STARVE YOURSELF, FEED YOUR T MIND
“Wet,” “dry,” “intermittent” or merely overnight, fasting is a centuries-old practice with physical, mental and spiritual benefits worth all the stomach-growling. by TIA KUTSCHERA FOX
he practice of fasting has been around for centuries. Plato fasted for “greater physical and mental efficiency,” while Benjamin Franklin believed “the best of all medicines are resting and fasting.” Fasting can be generally defined as purposely abstaining from food for a set period of time. However, there are multiple categories of fasting. A dry fast is defined as abstaining from food and water for a predetermined period of time, while a water fast is not eating any food but still drinking water. Finally, there is Intermittent Fasting (IF), which is simply not eating for a certain number of hours per day rather than going whole days without food. A common IF is referred to as 16/8—meaning fasting for 16 hours and eating only within the remaining eight-hour window. This means if you eat at 7 p.m. then you would wait until 11 a.m. the next day to eat again. . People fast for physical, mental or spiritual reasons. Many religions
32 still
MAY 2018
PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK
