THE SCIENCE AND FINE ART OF FASTING

A man of astounding intelligence and understanding, Dr. Herbert Shelton was the greatest health oracle of the 20th century. One of the key tenets of natural hygiene is toxemia + enervation = disease and that symptoms of disease are remedial efforts by the body to return to balance. For example, a fever is instituted by the body to speed metabolic action and kill germs. It is a healing event that should be allowed to run its course, not a dreaded enemy to be suppressed. The best action to take when first becoming ill is to stop eating and rest, which goes contrary to the prevailing advice to take a drug, eat to keep up your strength, and keep on going. When you fast, you are not starving your body of nutrition, because it obtains all the nutrition it needs from its own tissues. But in doing so, the not inconsiderable amount of energy that would have been spent in digestion is now spent in repair of tissues and elimination of toxins. Long fasts of up to three months followed by healthy living practices can (but not always) reverse chronic degenerative diseases such as arthritis, heart disease, colitis, migraines, mental illness, even cancer. (See also Fasting and Eating for Health