Tuesday, June 5, 2012

The Benefits of Fasting and Detoxing!


Today we live in a convenience age. You can save time by eating fast food and you can get better by taking a quick acting pill. But chronic diseases are on the upsurge and there appears to be a veritable epidemic of cancer. It seems in this age of McDonald’s health is degenerating. Could there be a connection I wonder? If we were to take a minute to look back at history we would see that something altogether not convenient has been around for several thousand years, and that is fasting. Fasting, or forgoing food is the world’s most ancient and natural healing procedure. When animals feel unwell they stop eating and rest. They know something that humans appear to have forgotten; they know that, by ceasing eating, the body triggers a very powerful cleansing process. This ‘cleanse’ reaches down into every cell and produces truly remarkable therapeutic results.
What happens when you fast? After 24 hours of zero food intake the digestive system no longer has anything to do. Digestive enzymes that usually drain a lot of the body’s energy to accomplish their task ,travel not to the stomach but to the intestines and into the bloodstream, where they gobble up waste matter which comprises decaying and moribund cells, metabolic refuse and other pollutants. At the same time as this cleanse is taking place organs and glands get an unaccustomed holiday; this break gives them an opportunity to purify and rejuvenate. Altogether this operation results in enhanced immune system function which at the end of the day means that health is restored and illness killed off. Benjamin Franklin said long ago “the best form of all medicines is rest and fasting.”
Main stream opinion today tends to dismiss this health-promoting trend as a “faddy and New Age” movement which has scant health benefit. As we have already said there is nothing new age about it at all as it has been around for a very long time. Hippocrates according to some, claims to be the father of modern medicine. His sensible motto provides the backbone to the ‘The Hippocratic Oath’ to which all doctors swear. This is “do no harm”. He prescribed abstinence from food while a disease was on the increase and particularly so as it approached the healing crisis. Moreover, another piece of wisdom from the same source was ‘eat sparsely at all times”. Unlike some pharmaceuticals, none of these practices do harm. Essentially it is a good idea to leave the table with room for a little more, and follow the very sound advice recommended by our grandmothers “feed a cold and starve a fever.”
More recently both Dr. Kelly and Dr. Roderigo suggested that all diseases begin in the intestinal tract. By cleaning the intestines you get rid of the toxins which are the main components of this form of unwellness. Fasting and cleansing with the help of enemas and colonics have become increasingly more popular with those truly anxious to bring their health up to speed. Such treatments have been heartily embraced by people like the Swedes and more and more clinics are popping up in both Europe and  the United States.
Back in the early 1990s, centres specialising in this form of cleansing took root on Koh Samui which was at the time, a much favoured destination of back-packers.  The first Resort to appear was “Spa Samui” in Lamai. The brainchild of American Guy Hopkins and his Thai wife, Toy. It offered a de-tox programme at a reasonable price and immediately became popular with the young people who were coming to the island. It still is popular and d has been featured in major newspaper articles as well as television documentaries. Others under the influence of the model of Spa Samui, followed. For instance Health Oasis Resort situated in picturesque Bang Por arrived on the scene in 1997. As time unfolded it seems the original backpackers joined the corporate workforce, becoming more affluent themselves; they were able to spread their health message to wealthier friends and colleagues who thirsted after a more comfortable detoxing experience. Thus the luxurious Kamalaya came into being, whilst others were to follow a similar model.  Not to be outdone the brand name resorts that began to spring up in more recent times, all offered spa facilities and some even embarked on the detox route. Some are located in very beautiful and peaceful settings.  It goes without saying that some are a lot better than others. Health Ambit Consultancy has great experience in this industry and would be more than happy to recommend a resort that suits your own particular needs.


Alister Bredee

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