Fasting
From RationalWiki
Fasting is going without food entirely, abstaining from certain types of food (often meat), or reducing food intake drastically (such as a juice-only diet), for a specified period of time. It is usually done for one of three different reasons:
- Rapid weight loss; in this sense fasting is a crash fad diet. This is ineffective in the long term, as weight lost during the fast will be gained back upon resuming a normal diet. Long term weight loss can only be achieved through increased physical activity and decreased caloric intake, and for the weight loss to stick this must be continued indefinitely.
- A form of health woo. Fasting is claimed by its proponents to cure all manner of diseases and ailments, up to and including cancer. Although sometimes doctors may tell a patient to fast, for example in preparation for a CT scan or surgery, no scientific studies support fasting is in any way effective as a self-treatment for any disease. More commonly, fasting is claimed to cleanse the body of "toxins".
- A religious practice. Virtually every human religion has some aspect of fasting, though the specific rituals and purposes vary depending on the religion. Muslims fast during the month of Ramadan, typically to learn self-restraint Taqwaa and gratitude. Christians fast for a variety of reasons including spiritual purity, spiritual focus, gratitude and reminder of the sacrifice of Jesus. It is sometimes practiced as part of spiritual warfare, or as part of an exorcism. Many Christians, mostly Catholic, fast during Lent, the 40 days before Easter. Fasting is also found in a host of Native or spiritualistic religions, including such popularized activities as the "vision quest", in which one goes without food for three days in a wilderness setting while they reflect on the meaning of life, search for guidance, or honor their tribe and world. Hindu and Buddhist monks both have codified rituals for near starvation as they explore death, the meaning of life, and respect for what they have beyond the material.
- Fasting (called more appropriately, Hunger Strike) has also become one of the few ways for prisoners without other resources (like lawyers, human rights workers, guards, etc) to protest the conditions they are being held under. Historically used by Gandhi, MacSwiney and Bobby Sands from the IRA, British suffragettes[1], and most recently, the prisoners at Guantanamo Bay.
[edit] See also
[edit] Not to be confused with
- Fisting
- Fishing
- Fascism
- Starvation, though politicians in poverty stricken countries appear to confuse the two
| Alternative medicine articles on RationalWiki | ||
|---|---|---|
| Aromatherapy - Autism: Peddling false hope - Bee venom therapy - Chelation therapy - Chiropractic - Cleanse - Colloidal silver - Hulda Clark - Colonic - Color therapy - DMSO - Ear candling - Faith healing - Fasting - Folk remedy - Geier family - Hair Analysis - Health freedom - Heel (company) - Herbal supplement - Homeopathy - Kombucha - Laetrile - Lupron therapy - Macrobiotics - Magnetic therapy - Medical marijuana - National Health Federation - Narconon - Oxygen therapy - Q-Ray - Reflexology - Rolfing - Shark cartilage - Shiitake mushroom - Therapeutic touch - Trepanation - Kevin Trudeau - Unani Diet woo: Blood type diet - Caveman diet - Ephedrine - Fad diet - Food woo - Jesus Diet - Lemonade diet- Low-carb diet - Organic food - Raw foodism - Self help | ||
