WE LOVE your radio show and I enjoy sharing it with all my friends in family! They love tuning in and then tuning up their bodies to be better temples for the Holy Spirit! :) You're such a huge encouragement to us all and a wonderful source of credible health news despite all the controversial topics out there!

I wonder if you might consider doing a special radio topic on "fasting." It is a topic that is very applicable towards Christians but then also a very interesting topic in general for those wanting to do a shorter term detox/deep cleanse. I have questions and I am sure that I am not the only one. It'd be a fascinating and completely new topic I am sure we'd all glean insightful information from!

I have questions such as...
-is one juice better than another? (carrot vs. grapefruit)
-what exactly goes on physiologically when we fast
-is there a general rule of thumb for how many days is healthy (3 vs 7 days?)
-are there some who shouldn't fast? (besides those w/metabolic conditions)
-benefits/challenges of fasting?
-should organic juices only be used
-any helpful teas/active enzyme liquids/probiotics to consider during this time?
-should massage be avoided--heard it's too many toxins in the bloodstream released at once in combination with the fasting detoxing process
etc...

I'm considering doing a week long fast again for holistic cleaning, spiritual renewal, and overall health soon! Would so enjoy your input on a show sometime!

Great Question....and yes I have covered fasting before but let me hit the highlights.

A fast is traditionally thought of as only with water. You can do it with juice, they both work well. Yes organic is better, as far as, what juice is best....every juice has its own different nutrients and each may have more or less of certain things, but the benefit for juice is to help with maintaining blood sugar and providing nutrients, which are needed in the detoxification affect.

Lets talk about why fast are good for some and NOT so good for others. Fasts as a general rule are good for you, but if you are in poor health, with blood sugar problems....and there are a lot of people out there with blood sugar problems....look at all the number of diabetes and obesity cases walking around...so there are a lot of people dealing with blood sugar issues, which means when they go without food for periods of time...it throws off a lot of hormones and brain messengers...virtually making a lot of us feel Very bad. So for them they should definitely be using a juice to help keep them from feeling so bad...otherwise they are going to have a miserable experience.

Following the same thinking...if you are in poor health with several health issues and you curtail the body with the very important nutrients that run your detoxification (liver, kidneys, lymph) centers...your body will not feel very good...this is why for those people they need to be doing a juice fast, instead of a straight water fast.

I hope that helps you see a bit more as to why fasts may be good for some and NOT so good for others depending on their current health issues. That is also the reason it is NOT usually the first thing we do with patients, when we follow the IRS Healthy Steps Program. We like to first strengthen their whole body, specfically their adrenals which activates your immune response. This way their body is stronger and the person feels a whole lot better going through the detox.

As far as how long....I don't think there is something written in stone tablets that says a fast needs to be 3 or 7 or 10 days. One of the best results from fasts come from....NOT putting things in your mouth (body) that has been hurting you, especially dairy, wheat, corn, soy, trans fats, MSG, artificail sweeteners....it is like a great elimination diet and those are also part of our IRS Program.

Hope that helps,

DR. Len