“Everyone has a doctor in him or her, we just have to help it in its work. The natural healing force within each one of us is the greatest force in getting well. Our food should be our medicine, our medicine should be our food, but to eat when sick, is to feed our disease.”

-Hippocrates

What is fasting?
Fasting is a prolonged period of time (multiple days) where you will not eat any food and only ingest water. Literature shows the beneficial effects of fasting is 4-5 days or longer.

Who is it for?
This is most applicable for a Phase 3 client and can serve as giving the client’s digestive system a “break” (decreased digestive vascular activity) in order to get a jump start on improving their health.

1. An athlete who has trained consistently for several years without a break
2. Someone who has struggled with long-term health
3. Client’s with difficulty losing fat

Benefits:
By fasting, you are allowing your small intestine to rest. The small intestine is the largest energy producer in the body. When you decrease the vascular activity of the small intestine, it doesn’t matter if you are experiencing eczema, GERD, energy management issues, you will often observe a better clinical response. When you allow your body to rest, it allows other systems in your body to upregulate and often times having a therapeutic effect.

1. Increased autophagy - The clearance of damaged cells for energy use
2. Increased apoptosis - A genetic program engrained within our cells to self-destruct
3. Mitochondrial biogenesis - The creation of new cells
4. Digestion improvements
5. HPA Axis benefits
6. Weight loss
7. Cognitive improvements
8. General health improvements

Recap:
This is a higher level change that done appropriately for the right person can have beneficial outcomes. It should be emphasized that this could be counterproductive if the fundamentals haven't been mastered. Central Athlete clients that have gone through this, experience about 7-12 pounds of weight loss, digestion and hematology (blood work) improvements.

Studies support benefits and tradeoffs from longevity, health biomarkers and performance. It should also be noted that if you have a medical condition to please consult with your physician and this post should not serve as medical advice.

‍