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Fasting Tips and Tricks

Shashank Nakate
The practice of fasting holds spiritual importance in many different communities from the point of view of religion and health benefits. Here, we will discuss various tips and tricks that would help make fasting a wonderful experience.
Fasting is the act of abstaining from water, food, or both for a certain period of time. It helps reduce medical and other problems that people may experience. It is used as a tool by many to reduce weight, detoxify, and improve the overall health. However, one should fast in a disciplined manner, and follow the basic tips to obtain good and quick results.

Tips

One should begin fasting with a moderate approach. The idea behind it is to prepare or condition the body slowly before moving towards a higher level.
One should get rid of alcohol and other addictive items such as nicotine and caffeine before commencing to fast. Abstinence from eating sugar, poultry products, and red meat is also important.
It is necessary to avoid chewing gums, hard candies, and mints since these items are responsible for releasing digestive enzymes and increasing the appetite. Inclusion of fruits in the diet while simultaneously limiting the intake of nutrient supplements helps adjust the body to the fasting schedule easily.
In order to avoid irritation, headache, and other such symptoms which may occur in the initial days, one should have a single meal in a day at 3 pm and include juices, water, fruits, and vegetables in the diet.
If one is thinking about juice fasting, care should be taken to drink fresh juices. These juices should not be stored for more than 24 hours since they lose their nutritional and therapeutic value. Hypoglycemic patients would require someone to supervise and schedule a fasting-diet plan. The intake of protein juices should be allowed in such cases.
One of the important tips is to drink sufficient water before the fast begins. The loss of fluids during the fast takes a toll on the body and creates problems in completing the fast successfully.
The use of natural diuretics in the diet helps lose the excess fluids, which in turn helps reduce body weight. Juniper, dandelion, and ginger are the commonly used diuretics.
Reforming and controlling the diet in a proper manner is the key to lose weight fast. Tips for losing weight include the incorporation of raw food items in the diet. One should avoid eating cooked legumes and cereals.
The main advantage of doing this is that the result (weight loss) is obtained in a shorter time as compared to other methods or techniques. It is necessary to control the diet even after successfully completing the fasting period since overeating would result in acquiring the weight quickly.

Tips for Water Fasting

The practice of water fasting helps detoxify the body as well as reduce the excess weight. A 30-40 day water fast can help reduce as much as 60 pounds of weight. Since the digestive system gets rest and doesn't use up energy which is otherwise needed in digestion, the body gets time to repair the damaged cells and tissues.
Before one begins with this type of fast, adequate rest needs to be taken. Lesser the responsibilities and work pressure, the better it is for the successful completion of the fast. One might experience blackouts and dizziness during the fasting period.
Since the heart gets maximum rest during this period, one should be careful even while standing up. The advantage of water fast over the other types is that the degree or extent of hunger experienced is less in the former one.
Fasting is a healing process which helps improve the overall health and provides the necessary rest to the body (digestive system). Taking proper care and adopting the necessary tips on fasting will ensure that it's easy to complete the fast successfully.
Disclaimer: This is for informative purposes only, and should not be used as a replacement for expert medical advice.