Detoxification and Improvement in Organ Function Occur Simultaneously

Nothing is more fascinating than watching toxins being rapidly discharged from
the system while a person fasts. In fact, fasting has been employed to treat
chemical poisoning by people who have recognized the powerful effect it has on
accelerating the discharge of internal noxious wastes. One such enlightening
use of fasting was the subject of an article in the American Journal of Industrial
Medicine in 1984 entitled ―A Trial of Fasting Cure for PCB Poisoned Patients of
Taiwan.‖ The study involved patients who had ingested rice oil contaminated
with PCBs. After a seven-to ten-day fast, dramatic relief was noted and
improvement in symptoms was reported by all patients.

Fasting also has a powerful effect on improving liver function. This benefit is
not limited to the fasting period but continues after the fast. Medical studies
have tested the ability of the therapeutic fast to improve conditions such as
alcoholic liver injury, damage from fatty liver, and drug-induced liver injury.
Dramatic improvements were consistently reported.

Fasting is a very valuable treatment for psychological disorders. There are
hundreds of journal articles in the medical literature documenting the value of
fasting in improving the function of the entire body, including the brain.
Fasting has been repeatedly observed to alleviate neuroses, anxiety, and
depression.It appears from these studies that fasting improves our ability to
adapt to frustration and external stress. One Japanese clinic fasted 382 patients
with psychosomatic disease with a success rate of 87 percent.

When the beneficial effects of the therapeutic fast were investigated with
various research parameters measuring organ function, it was found repeatedly
that substantial improvements are seen in the autonomic nervous system,
endocrine system, and adrenal function after the fast.