, brain and other organs will be very grateful. The more you eat unhealthy foods, the more you sabotage this process and your health.
Interesting
When we observe our closest relatives the great apes, we notice that they eat food very frequently. Their diet consists mostly of green proteins and fruits (lettuce, herbs, vegetables and fruits are also full of proteins). They practically don't eat carnivore and yet they are strong and powerful (maybe this could be the cause?).
Have you ever imagined how a gorilla takes in extra proteins and fats to build muscles and be powerful? This is a funny thought, or not?!
From prehistoric times to sedentarism, prehistoric man and man have been shown to eat extremely healthy diets, except in situations of food scarcity. Their diet included mainly edible grasses, leaves and herbs, berries and fruits, nuts, roots and mushrooms. Grains in today's form did not exist. It was not easy to hunt animals and meat was certainly not on the menu daily, probably not even weekly. Neither apes nor other mammals consume external sources of fat, nor did prehistoric man. In all likelihood, it does not seem to make sense to consume large amounts of fat, as the keto diet, for example, would like to suggest.
The important and necessary fatty acids are found in sufficient quantities in fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts and root vegetables.
In conclusion
Fasting is not necessary to be healthy. Long periods of fasting pose health risks. A natural way of life does not provide for fasting. "Fasting" is what people had to do involuntarily out of necessity in emergency situations. In doing so, the body switches to survival mode, which drains it and harms it over a long period of time. But what is indispensable nowadays is regular detoxification of the body from harmful substances.
You can achieve natural body weight and vital health with healthy, preferably very fresh food and sufficient exercise. This detoxifying diet is much more important than exercise! There are no better and more useful detoxifiers than healthy and fresh foods (and this does not mean processed foods).
The very necessary purification and detoxification nowadays you can achieve through the frequent intake of these healthy foods, avoiding the combination of carbohydrates and fat as well as reducing fat in your dietary pattern. Of course, there are also suitable cleansing cures. I would be happy to provide information about this in a personal consultation.
Healthy adrenal glands and a balanced blood sugar level will automatically set in with regular healthy food intake. Stick to the mentioned liquids in the morning, a lot of fruit, even as small snacks about every two hours. Fruits, by the way, are also the best means for an improvement in ADHD, in addition to a targeted elimination of mercury.
All these processes are extremely strongly supported by a relaxed and low-stress lifestyle. It is very worthwhile to regularly integrate relaxing and meditative activities into your life.
Just before my editorial deadline:
A few days ago a first large-scale long-term study on intermittent fasting was mentioned in the newspapers. The study (Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, August 10, 2022) was conducted by Yangbo Sun (University of Tennessee) and Wei Bao (University of Iowa). The conclusion makes one sit up and take notice:
"Those who skip breakfast risk a higher mortality from cardiovascular disease. Skipping lunch or dinner increased the overall mortality.’'
In this context I repeat again:
The positive effect on health comes from omitting unhealthy and fatty meals, not from fasting.
If you have any questions, I'm happy to help. By the way, you can find more helpful information on exciting topics in my blog.
Stay healthy and see you soon!
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