Fasting with grapes (or any fruit)!

FASTING...

There are various ways to fast.  Most healthy people would admit that fasting at least one day a week greatly improves your overall health.  The reason being that when you fast, it gives the body's digestive system a chance to rest.  For me, a true fast is not eating anything for 24 hours.  However, for religious reasons, I may be inclined to fast about three days, but I generally will not go any longer than that!  I do not fast every week, but I am striving for that, and so I am exploring various ways to make fasting easier to do.  To that end, for the last 24 hours I fasted with fruit.

Some people fast to cleanse their bodies of cooked and processed foods.  On these cleansing fast, they may eat only one thing. like one particular fruit.  A fruit fast is a great way to clean out the system because that's what raw fruits do, they cleanse the system while vegetables build the system.  So, when I want to fast without doing a true fast, I generally stick to only one fruit.  I'd usually do oranges, grapefruit, or grapes (all organic if possible).  I'd drink plenty of water for 24 hours.  It usually takes about two hours for fruits to digest and so I give my stomach an extra hour to rest before eating again.  I generally stop eating after 7 p.m.

Many people believe that fasting from morning to morning is the best way to fast.  I usually don't fast that way because I tend to get REALLY hungry at night if I do.  Instead, I'll fast from noon to noon, which is better psychologically for me.  I am just not as hungry.  You can choose what's best for you as well.  As always, I urge you to google various ways of fasting to see if you want to incorporate this into your lifestyle.

So, today I'm ending my fast (I started yesterday at 2 p.m.) of eating grapes, just grapes.  I've had  plenty of water too.  I wanted to post to the blog, but I did not want to cook to tempt myself, so I decided to write about my fast. I figured I could give you a bit of nutritional information on grapes and urge you to google the nutritional information on the fruit of your choice should you ever choose to fast with fruit.

Grapes contain numerous health promoting phytonutrients, such as polyphenolic antioxidants, vitamins (Vitamin A, Vitamin B-complex, Vitamin-C, Vitamin K), and minerals (copper, iron, manganese, potassium).  Grapes get their color from the polyphenolic pigments in them, which contain various antioxidants concentrated in the skin.  Red and purple varieties are rich in anthocyanins, while white and green varieties contain more of tannins, especially, catechin, which is a flavonoid antioxidant.  Both antioxidants, anthocyanins and catechin, are anti-allergic, anti-inflammatory, and anti-microbial, and have anti-cancer properties.   Red grapes are especially known to contain resveratrol, a powerful antioxidant which protects against colon and prostate cancers, heart disease, nerve disease, Alzheimer's, and a host of viral or fungal infections.  Google the amazing health benefits of grapes.  Though seedless grapes are abundant, grapes with seeds in them are going to better for you.  However, if seedless grapes are all you can get, eat them!

One thing's for sure, once a fast is over, you are going to be so happy to eat; however I find I make healthier choices once my fast is done.  Therefore, one of the biggest reasons I fast is because I find it makes me more temperate and able to resist the unhealthy choices I may have been making before the fast.  Something in my brain goes, "If you didn't need it for 24-hours, you don't need it now!"  That's why I want to continue fasting at least once a week on simply one raw fruit or vegetable at a time. It will act as a focused and meditative meal to allow my body to easily digest and cleanse out the bad.

Today's red grapes ready to eat!

If you already fast once a week, biweekly, or once a month, let me know.  Any tips that help you make it through the day are also welcomed.  The easier you make fasting, the more enjoyable it will be and the more you'll be able to stick with it.