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Rick Burnett:  In Chapter 8 of Possibility Living you talk about fasting.  Define fasting - what is fasting to you?

Dr. Robert A. Schuller:  Basically, fasting is when you decide that you are not going to eat something.  You can fast in many different ways.  You can begin for example by deciding you're not going to eat potatoes anymore.  So, you can define your fast as much as you want.  When I fast, I fast according to the plan that Dr. DiSiena gave me, which is to drink nothing but pure apple juice, diluted 50-50 with water and sip on it all day.  Until I started doing that, whenever I would fast, I would feel my whole body go way down - I would almost get depressed.  That was because my blood sugar levels would drop very low.  As a result of sipping on the apple juice whenever I fast, my blood sugar levels will stay level and calm..

Rick Burnett: There are three different fasts that you talk about on page 122 in the book. Dr. DiSiena, what are those?

Dr. Douglas DiSiena:  The first is what we call an absolute fast - which means abstaining from all food and all water.  There are many reasons why we wouldn't necessarily recommend that.  The next type of fast is a water fast.  That is when a person only consumes water.  Really, the fast we like to recommend that people try is called a partial fast.  It is a fast similar to what Dr. Schuller was talking about in terms of just consuming apple juice to maintain blood sugar levels.  It's a lot safer doing in that way, you feel healthier, and you get all the benefits of the fast. 

Rick Burnett: Are there different kinds of partial fasts? 

Dr. Douglas DiSiena:  Like Dr. Schuller said you can fast from eating anything you want - for example, meat.  However, we recommend a little more detailed fast than that.  At least try to fast where you only consume apple juice, or some sort of vegetable juice.

Dr. Robert A. Schuller: A friend of mine went on a grape juice fast instead of an apple juice fast.  Is there any advantage of grape juice over apple juice or vice versa?

Dr. Douglas DiSiena:  Well, the apple juice has all the pectin in it, which helps with the gall bladder and liver flushing.  Grape juice does have some other benefits; but both of those fruits are low glycemic fruits.  This means they don't have a high reaction to insulin response; i.e., your blood sugar doesn't go all over the place.  So, they are both good, but I prefer the apple juice because of the additional cleansing of the liver and the gall bladder.

Rick Burnett:   Why do you not recommend the absolute fast - isn't that what Jesus did?

Dr. Robert A. Schuller:    We're not completely confident in what He did.  It's possible He went on a water fast - I doubt he went on an absolute fast.  It's possible he went on a water fast, and if so, to do that for forty days is absolutely miraculous.  But just because Jesus does miraculous things, I wouldn't encourage people to that.  For example, my brother-in-law told me he was on a forty day fast and I was amazed.  When I asked him some questions, I discovered he was really on what I would call a "blender" fast.  Anything that he could put in the blender and drink, he would consider part of his fast.  He would take a whole fruit and some protein powder and would drink that.  He also juiced his vegetables, etc.  So, he never chewed anything, which I think was a lot easier on his organs and his body because I don't think there was as much involved in the digestive process.  Is that true Doug?

Dr. Douglas DiSiena:  Yes there wouldn't be some of the churning and mastication issues - although there are some studies that show the mastication process releases certain enzymes.  So, if you are going to consume some foods on a fast, I would recommend eating the food.  My recommendation for a fast is mostly a juice fast where you limit it to one juice or maybe two different juices - that is what I would personally recommend.

Dr. Robert A. Schuller: My brother-in-law's fast was for spiritual purposes, it was not for health reasons.  And, what I hear you saying Doug it probably wouldn't have a lot of health benefits.

Dr. Douglas DiSiena:  That's correct, because really all you're really doing is eliminating the churning and mastication of the food.  Your body requires a lot of energy to digest and absorb food.  Your body has this finite amount of energy.  For example, when you do an apple juice or grape juice fast, you're eliminating all that need for absorption and digestive process.  So, then all the body's energy is primarily allowing your body to rid yourself of toxins.  What you're doing is taking the energy that's normally required when you have food intake and putting that to the side and letting those organs rest.  Then, those same organs will detox your body.  Basically, you're giving the "incoming" a break, and allowing the "outgoing" to continue - this allows the body to detox.  So, if you're consuming a bunch of foods that you put in the blender, you're really not stopping the incoming flow.

Dr. Robert A. Schuller: What are the health benefits to fasting - I know there are spiritual benefits.  Would there be any health benefits to fasting more than three days?

Dr. Douglas DiSiena:  Sometimes, there could be.  If some people are really toxic, it becomes more of a procedure where you definitely need the help of a health care practitioner.  The vast majority of people - if you do a three day fast - of course, I recommend trying a one day fast first.  In my experience of 17 years in teaching people how to fast and fasting myself, a three-day fast for most people reaches a peak of benefit. 

Dr. Robert A. Schuller:  So, after a three-day fast you have a dramatic return on the investment of the fast.   The first day is good, the second day is better and the third day is best of all.  On the third day you feel like you can conquer the world!  However, if someone has tendencies towards eating disorders, I think it could be a problem - is that correct?

Dr. Douglas DiSiena:  I agree 100%.  People with eating disorders should clearly stay away from fasting until they get their issues resolved, so that their fasting can benefit their health and not the eating disorder. 

Dr. Robert A. Schuller:So, we encourage only going into a fast with a professional counselor agreeing that this is a good thing for you to do.

Dr. Douglas DiSiena: Absolutely.

Rick Burnett: Are there any other people - other than those with eating disorders, who should not fast?

Dr. Douglas DiSiena:   People in a critical health state, what we call crisis care in our book should not go on a fast.  Also, people who are grossly underweight, pregnancy issues, people with unstable blood sugar issues.  In the book we list what we call contraindications for people fasting.  Having said that, people should also seek the advice of a health professional if they want to do more than a 24 hour fast.

Dr. Robert A. Schuller:   More than 24 hours - really?  I thought you could do up to a three-day - but you wouldn't recommend it?

Dr. Douglas DiSiena:   You could, but I think it's good to have someone who knows what they're doing to coach you through it.  Certainly, people can do it pretty safely if they read our book and go through the steps listed in the fasting chapter.  They should read the entire chapter and then they can determine if a three-day fast is right for them.

Rick Burnett:    Dr. Schuller mentioned a "diminishing return" beyond the three day fast.  What would begin to happen to the typical person beyond the three-day fast? 

Dr. Douglas DiSiena:   After a three day fast what begins to happen is because of the lack of intake of protein, the body starts to "eat itself."  As a result of "eating itself" you start to lose tissue mass.  That becomes a dangerous issue - you go into ketosis and other issues.

Rick Burnett:   On page 124 and 125 you talk about four benefits that can be achieved from fasting; i.e., increased energy, increased healing, fewer food cravings, increased aptitude for taste.  Let's talk about them - what about increased energy?

Dr. Douglas DiSiena:    It's incredible - again, because you release a lot of toxins.  We've talked in the past about the negative impact of toxins.  One of the things we notice is increased energy as a result of your body not having to deal with all those toxins.  The restrictive nature of your body trying to heal from those toxins is released - so now you body has all this energy for healing and for regeneration.  You feel tremendously more energetic.

The second thing, like I just mentioned, is your body has an increased aptitude for healing.  Because your body is not putting its energy towards detoxifying, it has an increased amount of energy for healing. 

The third is fewer food cravings because you body is under this new "zone" where it understands what it needs.  You begin to crave exactly what your body needs.  Your body doesn't crave ice cream for instance - although it may taste good.  For example, for me once I come off a fast, I have a closer relationship with what I crave and what I need. 

Lastly, the foods that are healthy will taste better to you.  That is one of the best benefits - foods that are healthy taste better to me than those that are not healthy for me.