Fasting and Eating for Health (10 page)

The absence of symptoms is not indicative of adequate health. Detoxification or rightly directed remedial activities of the body may be uncomfortable or painful, but they always represent a form of withdrawal from an offensive retained element. These same bodily actions may be called into play when the body reacts against an unwanted invader, such as a virus or bacteria and the elaborated toxic products from these microbes.

Occasionally, individuals manifest unusual eliminative pathways that express themselves in troubling symptoms. These may declare themselves in inflammation in almost any body part, but most frequently are observed in the skin and mucous membranes of the nose, throat, sinuses, lungs, vagina, and rectum. For example, vaginitis or prostatitis may be associated with the overgrowth of certain infectious microbes, but in many cases no pathogenic species can be found to account for such symptoms. Physicians are generally not helpful at this point because they have found nothing to treat and kill with drugs so they are unable to offer a solution.

Under these puzzling conditions, it is not unusual for me to see a patient after he or she has visited numerous other physicians to no avail. When the patient undertakes the solutions outlined in this book, and allows the body to finish its rightly directed activity (of detoxification), he or she is soon free from further discomfort. So many symptoms—from unusual skin rashes and joint pains to more infrequent but extremely troublesome proctitis and vulvadynia—

are unexplainable by the conventionally trained physician but easily remediable though fasting and natural diet, which allow the body to detoxify.

Exogenous Wastes Typically Come from Food and Drugs
In the first pharmacology lecture that I heard in medical school, the physician impressed on us that all drugs are toxic and we should never forget this. We were taught that medications work because of their pharmacologic properties—

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properties that enable the substance to interfere with, block, or stimulate an activity of the body. Drugs typically modify the way the body expresses the signs and symptoms of disease, but in chronic disease states, they do not undo the damage or remove the disease.

Of course, medications can be lifesaving in emergencies and in the case of severe infections, such as pneumonia or meningitis. However, the modern drug approaches to chronic degenerative illnesses fail to offer a safe, effective solution for most chronic medical problems.

So medications, alcohol, over-the-counter remedies, and even most herbal remedies (because their primary mode of action is via pharmacologic or toxic effects) can add to the toxic load the body must deal with.

The average person suffers from the effects of toxicosis, or the retention of excessive quantities of waste within the body. This modern type of malnutrition is the result of consuming too much of certain food elements (fat, protein, simple sugars) and too little of others (vitamins, minerals, fiber). When we eat freely of relatively rich foods instead of predominantly natural plant material, we disturb the function of every one of our millions of cells. This results in a buildup of unwanted substances inside and around every cell, contributing to disease.

Improper diet exposes us to many offending substances and is the largest cause of disease. The chief cause of disease in this country is not vitamin or nutrient deficiency. Though specific nutrient deficiencies and imbalances may contribute to the disease process, as does everything from the air we breathe to exposure to chemicals in the home or workplace, their contribution is not so great as the destruction of the body from food-borne toxins and excess nutrients, such as excess fats, proteins, and refined sweeteners.

All Disease Represents an Abnormality in Cellular Function
With the exception of illness caused by direct injury, virulent poisoning, or defects present prior to birth, internal physiology and cellular biochemistry determine an individual's level of health and capabilities. Damage at the cellular level causes groups of cells to function abnormally, eventually leading to chronic disease.

Within the scientific community, the theories of cellular aging, based on advances in cellular biology, explain not only the factors that accelerate the aging of our cells, but also the destructive processes that lead to disease.

These mechanisms of cellular damage often express themselves in chronic degenerative illnesses, especially autoimmune diseases, and work to accelerate our death.

In medical research today the
cellular congestion theory
is the leading theory of biologic aging. A few other respectable theories also have advocates in the scientific community. They are presented here because it is likely that no single idea adequately explains all the mechanisms involved in the loss of 55

cellular function that leads to disease or premature aging. When we can comprehend the science supporting many of these most respected theories, we can gain a clearer understanding of cellular function. It then becomes easy to understand how fasting can lead to cellular rejuvenation and why scientific experimentation on animals reveals that fasting prolongs the life span.

The Cellular-Congestion Theory of Aging

Many scientists believe this theory explains why aging occurs. Waste material gathers inside the cell, and eventually accumulates to the point of internal cell damage. The amassing of unwanted and often toxic substances explains the gradual decline in cellular function and therefore body function in general.

The waste products of cellular breakdown and cellular metabolism include excesses and unrestrained free radicals, as well as hundreds of other toxic metabolites. The more stress or the more use demanded from the cell, the more metabolic wastes will be produced.

The Free-Radical Theory of Aging

Free radicals are reactive elements. They contain an unpaired electron, making them chemically reactive. They can break apart other chemical bonds they come in contact with. Free radicals have both negative and positive functions within the cell. Though they are an important toxin, they also function as part of the detoxification machinery of the cell. Cells contain free radicals in order to utilize their reactive and destructive properties to chew up and destroy other wastes. It is only when the production of free radicals becomes excessive and their activity continues outside the confines of the specific areas of the cell that are designed to process waste that free radicals cause cellular damage.

We know now that there are hundreds of other cellular toxins besides free radicals; therefore, it is more precise to include the free-radical theory of aging as part of the cellular-congestion theory. Since the free-radical theory of aging was proposed in 1956 by Harmon,3 many attempts have been made to use antioxidants, vitamins, and free-radical-scavenging drugs to see if they extend the life span in lab animals. These interventions have not been effective at extending life spans, though periodic fasting of animals has consistently shown the ability to do so. This failure does not provide strong evidence against the free-radical theory for three reasons: 1) The administered antioxidant may not be distributed to the cellular site of production of the free radical; 2) each antioxidant is specific for a particular free radical species and thus is unlikely to have a global effect; and 3) significant damage to cellular structures, especially the mitochondria, occurs from other nonradical toxins such as malondialdehyde, ceroid, lipofuscin, and other related substances.

On the other hand, fasting (and food restriction in general) has a powerful effect on modulating free-radical production, repairing free-radical damage, and facilitating removal or detoxification of the products of free-radical damage. Fasting aids in the removal of other toxins, and has been shown to maintain the integrity of the cellular structure even at advanced ages.4 Food 56

restriction also decreases the rate of free-radical generation by reducing the rate of electron transport and oxygen utilization.

The Cross-Linkage Theory of Aging

Tissues in our body, especially collagen, develope cross-links at the cellular level as the tissue ages. These cross-linkages cause tissue to become less elastic and interfere with normal function. Internally produced waste products that are the leading cause of these cross linkages are intermediate metabolites.

Intermediate metabolites are waste products that increase in quantity as a result of excess nutrient intake, especially excessive protein intake.

When a product the body needs, such as a hormone, is manufactured by the cellular machinery, it is put together by enzymes in numerous steps. The more proteins and other excess raw materials are fed into our system, the more these enzymes will be activated to produce products. Since the body regulates its production of end-products very carefully, it must have a means of controlling this production so that too much product will not be produced. For example, can you imagine if too much insulin was produced?

The body accomplishes this regulation by slowing the activity of the enzymes in the pathway as more fuel (typically protein) is available. As these rate-controlling enzymes slow down, less final product is produced and more partially constructed products, also known as intermediate metabolites, increase in quantity. This explains one clearly defined mechanism via which excess proteins and a few other nutrient precursors are converted into harmful substances within the cells.

Studies have shown that the process of cross-linkage can be retarded in rats by restricting food intake. Overeating and nutrient excesses cause the accumulation of intermediate metabolites, many of which are potent cross-linking agents.5 When animals are fasted, the aging of collagen is prevented.

Fasting inhibits production of cellular intermediates and enables the body either to eliminate such retained wastes or to utilize them as fuel. It was observed that fasting in animals prevented the aging-related stiffening of the blood vessels as well.6

This theory of aging is not very different from the cellular-congestion theory.

This theory describes further endogenous toxins besides free radicals and shows the powerful effect they can have by cross-linking connective tissue. By combining the above leading theories we can have a more accurate picture of biologic damage on the cellular level.

Genetic-Code-Error Theory of Aging

The genetic code theory is based on the overuse of the cell's genetic machinery, or DNA. The nucleus of the cell contains the architectural blueprint (DNA) for all activity the cell is called on to perform. If the DNA suffers sufficient damage, the cell will not be able to function normally, and could even become cancerous. The more the cell is called on to function, the more the DNA 57

is utilized. Unessential usage of the genetic machinery of the cell encourages more errors to occur in the genetic code and leads to cellular breakdown.

Each cell has a DNA repair team of enzymes that is continually working to repair damage to the cell's vital DNA; however, a cell's ability to repair itself is limited. Free radicals and cellular congestion are known to contribute to DNA damage. This is known as the genetic-code-error theory.

Other theories of aging focus on the function of endocrine glands, growth rate, and rate of immunologic breakdown. Whichever theory we look at can be applied to our model and shows that a nutritionally adequate diet containing no excess nutrients (especially proteins and fats) and no overeating will prolong structure and function at the cellular level.

What these theories all have in common is that we age prematurely when we place our body under stress and drive cellular machinery to overwork in the attempt to process unessential waste. These theories, because they are based on modern scientific knowledge of cells combined with experimental studies on both animals and humans, indicate that food intake is the most crucial factor that determines aging.

It is remarkable to consider the number of scientific studies illustrating the effect of food restriction on life span. Hundreds of studies have found that in many species dietary restrictions can increase longevity by approximately 50

percent. These studies also show that any fat at al on an animal's body has the effect of shortening life span.7,8,9,10 Fasting animals not only extends their life but also, by blunting most physiologic mechanisms of aging, dismantles immune system imbalances that contribute to disease.

It is also evident that fasting powerfully opposes all the processes that lead to aging at the cellular level. This prolongs life even in healthy individuals. The restorative effects of fasting have been observed in many species of animals (including primates), and have been clinically observed in humans by doctors such as myself who regularly conduct therapeutic fasts.

The Longer the Belt, the Shorter the Life

Many experiments in animals and observational studies in humans show that both severe malnutrition and over nutrition significantly lower resistance to disease. Longevity studies on humans excluding smokers, drinkers, and the chronically ill illustrate that the leanest live the longest.11 Though thinness is not the only criteria for health, it is undeniable that a person in good health, on a nutritious diet, who is below the average weight, has by far the best chance for a long life. The National Institute of Health also reports the same conclusion: when smokers and those with a disease that causes thinness are excluded, the greatest longevity is found in those whose weight is below average.12

When the diet is without deficiencies, minimum caloric intake greatly increases resistance to infectious diseases. There are a host of mechanisms 58

that strengthen our immune system and make the ―soil‖ unwelcome for microbes when the body is not overfed. After studying various population groups, including underfed wartime prisoners, researchers have concluded that resistance to disease is highest on what would generally be considered an inadequate diet.13 It has been noted that when epidemics struck wartime prison camps, the underfed prisoners had a much lower morbidity than their overfed captors.