Customer Reviews

The Fasting Diet

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The title sums it up. The real question is, does it actually work? According to many fasting doctors, like Joel Fuhrman, juice fasting doesnt work. Will you lose weight? Yes. Is it healthy? Sources say no.

There are two major changes that occur in a fast: ketosis and a relaxation of digestion. With a juice fast you will relax your digestive system, according to Dr. Bailey, and that relaxation in itself is all you need to start your body on the weight loss and healing. Dr. Bailey also claimed that in todays toxic world its simply too dangerous to go on a water fast because so many toxins will be released into our system for cleaning that the body wont be able to handle it and the subject will become very ill and lethargic.

Ketosis is when the body shifts from sugar fuel to ketone fuel. The body will do this about 2 or 3 days into the fast once it realizes no more carbs are coming. The liver starts producing ketones which are made by breaking down fat and bad cells (like tumors) and turning them into fuel for the brain and the rest of your body. However, on a juice fast, you never stop the influx of carbs so your body never goes into ketosis and so the greater amount of weightloss and healing does not occur.

I highly recommend water fasting over juice fasting thanks to my own experience (juice fast 27 days, water fast 17 days). I felt much better during the water fast and could have gone much longer except it was time for vacation and i love laksa!

Please pick up Joel Fuhrman's "Fasting and Eating for Health" if you are considering a fast.

I did the fasting diet under Dr. Bailey?s supervision in 1992 while in Portland, Oregon. The results were positive and I have since done the fast many times on my own, unsupervised.

I don't know if I would have the courage and confidence to do a fast from reading a book without personal guidance. However, I can say that the book includes all the information I received under the supervised fast, and much more.

I will not do this fast solely to lose weight. Rather, the fast helps me to re-evaluate my long-term relationship to food which gets me on the path to better nutrition and healthy weight loss. By eliminating food that is high in calories yet empty nutritionally, I am able to ?re-set? my eating habits. After the fast, I eat far less food that is higher in nutrition (i.e., only the food my body really needs). I am more balanced emotionally and think more clearly after doing this fast.

I think this book provides good information and I recommend it without reservation.

This books does an extremely good job of laying out the many facets of fasting. The two-star rater who claimed that water fasting is the only way to go is quite ignorant on a number of counts (Besides, I don't think he even read the book).

1) Water fasting MUST be medically supervized very closely; juice fasting is much less risky in terms of preventing potentially fatal electrolyte imbalance.

2) His "experience" is himself, alone (he also points out that he prepared for his extended water fast experience by using the juice fast...hmmm); Dr. Bailey has supervized thousands of fasters and has reversed many conditions believed to be incurable (sure, water fasting can potentially do the same, but why take greater risks...especially when a series of consecutive fasts are needed to produce the desired results).

3) fasting is NOT a good way to lose weight; you CAN lose weight, but it's not a substitute for rational lifestyle changes.

4) juice fasting is much better tolerated by the average person -I have my several-times-a-day aerobics and yoga instructor patients report that they have ample energy to continue their regular teaching routines; in fact, it's very common of people to claim they feel better and have MORE energy than they normally do while on the juice fast.

5) this list can go on and on.

I don't want to completely "knock" water fasting. It can be useful with the correct execution -i.e. preceeded by a juice fast AND medically supervised. I do not, however, believe that you should go buy a book by some self-proclaimed expert whom religiously swears that water fasts are the best; my experience, the experiences of my patients and the experiences of Dr. Baileys patients have proven otherwise.

Thaddeus Jacobs, ND, LAc
Co-founder, Santa Barbara Center for Natural Medicine

This is a great book!
I followed the fasting advice and found it easy yet highly effective. The author covers all aspects of fasting including physical, emotional, mental and spiritual. This is one of the best books on fasting on the market.

Dear Water and Juice friends,

Fasting is water only and juice is a liquid intake diet.

Period !

I have done both like so many others reading this.

Why all this fuss about which way is right and wrong ?

Is it not time we all see that one solution is not for everyone ?

Everybody has his or hers history, including all the rest of the baggage that comes along. Water and Juice is great.

Giving our digestive organs a break is Great !

I have done many 7-10 days waterfasts,
some in bed resting, others active and one 21 day water fast in bed. I have done several dry fasts, and many 7-60 days juice feasts. Two 30 days juice fasts running and swimming every day and one 60 days juice fast working and being active.

Today I fast one or two days per week with 40 minutes of excercise per day. I love it. My body loves it.

They are all, in my opinion, very beneficial.

But before jumping on the train, reading books on the subject is perhaps also beneficial. But everyone must go towards what feels right for her or him. Be it to contact an expert, or to do it alone.

But once you get initiated, the bottom line is, no expert knows better than you. You must learn to trust your intuition.

Now, may I give a bit of advice IN CASE you have problems before, during or after a water fast or juice regime.

Look into the fact that fruits are loaded with sugars.
Beets and carrots too.

Sugars, be it starch, fruits or processed powders, no matter how organic and natural: it all feeds our small animals inside our bodies ! The good ones and the bad ones, unfortunately.

Don't believe me, test for yourself !

Take two tupperware containers.
Put a sweet fruit into one and a celery into the other.
Close tightly.
Store the closed containers at body temperature for 2 weeks, and open to see.

Surprise !

I am not a fanatic vegetarian but if you do this with an egg, meat or fish, there are some surprises too ! Real eyeopeners.

Yuack !

So in case you have problems, a couple of great books are
"The pH Miracle" and "Are you sick and Tired" by Robert Young.

But in case you undertake water fasts or liquid feasts with no problems, GREAT. Why look any further.

Coming from the same family, we have all evolved differently.

Happy to hear from you, So Long, Gustav.
gustaverikson@hotmail.com

P.S. For general health, I also higly recommend "Slow Burn" by Stu Mittleman and Enzyme for Autism by Karen L. DeFelice even if you aren't affected by autism.

I am very interested in this subject. i have done a lot of fasting/cleansing and I always like to read about different ways. This is an interesting book. It was recommended to me by a dietitian.

If you are considering a healthy fasting program that is workable, safe, and brings great results, I thoroughly recommend Dr Steven Bailey's book, "The Fasting Diet". I did a lot of research on the net and read a number of books before I finally chose Dr Bailey's book to follow to a "T".

Although Dr Bailey focuses in his book on a 5 day Power Fast, I was doing so well I decided to extend mine to 10 days. I have just begun to reintroduce solid foods again, as he advises, ever so slowly. My goal was to lower my Blood Pressure and (bad) cholesterol.

I went in for a complete checkup today with my doctor and am happpy to report that I have lost 10 lbs in just 13 days, (inluding the 3 day prefast).

My Blood Pressure has normalized from 157/100 to 132/72 and my cholesterol reading has gone down from 220 to 137. I feel great, full of energy, and am amazed that I never felt any hunger, But Dr Bailey tells you exactly how to do that. There are terrific tips that make juice fasting go painlessly. You don't even have to do an enema if you don't wish to. There are other ways to cleanse the system in the book. This is a real how to manual with actual food choices and details on the daily activity for the entire fast. I leaned on this book like a bible. Because I started prepping my body for this adventure (my first fast) three weeks prior to starting, I have ended up losing 20 lbs in total.

It pays to wind down your intake of heavy carby foods, meat and coffee a short period before you start. Shrinking the stomach and slowing down the digestive process for 2-3 weeks will make the cleanse go easier. The whole point is to rid your body of all the built up toxins. This is what brings the body into balance. I'm off my medications and I'm ready for summer!

This book is a must have.

This is a very well written guide to juice fasting. Dr Bailey discusses fasting throughout history, some basic digestive system anatomy, several case studies, nutrition and a very step-by-step description of his 5-day juice fast. While I first completed this fast under the guidance of a doctor, it was so long ago that I needed refreshing and felt very confident following Dr Bailey's protocols on my own. I also feel confident that this is a book written by an expert, not someone with merely strong opinions about health, nutrition and what worked for him; for that I give 5 stars.

Nothing new. There are much better books on fasting. This one is not thorough or backed up by enough research.