Before we can do anything major, we need to start eliminating harmful items from our diets for a couple of weeks. These include refined sugars and grains; alcohol; coffee; refined oils such as canola, sunflower seed, safflower, cottonseed and soy; hydrogenated fats; all processed foods; cigarettes and over-the-counter drugs (do not go off of prescribed medication). This will be very difficult for the first few days and you may even experience side effects of headache, fatigue and other symptoms. Within a couple of weeks the worst will be over as you experience fewer cravings and have more energy. While you are going through this withdrawal stage, be sure to eat high quality fruits, vegetables, meat, fish and poultry, eggs, good fats and drink plenty of pure water, not from the tap. Get plenty of sleep and rest during the day as needed.
Taking the Next Step to Wellness
I am sure that all of us at one time or another experimented with fasting. We generally did this for spiritual reasons; fasting is practiced today as a way of denying the flesh and getting close to God in Bible reading and prayer. Another main reason people fast is to lose weight. This approach generally fails as we starve ourselves and go back to the same cravings we had before. Generally it is done for part of a day, up to three days or more and all we drink is water. Fasting on juice is not recommended because of the high sugar content. If we take this approach, it should be done one day a week with a longer fast once a month. Scripture records that Jesus fasted 40 days and 40 nights. This certainly is not recommended today. In this case, fasting is part of the healing process, that of releasing toxins from our bodies.
Down the road we will look at a way of eating that is promoted by most alternative doctors and, if done correctly, guides us to the steps of wellness and helps conquer food cravings. It has to do with spacing our meals or the time of day we eat.
