I created Living ROI as a passion, to share my experiences and support others who want to live more authentic, joyful and fulfilling lives.

Dear Friends,

What do you do when you might have some disease brewing in your body but there is no medical intervention to be taken until it progresses? For me, first, you make sure you’re putting the best possible fuel in your body. And then, if possible, you fast. Fasting is an ancient healing modality that, in the absence of food, allows the body to initiate natural internal healing.

I wasn’t sure if I was going to write about this topic today. It’s personal and it feels vulnerable, but it is clearly top of my mind, which is usually my guide for what I write about.

Since I was diagnosed and had surgery last year for ovarian cancer, I’ve had one tumor marker that is tested through regular blood work that has continued to rise. Because of it, I’ve had a battery of tests over the past 8 months to see if they missed anything or if there is another cancer present. The tests have come back negative, which is wonderful. But watching the number rise has been unnerving. The options are to wait, do more invasive testing or try a holistic self-healing approach. I have opted for the latter, with the blessing of my doctors.

Earlier this year, I did a one-week juice fast. For the first time my tumor marker number dropped, significantly. It was still well above normal, but it was an encouraging outcome! I knew that it might not be enough because juice fasting is not nearly as potent a healing modality as water fasting.

A few weeks ago, I got re-tested and my tumor marker number was up again, higher than ever. Luckily, I had a plan in my back pocket for just such an eventuality—water fasting. Because of COVID-19, the health center I wanted to go to for a medically supervised fast in northern California had openings. Normally they have a four to five-month waitlist.

Today is day two of my water fast, and, though I am hungry, it’s going well. Colin, my sweet husband, is here with me for support. He is doing a shorter fast.

I just want to acknowledge how strange it is to be voluntarily not eating food right now when so many people do not have enough food because of the fallout from COVID-19. Our food banks need our support. We’ve donated to our local food bank, Second Harvest, to support the important work they are doing.

ABOUT FASTING*
Fasting is an ancient and powerful healing therapy. Fasting is consuming water ONLY for a specific amount of time. Nothing else. No tea, no broth; you are encouraged to avoid even using toothpaste or lotions. You are also told to fast from exercise, stress and sex. Fasting is not starvation. When you fast you are burning stored fat. When you’re starving, you’re burning muscle because you have no more fat.

Fasting has been around since the beginning of mankind. Even animals know to fast when they are sick. Hippocrates used fasting for his patients 2400 years ago, to great effect.

What makes fasting such a powerful modality? Eighty percent of all the energy your body uses all day goes into digesting your food. When you fast, this energy is freed up for healing and rebalancing. During a water fast your organs get a chance to rest. When you just drink pure water, your body gets cleaned-out on a cellular level and your hormone levels are re-set and balanced. Water fasting also strengthens your immune system.

Here are some of the most profound benefits of fasting:

• inflammation subsides
• infections heal
• insulin receptors clear
• blood sugar levels normalize
• blood pressure normalizes
• blood flow increases
• headaches often improve
• taste buds recalibrate

If there was a pill that did all of this, it would be considered a tremendous medical advancement.

Fasting is not for everyone. If you have Type I diabetes or are taking medications that cannot be stopped, such as prednisone or anti-depressants, you should not do a water fast. However, many medications can be stopped for a fast, such as medication for blood pressure and Type II diabetes.

I did a juice fast in January because I was still weaning off anti-depressants I had started when I experienced postpartum depression 23 years ago.

Fasting is also not for weight loss. It’s a therapeutic overhaul of your metabolism. You will likely gain back most of the weight you lose during a fast, but you will be set up to lose weight, if needed, when you eat a propensity of plant-based whole foods after the fast.

When you fast for more than five days, and/or you are stopping medications for the fast, it’s important to have the fast medically-supervised.

The first two to three days of a fast can be the hardest when you’re burning glucose and glycogen. By the third or fourth day, the hunger goes away once you enter ketosis and begin to burn fat stores. I’m looking forward to that, because I’m hungry!

Many people fast to clean and detox and are otherwise healthy. In that case a one to five-day fast works great. When you want to arrest or reverse disease, a longer fast is called for—anywhere from 10 to 30 days. My target is 14 days, but that will be dependent on how my body responds.

Doctors make the rounds in the morning and in the late afternoon here, to check vitals and make sure everyone is doing alright. This morning my doctor felt my pulse and sensed some skipped beats, so I went across the courtyard and got an EKG to have a baseline and to monitor any further changes.

Refeeding after a fast is important, so I’ll be at the health center another week after I break the fast to ensure I reintroduce food in the best way possible.

Would I have voluntarily done a water fast if I didn’t need to? No. But I’m grateful that I’m prompted to do so because I know it will provide benefits beyond lowering my tumor marker number. I am also grateful that I’m not just waiting around to see what happens next with my health and am instead an active participant in my healing.

Food is a very personal and often controversial topic. Some people may think fasting is just crazy. I’m pretty sure I was in that camp in the past. I honor your beliefs, whatever they are. We do what we are called to do, and here I am

Wishing you peace, grace and good health,

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*Fasting information comes from Fasting: Safe and Effective Use of an Ancient, Powerful Healing Therapy video by Michael Klaper, M.D.