Discussion Board

GJ the McDougall program -which you describe as well balanced - is something you every single day. Fasting is something you do maybe once or twice a year. I have never heard anyone advocate for fasting at home for more than a day or two or more than once or twice a year.

Anorexia is a mental disorder which leads to fasting, not the other way around.

No one is saying you should fast. I do not and I would suspect most here do not either.

For those interested here is an interview with Dr Campbell on water fasting. I am not sure when this took place but it was passed along to me when I did the ecornell program a few years ago.

Interviewer: What would you do if you were challenged by cancer?

TCC: I would go do a water-only fast. No hesitation. I would do a water-only fast. My life style and diet’s about as good as we can get it, I think, it obviously can’t be prefect and maybe I have got some residual cancers growing in me that I picked up years ago and maybe I slowed them down a whole lot and eventually they’ll get me some day. So I also have learned quite a lot of information about these water-only fasts, they’re pretty remarkable.

I am also impressed with the healing I have witnessed with juice fasting - using fresh vegetable juices to replenish depleted nutrients. Some are concerned that water-only fasting can exacerbate the 'deficiency' of micronutrients many people are dealing with.

AND

Given further questions on the issue, here is some more information about Dr. Campbell's own experience with water fasting:

Interviewer: Have you ever done any fasting?

TCC: Yeah I have. I think you probably know I isolated that compound that later became known as dioxin. And I had some serious problems with that years later.

When I was isolating it at MIT, I ended up with polyps in my sinuses that had to be burned out and had bleeding migraines, and then subsequent to that—I didn’t have a name for that compound at the time, I published my work, it was a couple years later when they discovered dioxin.

Interviewer: Because of your work in the lab with dioxin you got dosed very, very heavily. Here we’re talking about a substance that the body doesn’t know how to handle.

TCC: Exactly.... there was one other guy working on it at the time, FDA in Washington and he died. He had filed a complaint with the labor department that he thought he was being poisoned, and he wasn’t being appropriately protected, but he died before action was taken. But in any case, I got heavily dosed, I ended up with some problems, that later evolved into some conditions with my face and my sinuses called chloracne. And that subsequently then was shown in fact dioxin causes, that is one of the thing that people get working with this stuff. And I had a pretty serious case of that. That went on for 8 or 10 years, I tried to deal with it. Finally it gradually went away, when I gradually improved my diet, coincidentally I think.

Interviewer: Coincidentally? Or causatively? Your diet helped clear up the problem.

TCC: The diet was helping to clear up the problem, I’m convinced but not entirely, at least clearing up the problems with this chloracne, these lesions and so forth. So they eventually went away but then after they went away I could still feel this kind of tingling sensation in my face that kind of lingered from time to time. And eventually in the early 90s, just about the time the China Project information was being released, all of that crept into my neck and started affecting the muscles in my neck and my speech and my eating. I had a very hard time to speak then I had a lot of pain I had to hold my mouth, couldn’t eat very well. Went to some doctors, went to the best I could find—Cornell Med School, Columbia Presbyterian, Sloane Memorial, all of the best. They gave me the worst prognosis, they said I probably would not be speaking in another year, they showed me how to use a pen knife to stick in my trachea so I wouldn’t choke to death, all these kinds of things.
So I then had a chance to speak about the China Project to a convention in New York City, I told them I couldn’t do it. So they said ‘well, what’s wrong with you?’ And I told this guy who had been from Cornell, I told him I got a really serious problem, I can’t really talk. He said ‘Well, why don’t you come down here. There are a lot of people in this audience, it’s the National Hygiene Society, lot of chiropractors and naturopaths and some MDs. They had more understanding of your condition’. I thought, well what the hell I can’t lose. So I went down and struggled through it, and they got together 10 of them and sent me off to this fasting place in California at their expense, it was very kind. They sent me there and meanwhile I had tested myself for dioxin and I still had very high levels in my body, 25 years after I had been away from it. So I did the fasting thing in the hope that my body would get rid of it. But when I went there I was very skeptical, but came to learn some things that I will never forget. I learned that water-only fasting is a remarkable medical procedure that is simply not understood by 99% of doctors, I think.

Interviewer: Seems like people who want to try fasting need to do it with the supervision of a health professional and not just at home on their own. There are a lot of ways to trip up with it, including loss of electrolytes.

TCC: Absolutely. You are absolutely right. And now this clinic has done about 5,000 patients this way. And I saw things like uterine fibromas shrink and all kinds of conditions resolve themselves, hypertension almost uniformly reverse itself, and when people get that behind them then they go on to a plant-based diet.
So now coming back to your question what would I do? I think fasting when you allow the body to go to rest and let nature take its course.

Well Dr. Klaper (whose DVD I referenced at the beginning of this long string of posts) said people could go on regular fasts several days a week and for as long as 40 days. That doesn't sound like a once in awhile thing. But each to his own. I think those of us who have posted here have pretty much explained our viewpoints. I came to this website in order to learn what type of foods to eat and I am glad that Dr. McDougall does not promote fasting as a health practice on this website or in his books even though some of his fellow plant-based practioners do.

Adrienne, thank you for posting the Dr Campbell interview. Interesting. Very. The Scientologists (EEEEK!!!) used to do, maybe still do(?) detox protocol using saunas, supplements, and exercise, all at the same time. Lots of saunas and lots of exercise. Treated all sorts of things but one of them was the suite of horrible symptoms Vietnam vets seemed to develop and Agent Orange exposure was a prime suspect and Agent Orange was later found to have been contaminated w/ a super potent dioxin. Just sort of stream of consciousness coincidences but that is how my mind goes sometimes. And now of course people are using far infrared saunas that are supposed to be much more effective than the regular old fashioned kind for detox.

Why all this makes me want to do a fast. Just kidding, I already did want to...

I first learned of medically-supervised, water-only fasting when I read The Pleasure Trap. It didn't sound like something I needed to do, but my reaction to it was positive. If I were desperate, I might consider it as a tool.

Most people don't need to fast, and it has the danger of seeming like a quick fix, but I think that it is wrong to dismiss it out of hand. There may be people who would benefit greatly from it. In addition, the eating plan at True North is very similar to McDougall (no animal products, no processed foods, no oil, no salt, no sugar).

I don't like deprivation, but lately I've been thinking about doing a Mary's Mini to get stricter with my eating (which is okay, except that I eat bread, use salt and sugar, and drink lots of coffee). My first reaction when I heard of Mary's Mini, though, was negative--it sounded like dieting and I wanted no part of that! I have never been interested in MWL, either, even though it seems like it might be a good idea for some people.

I've lost 65 lbs since August 2010, without trying too hard. I cried when I hit 200 a few weeks ago--I haven't seen that weight since 1996! I believe of myself that I don't try hard because I don't have a lot of discipline. I cook up a storm when I feel like cooking. Or I live on fruit, microwaved oatmeal potatoes, and frozen vegetables for months when I don't want to cook.

My original point, though, is that water-only fasting is probably valuable as a last-resort option for those who are out of other options, even if you or I don't have a need to do it. Last resort-type options aren't for everyone.

Pat

He doesn't promote fasting, but to my knowledge he doesn't poo poo or demonize it either. You're more likely to see him demonize milk. He references several studies that include fasting in this article.
http://drmcdougall.com/med_hot_arthritis_diet.html I guess in some cases, fasting (different forms) may help the gut to heal quicker?

"Just the facts, ma'am. Nothing but the facts." seems to be the default position. It's science, right?

Anyway, a lengthy water-only fast (40 days? Do I look like Jesus?) doesn't appeal to me at all. I only give this medical fasting stuff half an ear. I guess I've never been that sick and desperate. Lucky me.

YMMV

Maybe Dr. McDougall can add "Water Fasting: Pros and Cons" to his "one day I'll write an article on that" list, if he hasn't already.

You too? It's a curse, I tell ya.

It can be that though sometimes it has turned out to be a blessing!

Of course, silly. Isn't everything?




(You may have to look for past comments on "silly" to get that one.)

As someone who previously had an eating disorder (bulimia-30 years ago), when I hear the word "fast', alarm bells go off in my head. It sounds like something I would have tried back then because I wanted to be slim, and I would have been torturing myself, feeding into the cycle that would have caused me to denigrate myself and overeat again.

Mind you, if I had a medical condition like Dr. Campbell, I would try everything.

I'm glad it worked for him.

Cheers!

Hello Gramma Jackie - by the way love the profile pic. What a cutie.
Thanks for that info. Some of the natural hygiene people actually do 'fruit juice/fruit days' as a fasting rather than water fasting. I actually wouldn't fast - firstly I'd be climbing the walls - I love my food. And secondly, the food I eat mostly - is wholegrains and veg/fruit - so the nutrients I consider do me better than water fasting. I'm aware that one of the arguments for water fasting is to give you body and the particular organs a break. However, I think eating well and nourishing your body (rather than killing it with diary/meat/refined sugars) is much better. IN the end - it is really up to whether you are willing to fast and your reasons for fasting. The only time I have fasted is for a recent test, and when I underwent an operation. On those occasions all I thought about was food food food. But I'm assuming that is also about training one's brain and channeling thoughts elsewhere.
cheers - Jan.
Visit Cuz Nicki at cousinnicki.blogspot.com

I've got to chime in here, because I'm so obsessive about fasting that I've started to do it every single day... between every meal

But seriously, we should all reflect on this frightening medical story about fasting:

An Irishman was very overweight, and so his doctor put him on a diet.

"I want you to eat regularly for 2 days, then skip a day, and repeat this procedure for 2 weeks. The next time I see you, you should have lost at least 5 pounds.

When the Irishman returned, he shocked the doctor by having lost nearly 60lbs!

"Why, that's amazing!" the doctor said, "Did you follow my instructions?"

The Irishman nodded..."I'll tell you though, by jaesuz, I t'aut I were going to drop dead on dat 3rd day."

"From the hunger, you mean?" asked the doctor.

"No, from all the bloody skippin"

Russ - LOL. That is beautiful. I'm giggling here at work and my colleagues think I've lost the plot.

Love it!

The only problem with that is Dr. Fuhrman would have people fasting AND skipping.