Fasting

[Paul C. Anagnostopoulos]

Okay, what's up with fasting and eliminating toxins from the body?

Here's what someone on another forum told me:

> The time I fast depends on how soon my body is able to flush out
the toxins. Within the first week of the fast is when I am hungry,
after that first week, the hunger goes away. When the hunger goes
away the body begins flushing out it's toxins. This is because there
is nothing else in the stomach for it to break down.

I asked how your body flushes out the toxins:

The water. You sweat the toxins out. Usually your skin will break out in result from this. There are other ways that the toxins exit but hopefully you can figure those ways out without me explaining it to you. After your stomach is completely emptied of food it will begin burning off the fat it has stored before it begins to burn the toxins.

~~ Paul

 

[Suggestologist]

Okay, what's up with fasting and eliminating toxins from the body?

Hmm, I read something a while ago that said eating only every other day causes cells to respond in some sort of way that slows the aging process. It may have been sciencedaily.com.

 

[Paul C. Anagnostopoulos]

Here we go:

http://www.islamicvoice.com/december.98/comparative.htm#Top

~~ Paul

 

[Rolfe]

Whether fasting is beneficial or not I couldn't say. I've heard it suggested it might have benefits.

But it sure as hell ain't got nuffink to do with sweating out toxins, for God's sake!

First, what toxins would these be then? Second, how do they get through the sweat glands?

It's complete and utter woo.

Rolfe.

 

[roger]

I contest, without any specific knowledge, the idea that it takes a week for the stomach to empty out. It's just not that big. (now, the intestines on the other hand....)

 

[Paul C. Anagnostopoulos]

Apparently these would be all the toxins bound up in your fat, which you have to start burning in order for the liver to extract said toxins and excrete them through your pores.

This sentence from the link I posted above did not give me the warm and fuzzies about the guy's knowledge:

Usually, whatever we consume is first assimilated and this digested mass reaches the liver which, like the lungs and kidneys, extracts all the toxic or waste elements.

Watch that "digested mass" reach the liver through the bloodstream, boys and girls!

~~ Paul

 

[Zombified]

Why sweat out the toxins, though? Wouldn't you be pissing them out? And once again, what toxins?

Curious this idea that toxins are stored in fat cells. Sounds like an echo of the old acid flashback theory...

 

[TillEulenspiegel]

Whether fasting is beneficial or not I couldn't say. I've heard it suggested it might have benefits.

But it sure as hell ain't got nuffink to do with sweating out toxins, for God's sake!

First, what toxins would these be then? Second, how do they get through the sweat glands?

It's complete and utter woo.

Rolfe.

I dunno....
Theres been plenty of times I spent to much time at the pub doing 12Oz. curls only to have the wife say my sweat smelled like beer!

 

[bug_girl]

yes, but alcohol is a lovely little molecule that is highly volatile and water soluble.

If you have digested proteins and lipids exiting your body in your sweat, it's time to see a doc

(edited to add "water soluble.")

 

[Suggestologist]

Whether fasting is beneficial or not I couldn't say. I've heard it suggested it might have benefits.

But it sure as hell ain't got nuffink to do with sweating out toxins, for God's sake!

First, what toxins would these be then? Second, how do they get through the sweat glands?

It's complete and utter woo.

Rolfe.

Aren't the sweat glands part of the excretory system? One way the body expels waste.

 

[bug_girl]

except that only some molecules, specifically water soluble compounds, will be able to cross that membrane. And there is selective uptake of some molecules that are desirable.

A few ions and minerals might make it across, but that is not their primary excretion route.

Other than the nuts and bolts of the physiology, though, i admit that the nomenclature of mammalian organ systems isn't one of my strong points. Rolfe, though.....I expect she does know that quite well.

 

[Rolfe]

Aren't the sweat glands part of the excretory system? One way the body expels waste.

No, not really.

I did my PhD very largely on the composition of horse sweat, and of course had to compare and contrast with human sweat. You might describe horse sweat as very dilure urine. With the emphasis on the "very". Concentrations of things like urea are pretty negligible, and just incidental to the thermoregulatory excretory process. There is a bit of protein excreted when sweating begins, but it falls off fast and exponentially.

Human sweat is even more dilute than horse. If you have a few hours to spare I'll tell you exactly how and why. (It's to do with horses not drinking even though you take them to water, while humans litter marathon courses with empty plastic cups.) No protein, even holds back glucose which horse sweat doesn't if the RGT is exceeded, can't remember about urea exactly but basically bugger-all.

Somebody found a nice link where one of these quacky foot spas which is supposed to suck out toxins was debunked, and they measured urea and creatinine in the water and there was very little indeed. And if the sweat glands aren't excreting these fairly small molecules, then the bigger toxins haven't a prayer. Er, what bigger toxins anyway? Like, define the problem before you set up the solution!

Of course Bug Girl is correct about the alcohol, but even so, how does one control for the smell of alcohol on the breath?

Rolfe.

 

[Ladewig]

Of course Bug Girl is correct about the alcohol, but even so, how does one control for the smell of alcohol on the breath?

I am not sure as to what the most effective way to control for the smell of alcohol on one's breath is. If you want to talk about controlling the smell in the sense of hiding it. I do believe that the the most effective and the least used method is to keep one's mouth shut. Many people, however, believe the best approach is to talk only to people not in the immediate vicinity. That solution, of course, leads to long-distance phone calls and shouting across the room.

 

[Paul C. Anagnostopoulos]

I mentioned this topic to my wife, who guffawed more than usual. Then she pointed out that there might in fact be some "toxins" bound up in fat, and that is where they should stay. If you start burning significant amounts of fat quickly, the nasty stuff might be released fast enough to overwhelm any defensive mechanisms.

~~ Paul

 

[El Greco]

There's nothing magical about "complete fasting". First of all, fasting is nothing but an extreme in someone's caloric intake. It is possible for someone to cover his needs in essential amino-acids and fatty acids, fiber, vitamins & minerals with very few calories, so I can make an educated guess that this would be preferable to any type of fasting (for a very limited amount of time, of course). Besides, in order to talk about toxins we should first specify what toxins we're talking about; for example, one could say that free radicals in high concetrations are toxins, yet free radicals are also essential for life. There is a variety of hormonological changes during the first days when someone considerably drops his caloric intake, but the interesting stuff is that the transcription of some genes is activated or inhibited by low caloric intake; there are some very interesting studies which try to explain the longer lifespan of caloric restricted animals by watching the levels of some proteins (like heat shock proteins) which have a protective effect against some types of cancer. The problem with the literature is that different researchers mean different things with the word "fasting", ranging from medium to severe caloric restriction. In any case, a long term medium restriction of caloric intake (to the level that basic metabolism drops sognificantly yet all the essential nutrients are being ingested) has been studied much better and is much more promising than any kind of severe short-term fasting.

 

[pupdog]

But we all know that to really clear away the toxins, you gotta have a coffee enema!

 

[Benguin]

But we all know that to really clear away the toxins, you gotta have a coffee enema!

Only if you are royalty!

That comment earlier about smelling of beer ... is the alcohol the smelly bit? Beer smells of something a bit different to, say, gin or vodka.

I'd actually hypothesise the 'smelling' of something, whether it be beer or fags, diesel or old engine oil, is just that it's got nicely soaked into the outer epidermis and is taking a while to wash off.

Is it possible for something to go all the way through the digestive system into the blood and come out smelling similar?

 

[Kumar]

Fasting can be one of the best system of natural healing. It is usually practiced in nature. No other energy healing(other than supplements,replacements & food) may be needed if fasting is practiced as required. Addiction or disease to take more & unnatural foods may cause accumulations which fasting should be able to handle if no major structural damage is done.

 

[Zep]

Fasting can be one of the best system of natural healing. It is usually practiced in nature.

Penguins decide to "naturally" starve to death (sorry, Benguin).

No other energy healing(other than supplements,replacements & food) may be needed if fasting is practiced as required. Addiction or disease to take more & unnatural foods may cause accumulations which fasting should be able to handle if no major structural damage is done.

Really? From Aetna Healthcare, Women's Health - Common Myths:

# Myth: Fasting eliminates toxins from the body.

While fasting for a day or two probably won't do any harm, and might be psychologically useful in slowing down bad eating habits, there's no evidence that it actually "cleans out" the body by eliminating toxic waste. Basically, your digestive system needs time off from doing its job no more than your heart needs "a rest."

 

[Kumar]

In common sense: low intake on & till accumulations>>low absorption>>Low accumulation>> some metabolic processes still work as acid secretion, CPE leads to balances & better working of systems/processes>>correction of body systems.

Insulin resistance, less hunger on disoreder, excretions & secretions changes may be due to accumulations.

Ask Rolfe, if most of animals discontinue or reduce their intake on any disorder.