See previous parts for important information.
What are Some Fasting Health Victories?
continued
Arthritis
According to a 1991 one study of rheumatic diseases,
“Experiences with food intake, diet manipulations and fast were registered in rheumatic patients. The study was a questionnaire-based survey in which 742 patients participated. Fifteen percent of the patients with rheumatoid arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis had been through a fasting period. Less pain and stiffness were reported by 2/3 of the patients in both groups and half of the patients in both groups reported a reduced number of swollen joints.”
Why Should A Rheumatoid Arthritis Sufferer Perform a Fast?
Fasting is historically known and clinically proven to be effective for reversing beneficially arthritis. In literature we find legends of testimonials that vouch for its effectiveness.
Reason 1 – Fasting promotes healing and this includes healing related to arthritis. Fasting dissolves for elimination dead or diseased cells, damaged tissues, fatty deposits, tumours, abscesses in a systematic manner.
This alone helps to restore immune system functioning and metabolic process. The result of this deep cleansing and detoxification is a energy restoration and nutrient redistribution resulting the overcoming of many physical problems.
Reason 2 –
You will also experience with more brain available energy heightened awareness that clears your head allowing you to see more clearly what you should do to get healthy again. Decision about what you need to do to take charge of your life and your sickness become more clear as self confidence increases.
Therefore, it would not be unreasonable to think that you should at least give therapeutic fast a chance. I believe that you shall be surprised.
How Long to Fast?
Everyone is an individual. Therefore, putting out an one size fits all number of days is not informative for you as an individual. The signs and symptoms as well as the nature of underlying conditions are some important diagnostic tools that an experienced or trained observer may use to determine this. But you can know what is best for you by simply observing your fasting experience.
[Starting with an intermittent fast as described elsewhere may be beneficial. This is just a change in your eating pattern. But the benefits will not be seen as quickly as with a regular fast. But I have seen no reports on this. That is speculation on my part.]
Some suggest the way to know the length of a fast is what they call ‘fasting to completion‘. In this they suggest to continue a fast until the tongue is cleared of its early fasting changes [The tongue usually becomes heavily coated, but this decreases as the fast progresses.] or a natural hunger returns [remember you stop being hungry and then later hunger returns]. For most people, waiting until the return of a natural hunger may be extremely hard and it usually puts people off track or put them off even before they get started.
Extreme cases of arthritis may take several fasts to get to where you want to be. But you will be better each time. And some people find that the pain of arthritis is diminished so much during the time of the fast that they do not need their pain medication.
I would in extreme situations be of the opinion at the patient change his eating pattern to an intermittent fast pattern lifestyle. At the same time have the intermittent fast pattern broken by ‘fasting to completion’ times.
There is hope for arthritis.
