We all enjoy eating and there is nothing wrong with it. But over the years we have started to eat much more than we need. There’s nothing wrong with enjoying our food, but excess food on a continuous basis creates a burden for the body. When it must process more than it needs it will suffer.

Let me make a comparison to something we can all relate to. How do you feel at work when you’re handed a enormous work load, more than you can handle in your day, more than is comfortable and suitable for your job title. You’re under pressure. But somehow you will manage. You focus on the most essential matters and set aside those that can wait for future.

This is exactly what our bodies do when they’re overwhelmed; they put things away for another day. And more work is dumped on them at every meal, whether they’re ready for it or not. This is why fasting is a vacation for your tired, overworked, under-appreciated body.

We usually think of food as giving us energy. So consider this as a new way of understanding that the food we eat actually uses energy. During fasting, we rest our system from the continual onslaught of food stuff. Digesting, assimilating and metabolizing requires a great deal of energy. It is estimated that 65% of the body’s energy must be directed to the digestive organs after a hefty meal.

Just imagine, if we make this energy available to our bodies it can be diverted to healing and recovery. It will detox and repair cells, tissues and even organs, removing toxins.

This is what our bodies will do during a fast. It will benefit from the energy and time to do some housecleaning. The toxins that have not been properly handled are stored in the tissues for future. So one of the benefits of fasting is that it offers this opportunity to play “catch up”.

While fasting, our bodies hunt for dead cells, damaged tissues, fatty deposits, abscesses and tumors. These are burned for fuel or expelled as waste. Diseased cells are dissolved in a systematic method, and healthy tissue is untouched. Fasting dissolves this internal secretion. During a fast it is common for the nose, throat and ears to pass sticky mucus, clogging the sinuses. Strands of mucus may be found in the stool after the first bowel movement. There is an extraordinary redeployment of nutrients in the fasting body. It keeps precious minerals and vitamins while catabolizing on old tissue, toxins and inferior materials.

Fasting itself isn’t necessarily a “cure” for anything, but it will create the environment in which healing can occur. Our bodies know how to heal themselves, we just need to give them the time and energy to do it.

The butterfly is a superb illustration of catabolism (tearing down) and anabolism (building up). During metamorphosis the butterfly’s muscles and organs dissolve into a thick yellow solution. All interior structures are torn down and reconstructed. It emerges from the cocoon as a new creation. All this occurs while fasting — every needed substance for rebuilding comes from within.

Resources: All About Fasting; Healing Through Fasting.