Life in the Fast Lane
I met Cathy at the Women's International Networking conference in Geneva last October. A native of Nigeria, she worked as a nurse in London specializing in mental health - until the daily strains of work started undermining her own mental health. These days Cathy works independently as an Internet marketer, and she believes in fasting for health.
Fasting is a practice followed by the great religions of the world, but on a secular level, it's a practice that makes sense. Even animals fast on occasion, when they've eaten something that doesn't agree with their system. I know this from observing the various dogs and cats that we've had over the years. When Kitty is off her feed for example, she'll just take some water and chew some grass in the garden that eventually takes care of the tummy ache.
In the hustle and bustle of daily life, when we eat too much too fast, and chew our food too less, fasting will help give our digestive system a well-deserved rest. Fasting isn't about going hungry or going on a diet. Rather, it's about giving up a material want or need temporarily - be it food, alcohol or nicotine - in exchange for getting the physical and psychological toxins cleansed out of your system.
In Cathy's case, she turned to fasting after her doctor told her that her eyesight was getting worse, and that she might need an operation. But for Cathy, an operation was out of the question - there had to be another way for her eyes to get better! Then she remembered her late mother's advice - go on a fast.
Many years before that, Cathy's mother was so devastated by the sudden death of her husband, that she broke away from her church. The wounds eventually healed, but it was a long hard climb back to recovering her faith. And fasting was what helped her start anew.
After she had tried fasting for a few weeks, Cathy noticed a definite improvement in her eyesight. Today she does it on a semi-regular basis, taking only water and her vitamins during breakfast, and nothing else. At noon, she breaks her fast. We talked about it as we queued for our buffet lunch.
“I once told my mother, ‘I can't fast Muslim-style like you do, and not eat anything from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.! I'm a working woman and that won't work!’ So we compromised, and when I fast I only do it until noon. Then I can eat what I like. Fasting keeps my weight down, and that's good. Because I really love sweets!”
Looking at her small and slender frame, I believe her. You should have seen what she had for dessert.
Fasting is a practice followed by the great religions of the world, but on a secular level, it's a practice that makes sense. Even animals fast on occasion, when they've eaten something that doesn't agree with their system. I know this from observing the various dogs and cats that we've had over the years. When Kitty is off her feed for example, she'll just take some water and chew some grass in the garden that eventually takes care of the tummy ache.
In the hustle and bustle of daily life, when we eat too much too fast, and chew our food too less, fasting will help give our digestive system a well-deserved rest. Fasting isn't about going hungry or going on a diet. Rather, it's about giving up a material want or need temporarily - be it food, alcohol or nicotine - in exchange for getting the physical and psychological toxins cleansed out of your system.
In Cathy's case, she turned to fasting after her doctor told her that her eyesight was getting worse, and that she might need an operation. But for Cathy, an operation was out of the question - there had to be another way for her eyes to get better! Then she remembered her late mother's advice - go on a fast.
Many years before that, Cathy's mother was so devastated by the sudden death of her husband, that she broke away from her church. The wounds eventually healed, but it was a long hard climb back to recovering her faith. And fasting was what helped her start anew.
After she had tried fasting for a few weeks, Cathy noticed a definite improvement in her eyesight. Today she does it on a semi-regular basis, taking only water and her vitamins during breakfast, and nothing else. At noon, she breaks her fast. We talked about it as we queued for our buffet lunch.
“I once told my mother, ‘I can't fast Muslim-style like you do, and not eat anything from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.! I'm a working woman and that won't work!’ So we compromised, and when I fast I only do it until noon. Then I can eat what I like. Fasting keeps my weight down, and that's good. Because I really love sweets!”
Looking at her small and slender frame, I believe her. You should have seen what she had for dessert.
posted by Maria-Fe Parco Ortner at 11:24 AM
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