I help you with medical fasting as a clinical naturopath (ANPA) and medical nutritionist. Also, as a mental health professional (PACFA) I help with the mental and emotional side of fasting.
In Russia, Siberia, China, USA, Germany and Switzerland there are fasting hospitals and clinics, often funded by the government where you go to detox and recover from chronic illness.
So, as you can see fasting is not new or a fad but established throughout time and across the world.
Medical fasting is generally not taught in Western medical schools because they are partly funded by drug companies who make billions of dollars from you remaining sick (1) (2).
Doctors are usually taught only two methods of treatment – give a drug or operate. In fact, they can be struck off for not offering you a drug, even when it is inappropriate.
What can fasting help with?
The body is constantly under assault from poisonous substances in our environment and pollutants that can cause disease. These include heavy metals, chemicals, certain food substances, bacteria, viruses, medications and drugs.
We must detox from these substances on a regular basis to restore physical and mental health. Also, medical fasting helps with auto-immune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and lupus.
When you fast, it elevates the actions of the immune system, so it attacks cancer cells, other diseases and reduces, inflammation in the body and brain (3) (4). The body begins to auto correct and reset wellness.
Mental health-wise, fasting is used for anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and to clarify the mind. There’s a lot of recorded research and evidence for relief of these conditions.
Fasting and mental health
Fasting has been used for thousands of years by yogis for mental clarity.
It has been used by Jews, Christians, Muslims and Buddhists for, not only cleaning the body, but also for a time of reflect, consideration and clearing the mind of anxious and negative thoughts.
There is a link between depression and glucose related metabolomic disorders (5). People who undergo medical fasting tend to lower their sense of depression.
We know that bipolar disorders and schizophrenia are forms of metabolic disorders. Psychiatric fasting has been used in Russia for over one hundred years due to the culture being less dependent on drug companies’ commercial pressure to use their products (6).
What we consider
As I said earlier, there is a lot to take into account when you fast. We have to consider what would be the best period for you to fast or how frequently you need to do that.
What may be right for one patient might not be right for another. In fact, what may be beneficial for one patient may even be dangerous for another.
I use fasting as part of an overall treatment plan along with other treatments such as meditation or hypnosis. It is important that all the treatments fit together to maximise your wellbeing and recover form ilness.
We also need to consider the particular foods you eat before and after the fasting period that are safe and work best for you. This must all be planned carefully.
You get a medical fasting plan
I’m a big believer in supporting the patient at home and giving clear and understandable information. This will tell you when and how to fast.
There are four kinds of fasting: short term, intermittent, selective food fasting, and long-term fasting. When fasting it must be the right kind to specifically help you.
Also, you need self-monitor and monitored during fasting to ensure you stay healthy. Just stopping eating is not fasting.
The medical fasting treatment plan is very important, so we see how your body and mind reacts and if we need to change anything.
What is equally as important is the mental preparation and support. What you fast the way you brain works changes, so I teach you mental techniques to manage that.
Also, you must make the time fast. Time to care for yourself, focus on your body and mind. Self-care is one of the most important guidelines during fasting to enable you to get positive results.
A team approach to fasting
If you have a severe illness, we are happy to share the information with a carer or relative you live with. This helps the whole support network understand what’s happening and what each person in must do.
I am also happy to work with other health professionals you may be seeing.
Fasting may be foreign and unknown to you or your relatives or the other professionals you see, so we do our best to educate and facilitate you.
Book your medical fasting appointment with Dr Tracie O’Keefe DCH, BHSc, ND. In clinic visits or by zoom anywhere in the world call 0403 398808
References
(1) Hamodat, H., Syed, S., Ali, M., Sardiwalla, Y., Imran, F., Jarrar, A., Rafiq, F., Zimmo, K., Eissa, M., & Haroon, B. (2020, June 26). Primary Care Physicians’ Knowledge, Perceptions, and Comfort Level in Managing Patients Fasting in Ramadan. Sage Journal. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/2150132720933796
(2) Ganis, L., & Christides, T. (2021). Are We Neglecting Nutrition in UK Medical Training? A Quantitative Analysis of Nutrition-Related Education in Postgraduate Medical Training Curriculums. Nutrients, 13(3): 957. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8000414/
(3) Tiwari, S., Sapkota, N., & Han, Z. (2022). Effect of fasting on cancer: A narrative review of scientific evidence. Cancer Sci, 113(10):3291-3302. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35848874/
(4) Roco-Videla, A., Villota-Arcos, C., Pino-Astorga, C., Mendoza-Puga, D., Bittner-Ortega, M., & Corbeaux-Ascui, T. (2023). Intermittent Fasting and Reduction of Inflammatory Response in a Patient with Ulcerative Colitis. Medicina (Kaunas), 59(8): 1453. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10456230/
(5) Kahn, L., McIntyre, R., Rafalson, L., Berdine, D., & Fox, C. (2011). Fasting Blood Glucose and Depressive Mood among Patients with Mental Illness in a Medicaid Managed Care Program. Hindawi. https://www.hindawi.com/journals/drt/2011/862708/
(6) Cott,A. (1974). Controlled Fasting Treatment for Schizophrenia. Orthomolecular Psychiatry, 2(4). https://isom.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/JOM_1974_03_4_12_Controlled_Fasting_Treatment_for_Schizophrenia.pdf
(7) Phillips, M. (2019). Fasting as a Therapy in Neurological Disease. Nutrients, 11(10): 2501. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/
