watch out for the adrenals 
#82200
17 y
8,471
RN Warning
water fasting can be a tremendous strain on the body and specially the adrenal glands. I used to Water Fast and ended up with adrenal fatigue and I am having a hard time loosing weight and I am always exhausted and I am under treatment for it. I am told by my naturopath not to Water Fast anymore. Water Fasting should be done during a period of complete rest and stress free environment otherwise it can do more damage than good. Also, a lot of people have already mild adrenal fatigue and they can worsen their condition without knowing.
We live in extremely toxic world, and Water Fasting can be a real stresser on the body. Most Water Fasting books were written at a time where the toxins were much less than right now. Please prepare for your fast and do it at a time when you can completly rest.
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- Re: watch out for the adrenals #56014
17 y
7,247
This is a reply to # 1,015,140As a faster, I agree implicitly that "stress-free environment" is extremely important during a fast.
Two thumbs up! - Re: watch out for the adrenals chrisb1
17 y
7,300
This is a reply to # 1,015,140water fasting can be a tremendous strain on the body and specially the adrenal glands!!
A.
This statement is of course complete nonsense.
Do you have any evidence of this strain on the body & the adrenals ? and if so, I think you should share it with everyone.
Water fasting should be done during a period of complete rest and stress free environment otherwise it can do more damage than good.
A.
The first part of this statement is something I would completely agree with, as Water Fasting is a period of Physiological rest. No one has ever suggested that a fast should be undertaken unless PROPERLY CONDUCTED ie...Physical and sensory rest, free from any emotional ties with the maximum amount of sleep; plenty of fresh air; judicious sunbathing; and water bathing.
Any risk of "damage" from fasting would only occur if the above is not strictly adhered to.
We live in an extremely toxic world, and Water Fasting can be a real stresser on the body.
A.
Fasting does not cause any stress on the body; it is the ONLY method employed by Nature for a physiological rest, internal cleansing and healing: despite our more polluted World; the more toxic a person is, and the more severe the symptoms ....the more need for the fast in the first instance.
Most Water Fasting books were written at a time where the toxins were much less than right now. Please prepare for your fast and do it at a time when you can completely rest.
A.
Yes. I would agree with this statement.
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- Re: watch out for the adrenals Fonty
17 y
7,173
This is a reply to # 1,015,140I disagree with most of what was stated in this post also, and it's no surprise to me it's anonymous. I haven't been coming for long but I've noticed already several similarly negative posts about fasting each focussing on one aspect they feel is bad for us but as chris says no evidence is forwarded.
How would I even check that my adrenals are ready for a fast?? Is there a blood test and if so what mainstream doctor would give me one if I told him or her the true reason for it?
I agree also with most of chris's reasons. However I totally disagree about the stress free environment. Our world today is just as full of stress as it is full of toxins and pollutions. So while I agree that it would be best to be stress free I cannot turn off my life and as with the other toxins in my experience as a rule being on a fast reduces the effect of those stresses up to a certain point.
I also disagree about the total need for rest. Fasting often brings an enormous release of energy and I find it very natural to use that energy in exercise. During a fast my body needs more rest maybe after a period of aerobic and/or anaerobic exercise, that is something to make sure you allow for.. and also not to engage in it if the energy just isn't there. But the fasting books I have read have just as often encouraged normal exercise throughout the fast as told to rest the body completely. It all comes down to listening to your body and doing what it feels like it needs. If I have heaps of strength and energy I won't hesitate to use it, that's what it's there for. If I feel tired then I know that the energy is needed elsewhere so I wouldn't impede the fast by exercising as well.
As a rule I wouldn't anyway. My last fast came at a bad time as I've said and I had to over-exercise against my better judgement. This left me ennervated and needing to break the fast which I did properly and all is well. I probably would have recovered while continuing to fast but excess stress and exercise was still likely in the interim so I chose to take the safe way as is always best while fasting. And I have certainly had no long term effects from fasting while over-exercising and being well and truly over-stressed continually after ten days before breaking it on the fourteenth day. I don't recommend the stress or the workload obviously but on the contrary to it damaging me I know for a fact that if I hadn't been fasting at the time I would have been overeating to compensate for the stress. This is one habit I am aiming to kick for good so to me the ennervation wasn't too high a price to pay because I am still on track for my goals and am starting this next fast today better prepared than ever before.
I think warnings like this are far too harsh and black and white. Tell us what your experience has been, tell us what you've read- but don't decide on what is best for everyone based on that. I think I can claim to have a fair experience of Water Fasting now with one 30 day, one 14 day and one 10 day fast. Also several dry fasts including two of over 5 days. I have found no danger in either exercising, being stressed or not drinking water, so hearing these things dismissed as being 'too dangerous' even compared with Water Fasting I think is showing limited thinking that I don't think belongs here, where most have already broken out or are attempting to break away from the generally erroneous ideas of fasting entertained by mainstream society.
So take a thought to what you are calling too dangerous and harmful and it's effect on people who come here for support. Because this is a support forum. If we wanted to hear warnings about how dangerous fasting is we can always google it and read all the health professionals' warnings about it.
Cheers,
Andrew. - Re: watch out for the adrenals sushimama
17 y
7,012
- Re: watch out for the adrenals #82200
17 y
7,059
This is a reply to # 1,015,449You know when your adrenals are in good shape when you are not always tired. I was a bit tired plus I fasted on water on water for 8 days while working. I am a supporter of water fasting, don't get me wrong. But I think you have to do it at a time of complete rest and no stress environment, because fasting alone is a lot to handle for the body. I am just sharing my experience because I have been an avid faster, and my advice is prep your body and mind for the fast, take some time off to do it and if not possible do a juice fast instead.
I trust my naturopath and would not fast again in the same way I have been doing. All the Water Fasting books state that it should be done with complete rest, and I think it is important for people to know that. The adrenals are affected by stress, fasting by itself is tremendous stress on the body, we should not add the added stress of working and other psychological, emotional stress.
For most people who are starting on their fasting journey it is good to put at peaceful, restful time aside for the period of the fast.- Re: watch out for the adrenals Taknamak
17 y
7,026
This is a reply to # 1,015,751I just wanted to add, that I did my last fast while I was emotionally unwell and working. I am not saying that my adrenals are depleted only because of the fast but I think I did not do it at the right time. We are exposed to more toxins than lets say 40 or 100 hundred years ago and a lot of the information we read about Water Fasting were from a much less polluted period of time, and still they all suggest check do a check up with your doctor first, and do it at a time when you can have a complete rest.
And I am sorry but a ton of toxins coming out of your body, are stressful to your kidneys and liver. So it is not a bad idea to ask people who want to undertake Water Fasting for the first time to take it slow. Avid fasters are different than first time fasters as their body have already gone through some cleansing process.- Re: watch out for the adrenals Fonty
17 y
7,047
This is a reply to # 1,015,764I agree it is good advice to be prepared to take it slow, whether you are new at fasting or an old hand. However it isn't fair to scare them with an obscure complication that you can no more prove was the result of fasting than 'we' are currently able to prove to the world that fasting is in fact a safe and healing process.
I have heard the argument about the extra toxicity of the air compared to when many modern pioneers of fasting were experimenting with it and writing their books. I don't think it is any more valid than any other excuse used to scare us away from fasting. Our bodies aren't the bodies of those people either, our bodies have been living with those toxins now for many years. I pretty much grew up with them in the suburbs of Melbourne which has had high levels of pollution most of my life. Fasting does not remove my ability to live where I am living. The important thing for me is to not expose myself to any new toxins that my body would not be prepared to fight. That could be very dangerous, but my fasting body is not at all without defenses, it is fully functional except in the fact that the digestive system has been transformed into a cleansing/healing system. It is still the same body with the same immune system it had before, that doesn't suddenly shut down during this natural process.
So I am always prepared to take it slow if needs be. But I never plan to stop my life, in the past I have had work and now I have a young family to look after. If I need to rest too much or things get too difficult I simply cannot lie down for 3 or 4 days or more and still be a good parent to my kids. So if my need for rest gets too great I will have to break the fast rather than push through that crisis at the expense of my children.
However I had more work to do in my 30 day fast than I do now and I have no qualms about taking on another. With exercise, and with stress- because that's my life.
Cheers,
Andrew.
- Re: watch out for the adrenals Fonty
17 y
7,047
- Re: watch out for the adrenals Fonty
17 y
7,073
This is a reply to # 1,015,751I'm sorry you had that negative experience of fasting. But I still say you are generalising because of it. I have done a 10 day and a 30 day fast while working a stressful full time job. During those fasts I was a karate instructor and continued to teach and participate in strenuous instructor classes each week, only standing aside in the last week of it as after nearly four weeks of not eating I felt it best not to risk passing out doing a full workout. I only did what I felt it safe to do. Maybe what the advice given to pregnant women is worth listening to here: continue doing exercise up the level you have been doing it prior to becoming pregnant but no more.. and only as long as you feel safe doing it.
As for the stress, fasting had me feeling more at peace at work.. the stress was still there but it had little chance of sending me over the edge during those fasts, whereas at a later time it did exactly that. Getting the motivation up to fast is not something to waste in my opinion. Once I have the motivation, taking into account what I can know of the immediate future and avoiding the worst of life's stresses during that time, I will grab hold of that motivation and hold on to it and cherish it. My life is never fully without stress but my fasts have never agravated my stress levels, quite the opposite they are good for it.
The same goes for the advice of being prepared. In a perfect world we could all prepare for our fasts perfectly, or book in to a retreat and allow time to prepare, fast and recover before returning to the 'real world'. But the fact is that fasting is a method of healing that works on just about anyone, any animal for that matter, and at an instant's notice. The best way to fast is to fast when you need it, and maybe it would be better to spend a week or two preparing perfectly but that motivation is the key, and for me at least it is so far best for me to focus on getting through those first few days of fasting and continue on, not motivate myself for another week or two beforehand while still eating and prone to little stresses that encourage me to overeat, maybe killing the fast before it starts.
Again I am sorry you have suffered. But I still disagree with your premise that fasting is a stress on the body. It is only that through necessary cleansing at times and it is just as often accompanied by an incredible release of energy.
And I am not sure what has caused the problem with your adrenals but I don't trust one doctor's opinion that it was caused by the fast. In my experience doctors will very often NOT know the cause of such things and will quickly latch on anything different to put the blame to. In this case it is your fasting, it could just as easily have been blamed on veganism or vegetarianism and an excuse for the doctor to get someone to start eating big juicy steaks again.
Good luck in your recovery #85645
Andrew.- Re: watch out for the adrenals #82200
17 y
6,984
This is a reply to # 1,015,893I am not trying to argue with you. I have fasted more than ten times and I think fasting is great. I am not trying to scare anyone, different bodies are able to do handle different levels of stress. If you are able to teach karate and fast on water for 30 days that is fantastic, you must have great energetic reserve. But not everybody is at the same place. There are people I see here, that want to water fast, without any knowledge or preparation and mostly to lose weight. And I don't think it is wise to advise someone not to listen to their naturopath doctor. Each case is different, for me I know that I need to get back my strengh for some time, before I can fast again. Fasting is fantastic because it relieves the body of many unwanted toxins, but I believe that it is a stress on the organs as well and different people have different strength and it is good to be aware of that and listen to one's body.
- Re: watch out for the adrenals Fonty
17 y
6,911
This is a reply to # 1,015,925I agree wholeheartedly with listening to our bodies, and that each will have a different experience of fasting. I think it is basically stepping back and letting the body do what it needs to do with as little interference from the outside as possible. All we have to learn is how best to stay out of it's way. :)
Good luck getting your strength back.
Take care,
Andrew. - Re: watch out for the adrenals chrisb1
17 y
7,115
This is a reply to # 1,015,925User #82200,
I do agree with most of your post but what I think you are saying is that it depends on each individuals response to fasting, and that depends to a large extent on the bodily constitution and the degree of metabolic toxicity and emaciation/strength beforehand.
What I do disagree with is that Fasting is a stress on the body, which it is not; fasting is more of a physiological rest where the organs of elimination do have to work overtime, but, in many instances are cleaned and healed themselves: this would include the kidneys and liver.
The sense of physical weakness usually occurs within the first 3 to 10 days and is indicative of the degree of toxicity within the body. This was not only my own experience but that of thousands of fasters in the past.....gleaned from the fasting literature from years gone by.- Re: watch out for the adrenals taknamak
17 y
6,933
This is a reply to # 1,016,307I am sorry Chris I must disagree with you. Fasting is a stress to the body, and all fasting experts seem to aknowledge that. The reason being that toxins are being flushed out of the body rapidly and this alone is a stress on the liver and kidneys. And that is why they insisted on complete rest, with occasional walking if the energy is there. It is a worthwhile stress because the benefits can be tremendous. However, lets remember that all bodies are not the same. I don't believe for example it is not a good thing to fast when one is really depleted of minerals and some essential vitamins, it is better to build the body's reserve and then fast. It is not a good idea to fast when one is totally depressed because already the body is at a low. I think it is important for newbies to know that, because I feel a lot of people are doing it for the wrong reasons. Like for example loosing weight, and that rarely works in long term. I think it is important to take fasting seriously and not advise any newbie to go right away to a 30 day Water Fast while working. I just think a lot of people take this lightly and jump into it without mental, physical and spiritual preparations.
If someone's Naturopath doctor advised them not to fast, it does not mean it is bad, maybe it is not right for that particular person. My naturopath doctor for example used to Water Fast all the time, and now he does a different kind of fasts which he believes are more powerfull in eliminating "the fat soluble" toxins, which he believes are very difficult to release on a Water Fast only. So he believes on starting the body on different fasts, and then easing into a water fast gradually.- Re: watch out for the adrenals Fonty
17 y
7,033
This is a reply to # 1,016,546I think you're missing the point. Your experiences and opinions are all valid, but no more so than ours.
We are not responsible for 'newbies' decisions. Nobody can know what information they have to start with just by a simple post asking for advice or support. And more often than not I think we all in supporting them ask them to go and do more reading and research and not take our opinions on their own merit.
You on the other hand are warning and potentially scaring people away from fasting with your message, talking of long term damage to the body and stresses that have little basis in fact. You simply have not read widely enough if you believe for example that complete rest is the only way to fast. I have read that too, but have also read that it is okay or even more beneficial to keep working and exercising, and my own long term fasts are proof enough of that for me. However I do not advise people to go and fast for 30 days 'the way I did it', I just relay my experience and offer my opinion.
Fasting balances the system and Depression is physically an imbalance of chemicals in the brain, or at least that imbalance is present in most people with Depression and other mental illnesses. If you have had a personal experience with fasting being bad for your Depression say so, but this blanket advice that not to fast if you are depressed is again not based on any reasonable facts and I for one disagree that it is a bad idea to fast while depressed. If that was true then it would always be a bad idea for me to fast.
Fasting is also a real and useful tool for losing weight. And there is nobody out there can say that they have a perfect 100% tool for that, so advising against using fasting to lose weight is also unfair. Say it never worked for you. You can't back up your statement that fasting rarely works for weight loss for example. You can only post a few examples at best of when it hasn't worked. Say you don't believe it will work in the long run for this or that reason, but again these blanket comments about fasting not being any good for this or that, and assuming newbies can't think for themselves and need to be told not to fast because they aren't prepared enough. That's not your call to make.
On the contrary I assume that most of the people who come here are grown up human beings who must have at least some idea of what they are doing here, I don't think that people just suddenly decide to fast for 30 days on a whim. They come here for support and advice from people who have been there or are on the journey themselves already. We are a minority and as I've said already it's too easy to find people who will tell us for a great variety of reasons why fasting is bad for us and dangerous and so forth, but we don't come here to be put off, we come here for support and advice.
The person who came in and told us they were advised by a naturopath never to fast seemed very upset about this and was desperately seeking other opinions and advice. I gave them mine, that they should find another naturopath if possible, one who understands fasting better. That advice was based on my experience of which you know nothing about, and I certainly didn't expect everyone to have the same opinion or for that person to rush off and take my advice without thinking about it. We are not talking to sheep here but intelligent people who can make their own minds up, we don't have to assume they are unprepared in any way and need to be told what to do or not to do.
So please keep sharing your opinions and advice but don't tell us our advice is bad advice. It is all just as valid, based on our personal experiences and research into this wonderful topic.
Cheers,
Andrew.- Re: watch out for the adrenals chrisb1
17 y
6,877
- Re: watch out for the adrenals chrisb1
17 y
6,877
- Re: watch out for the adrenals chrisb1
17 y
6,998
This is a reply to # 1,016,546"I am sorry Chris I must disagree with you. Fasting is a stress to the body, and all fasting experts seem to aknowledge that. The reason being that toxins are being flushed out of the body rapidly and this alone is a stress on the liver and kidneys."
That depends on your definition of stress.
The Liver & Kidneys are only performing the "work" they are designed to do during a fast. Organs & Tissues are also repaired during a fast......not stressed.....
From THE Fasting Expert.....
http://www.soilandhealth.org/02/0201hyglibcat/020127shelton.III/020127.ch8.htm
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"I don't believe for example it is not a good thing to fast when one is really depleted of minerals and some essential vitamins, it is better to build the body's reserve and then fast."
ALL fasting authorities have advised this very same thing: the quality of your food reserves should be high before commencing a fast.
***********************************
"It is not a good idea to fast when one is totally depressed because already the body is at a low."
This is not good advice and is not shared by fasters worldwide.
Fasting alleviates and can cure depression.
http://www.soilandhealth.org/02/0201hyglibcat/020127shelton.III/020127.ch11.htm
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Fasting is one of the best ways to lose weight.
It is only post-fast that one has to be careful with diet so as not to overeat and undo the benefits accrued. Self restraint is important here.
**********************************
Your comments are based on inexperience and possibly ignorance of fasting.
I personally possess one of the largest private libraries on Fasting and Natural Hygiene that exists, and the aforementioned information is gleaned from that material from qualified and experienced personnel in conducting fasts.
- Re: watch out for the adrenals Fonty
17 y
7,033
- Re: watch out for the adrenals taknamak
17 y
6,933
- Re: watch out for the adrenals Fonty
17 y
6,911
- Re: watch out for the adrenals #82200
17 y
6,984
- Re: watch out for the adrenals Taknamak
17 y
7,026
- Re: watch out for the adrenals #82200
17 y
7,059
- This is a good thread, and important... High on Water
17 y
7,119
This is a reply to # 1,015,140I, for one, went on a 32-day fast from mid-March to mid-April of this year.
I must have been in a really bad place, because I just got my report back from my alternative health doctor. (Hair analysis and iridology that I relented to having done because my hair has been falling out!)
Where he did say that the report could have been much much worse, it showed some problems; one of those problems included adrenal fatigue! I also still need to "aggressively do a general cleanse, liver detox, kidney detox, and lung and breast detox over the next four months".
Most of my trace minerals were also "below the normal range"
My sodium/potassium levels were "out of balance" (probably the biggest reason for the hair loss) and my calcium/magnesium levels were also "out of balance" (I've been having cramps in my legs as of late).
Negative stress is a major part of my life.
Please, don't get me wrong. I believe the fast was necessary. I believe that my report would have been MUCH worse had I not fasted! However, I had tremendous stress during my fast, including a father-in-law (who constantly pushes food on people) who kept telling me things like "it's your funeral" - "you're killing yourself, ya know" and getting into constant pissing contests with me. (And he calls himself a Baptist minister, sigh).
A stress-free environment, in my opinion, was necessary - for ME, anyway!
Education is key, in anything we do!- Re: This is a good thread, and impor... Fonty
17 y
6,972
This is a reply to # 1,015,956I'm sorry you're still having problems High on Water. I think we can all atest to having told the wrong people we are fasting at some point and copping unwanted stress from their reactions, but it seems like you got a very bad case of it. When I first started fasted I tried to limit who I told to people I knew respected my decisions enough to at least not try to talk me out of it too much, regardless of what they thought themselves.
And in fasting again this year I feel a lot more relaxed this time around having already successfully completed 14 days. So more confident to tell more people I am fasting, but still I'm not going crazy, for example I would never tell my mum she'd just freak out! lol
I'm sure you've already been thinking about this already, but if your minerals are low maybe there is something missing in your everyday dietary intake? Also I know from previous experience that some minerals, iron for example, is usually expected to be much higher than it needs to be. The fact that we can fast for weeks without our daily intake of things like iron and vitamin C speaks volumes to me about our needs being a lot less than nutritionists and the manufacturers of sugary breakfast cereals would have us believe. I know for a fact that healthy vegetarians can measure low on many of these tests due to meat eaters needing higher levels and the tests are based on a meat eater norm.
Anyway, I wish you all the best in your recovery.
Take care,
Andrew.
- Re: This is a good thread, and impor... #82200
17 y
7,032
This is a reply to # 1,015,988I am not scaring away anyone away from fasting, as I believe in fasting done properly. I am just making a comment that it is wise to be careful. If fasting was so great for loosing weight how come we don't get one post from someone who lost a lot weight during a fast and was able to keep it off after a few months?
As for the comments about fasting not being any stress on the kidneys and liver, again I disagree: IT IS. I have more trust on my Naturopath doctor, who's studied the human body and is up to date with latest research and not some book written in 1920 when many of the toxins ingested today did not even exist then. I think it is wise to be open minded and I am just sharing my experience. We are here to discuss experiences, even if sometimes negative. People need to know that each body is different and be careful when undertaking longterm fasting. It better to be careful than sorry.- Re: This is a good thread, and impor... chrisb1
17 y
6,999
This is a reply to # 1,017,376Hello #82200,
I agree with you that fasting should be conducted properly for the maximum benefit.
I also think it is a good way to lose weight, but keeping it off post-fast would need a certain degree of self-restraint in the quantity and quality of diet. Proper food combining can play a large part here in keeping weight off. No posts on the success of maintaining weightloss post-fast could be indicative of very little of that self-restraint !! (opinion).
It is also the opinion of one of the present-day, and oldest established Natural Hygienic Doctors (Dr Keki Sidhwa ND.DO.) that the organs of elimination receive great benefit from fasting, and are not stressed (meaning harmful) to them. They are merely performing the work that they are meant to be doing, regardless of the degree of toxicity within the body.
Before I undertook my second lengthy fast I had a severe case of renal colic with severe pain and bleeding from my right kidney; this was healed during the fast and post fast with no pain and no bleeding thereafter. To ensure that this was the case I had an MRI scan which confirmed this.
You are of course entitled to your opinion, but I believe it to be an erroneous one.
Regards
Chris
- Re: This is a good thread, and impor... chrisb1
17 y
6,999
- Re: This is a good thread, and impor... #82200
17 y
7,032
- Re: This is a good thread, and impor... Fonty
17 y
6,972
- Re: watch out for the adrenals starmelt
8 y
3,552
This is a reply to # 1,015,140WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG.. FASTING IS INDIVIDUAL AND ONE CAN NOT MUST NOT BE SO CARELESS OR THOUGHTLESS AS TO TELL EVERYONE THAT A CERTAIN PROCESS IS ABSOLUTELY TRUE/ NO MATTER THE DEGREE/ LACK OF DEGREE OR LEVEL OF EXPERIENCE. I AM USING ALL CAPS CAUSE THE POSTER WAS TALKING IN ABSOLUTES AND ITS SIMPLY NOT TRUE FOR EVERYONE , PERHAPS THEM, TALK TO A DIFFERENT NATUROPATH AND EACH ONE WILL GIVE A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE. THE BODY KNOWS WHAT IT NEEDS LISTEN TO IT NOT SOME POSTER WHO WAS WELL MEANING AND CARELESS WITH THEIR POST. EVEN MORESO WE NEED TO FAST IN THIS DAY OF TOXINS... PEOPLE ARE FASTING ALL OVER THE PLANET THIS YEAR 2016. ITS NATURES WAY. DO A SALIVAL HORMONE PANEL BEFORE IF YOU FEEL YOU NEED IT. using all caps to hopefully help counter any LOUD impact this poster had with their original post.. I have been fasting since 18 as a routine, intermittent fasting for 6 years and longer fasts this last 6 months. MY adrenals have a history of weakness , I fixed them with labs to prove it back in 2007. I listen to my body if my kidneys get stressed I back off the water, and rest , OR all rest to bring it back around. I work when fasting. I prefer not to/ its best for me to rest and delve into the full healing process giving the brain and psyche the turn over it needs too as well. If I exercise too much during a fast my body takes a bit longer to recover before next fast..
- Re: watch out for the adrenals Ravensong
7 y
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- Re: watch out for the adrenals Ravensong
7 y
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- Re: watch out for the adrenals #56014
17 y
7,247
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