If you need some extra bounce in your step or want to loose weight, heal an ailment that is stopping you from enjoying life to the fullest, then fasting is for you..

Fasting refers to a complete abstinence from food for a long or short period of time for cleansing, healing or weight loss purposes.

The word fasting comes from the old English word, "feastan" which means to fast, observe, be strict."

Natures oldest method of treating and curing disease is to fast and it costs you nothing.

Throughout medical history, fasting has been regarded as one of the most dependable curative of all methods.

Galen, Hippocrates, Paracelsus and many other great authorities on medicine prescribed fasting to cure ills.

Excess food overburdens the digestive and assimilative organs and clogs up the system with poisons and impurities, which then becomes sluggish and doesn't function properly.

The beginning of disease is merely the process of the body ridding the system of impurities. Just about any disease can be healed by one remedy, by doing just the opposite of what caused it, reducing the food intake or fasting.

Fasting is merely a method of purification and is an effective and quick cure, it also leads to purification of the blood and repairs and regenerates the tissues of the body.

By depriving the body of food for a time, the organs of elimination such as the bowels, kidneys, lungs and skin are given an opportunity to expel and get rid of the overload of accumulated waste and toxins from the system.

Being deprived of needed nutrients, like fats and protein during a long fast, the body, by the process of autolysis or self-digestion feeds upon its own reserves and burns and digests its own tissues.

The secret of the effectiveness of fasting as a curative and rejuvenative method is that during a long fast the body will first decompose and burn those cells and tissues that are diseased, damaged or dead.

The essential tissues and vital organs, the glands, the nervous system and the brain are not damaged or digested in fasting.

Whilst fasting, the building of new and healthy cells are accellerated by the amino acids released from the diseased cells.

The capacity of the eliminative organs, kidneys, liver, lungs and the skin is greatly increased as they are relieved of the usual work of digesting food and eliminating the wastes and quickly expel old accumulated wastes and toxins.

Fasting offers a rest to the whole system and as a result, the digestion of food and the absorbtion of nutrients is greatly improved after fasting.

If you are using fruit juice for fasting be aware that in some cases where fruit juices are taken, especially when fresh grapes, oranges or grapefruit are used exclusively, the toxic wastes enter the bloodstream rapidly and quickly overload the elimination systems with toxic waste which can, in turn, affect normal bodily functions. This sometimes results in dizzy spells, followed by diarrhea and vomiting.

If any of the above symptoms happen discontinue the fruit juice fast immediately and eat cooked vegetables containing adequate roughage including greens like spinach, until your body is functioning normally again.

When juice fasting use freshly-made juice (preferably just before drinking), do not use canned or frozen juices as they have minimal nutritional value.

Drink 6-8 300ml (1- 1/2cups) glasses of juice per day. This can be diluted with water if you wish.