As as a scholar of religion, I’m interested in the fact that fasting is so widely used in spiritual practice. For myself what really fascinates me is the intersection between physiology and spirituality, particularly in relation to that classic definition of health: “a state of optimal physical, mental and social well-being, not merely the absence of disease.”

So I am starting to think that, besides exercising self-control with food and drink, it might be a good idea to use (a periodic, prudently practiced form of) fasting as a part of my recovery efforts. Maybe that’s another good tool for dealing with stress and madness.

But Perhaps our definition of “fasting” should include calorie restriction, and full or partial abstinence from certain harmful foods. If we think of it that way then various dietary rules, like avoiding processed foods, sugars, and alcohol, or the Paleo-diet, or the Zone-diet, these different ways of eating already ARE fasting.

And if that is the case then what might be missing from my practice is not the fasting — I have diet dialed in now –, and certainly not the exercise, but the meditation (and the rest).

I have started to think of the religious and meditative properties of fasting. I used to fast one day a month for religious reasons. I was not always committed to the purpose for the fast at that time but I am beginning to think that the act of control and focus is well applied in fasting. I think it matched with a routine of meditation it could be very useful in balancing your life and reducing stress.

That being said, most of the current focus on fasting in our society is strictly about calorie reduction over a time period. Much of the Crossfit community talks about IF in those terms. I think outside of our culture, fasting has a deeper purpose. I think for anyone following a Paleo-diet, fasting should be more about the meditative, spiritual experience not just about calorie restriction and therefore can be of short duration if applied.

Thanks, I think I am going to start pairing fasting with meditation again.

Research on periodic or intermittent fasting is based on the theory that our cells only have a certain amount of turn-over. That a cell is only capable of a limited amount of function before it dies and is replaced with another cell. However, the stem cells, the base cell that others are divided from, only have a limited number of times they can be replicated. By increasing metabolism and using a highly stoked fire, you increase the rate of cell turnover and reduce your life.

Though fasting reduces your metabolism, if kept up for too long will stimulate the sympathetic nervous system. The balance of sympathetic and parasympathetic is essentially usage and preparation. Sympathetic is usage, the body turns anything it has into energy, therefore breaking down connective tissues like bones, muscles, tendons and ligaments and turning it into sugar and fat. The parasympathetic nervous system prepares the body for usage by turning that sugar and fat into connective tissue, bone, muscle, etc. If you burn out your energy (fat/sugar) stores, you body will either use newly ingested calories, or in the instance of fasting, will start to break down muscle and bone.

Fasting, when properly applied, can keep you from clogging the fire with too much wood. However, to have a hot fire you must continually add good logs. Fasting can be good or bad, it merely depends on your application of it.

One of the things you “stress” (forgive the pun) in this piece is the role that consumption of things (whatever: alcohol, brownies, pasta) plays in creating (oxidative) stress.

Which makes me think of fasting. Clearly, when the body needs energy, it breaks itself down, or it works with nutrients you put in your system, and either way this causes oxidative stress. I’ve heard that less calories overall has been linked to lower mortality.

The question emerges: could periodic (short-term) fasting play a role in rest and recovery?

I ask this partly as a question of spiritual practice, because I also noticed that you mentioned reframing and meditation as essentials. Fasting has long been paired with mediation as one of the staples of spiritual practice.

In the novel Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse, the main character, Siddhartha, learns three things from the ascetic Samanas (basically, yogis) with whom he spends a few years: to think, to wait, and to fast. These three tools, he claims, which basically amount to meditation, patience, and self-control, initially bring him a kind of mastery of his physical self (before he loses himself in the world… but that’s another issue).

Personally, I especially advocate items #3 and 4 on your list. Most of the work I do with my coaching clients is around helping them learn to tell the truth about life/themselves/others rather than believing the thoughts that run amok in their minds masquerading as reality. Teaching others is great practice because it reminds me to model rather than merely preach.

Thanks to you and Shanna both for being good teachers, preachers, and models of healthful living!