Water Fasting for Illness OR for Addictions

•  Water fasting is the most efficient and effective approach in the steps to recovery. Alcohol abuse is not a disease. It is a symptom. Understanding the Purpose of the addiction is addressed in The Course.
• Unresolved trauma and buried emotions are addressed in The Emotion-link. Those seeking to address the real cause of substance abuse must abandon the idea that other drugs (Rx prescription meds) are the path to recovery. Think about the person addicted to coffee. When withdrawal symptoms arise, the choice is either adding caffeine to rid the headache or self-soothe through the discomfort. One path produces success. The former is perpetual (nicotine patches do not work long term). 
• Any stimulant or sedative is intended to soothe emotional distress (over and under-stimulated nervous systems). The sign of withdrawal for any addiction is the cause and effect. This basic fact is not understood nor applied in other recovery programs. 
• Alcoholism (alcohol abuse) is a chronic condition that develops over the years. Overcoming chronic conditions requires rest, repair, and resolve. The symptoms requiring repair include thickening and toughening of the membranes in the alimentary canal, from throat to stomach, and changes in the liver, adrenals, kidneys, pancreas, and gut bacteria. When you water fast, there is an objective repair of the damaged areas. Furthermore, rest associated with a water fast allows restoration of the nervous system and an emotional reset. When you water fast, a sense of comfort and resolve is certain. 
• Why quitting smoking or caffeine may be somewhat more complicated than alcohol is interesting (I don't believe that nicotine or caffeine is less or more addictive than alcohol). One main difference is that nicotine levels, unlike alcohol, are in a state of a steady 'high,' compared to the elevated peak or varying degrees of intoxication of someone getting drunk. There is no doubt that nicotine/caffeine affects brain function. It is a fact they are drugs. With nicotine/caffeine intake, people feel pleasure, combined with irritability, anxiety, and depression, causing subtle brain impairment (most people refuse to accept that these drugs cause anxiety and depression). This impairment is not significant enough to stop smokers from driving a car or working their job while nicotine/caffeine levels are elevated or decreasing. Understanding that nicotine/caffeine's steady use is a more leveled ride versus the roller coaster drugs and alcohol creates - a blinder that makes their use harder to stop. 
• Quitting nicotine/caffeine requires addressing the root cause (Emotion-Link) nerve repair, and anxiety/depression not being addressed results in the ongoing use of substances. With water fasting, repair, and sensitization, these toxins are guaranteed to taste undesirable or intolerable.
• Another consideration is that nicotine/caffeine (and even alcohol) are not as strong as meth, cocaine, or heroin. The personality traits of those using any stimulant are explained in The Course. If your personality traits and emotional triggers are not understood or addressed, recovery is more of a challenge.
• Many resilient people have overcome their addiction by naturally doing The Course. I encourage those comfortable to take charge to do so. Withdrawal of drugs, alcohol, and stimulants can be harsh or seemingly unbearable. It is essential to be prepared and guided through this process by understanding obstacles. Referring to the "Q & A" section regarding water fasting applies. The symptoms present in any person addicted must be addressed. 
• I maintain that addressing the real cause results in the recovered person having a distaste for tobacco, excess caffeine, spicy condiments, alcohol, and drugs. If your addiction program results in you having to resist the substance after your treatment, it will be a failure. Water fasting allows you to live without 'deprivation' of what you had thought in the past was a pleasure. 

ALCOHOLISM or ABUSE

Craving alcohol is a response to stress. The stress is often a guarded depression or anxiety, with most drinkers not admitting they are either anxious or depressed. The alcohol sugars provide fast fuel for the stress response (you may substitute alcohol or sugar/carbohydrates). Alcohol is a depressant.

Alcohol craving and consumption are directly related to hypoglycemia (drop in blood sugar) and stress. Stress being adrenal overload, the sugar/alcohol feeds the fight & flight temporarily. Alcohol requires no digestion and is absorbed easily, it also depresses your nervous system having a calming effect. The purpose of consuming is to satisfy hypoglycemia and provide a dopamine response and high or calming or distract from painful issues. 

Why alcohol's effect differs from person to person has to do with personality and buried emotional differences in each of us. Alcohol strips you of inhibition and allows for true feelings to surface. Those feelings could be sadness, anger, rage, lust, joy, happiness, etc. 

The secondary gain of intoxication allows the numbing of painful feelings. Give you confidence, temporary high, stress relief, and escape responsibilities, and or subconsciously punish yourself. In the process of running away, escaping responsibility the core issue creates more pain requiring it be dealt with.

The alcohol brings out subconscious hurts with the intention of resolving them, or at minimum bring them to light. When we are not able to cope, or we feel shame, guilt, and or self-rejection we punish ourselves with alcohol. Then the healing begins.

Addiction constructive purpose is to move from dependence to strength. From feeling unlovable guiding you to love yourself. From being indulgent/impulsive to being self-aware and having self-control.

The destructive effects are many and not limited to the liver, pancreas, brain, heart, skin, and other illnesses. (See the emotion associated with the organ or system affected to further direct you to the emotion-link being repressed).

Caffeine:

The most used drug in the world. It is a stimulant. 

Positive effects:

• Stimulates the nervous system, more alert, increase in energy.
• Lower risk of Parkinson's disease.
• Reduce the risk of heart disease and the number of heart attacks.
• It can lower the risk of type II diabetes if it affects lowering your blood concentrations in your blood.
• It can lower liver enzymes and help with Hep. C or B.
• Lower risk of gallstones.
• Reduced risk of colorectal cancer and liver.
• Reduce kidney stones.
• Green tea may reduce cancers: lymphoma, stomach, colon, prostate, skin, and breast.

Negative effects:

• Stimulates the nervous system, decrease reaction time, increases heart rate
• It can cause anxiety, depression, panic, nervousness, irritability, insomnia, fear, fatigue, and digestive problems.
• Increase the risk of heart disease and the number of heart attacks.
• Heavy consumption (5 cups) increases the risk of angina, heart attacks.
• Impairs sugar handling leading to diabetes.
• Greater than two cups can increase liver cirrhosis risk.
• May increase symptoms of PMS.
• Increase urinary incontinence.
• Increase the risk of bone loss, or osteoporosis
• More likely to develop Rheumatoid arthritis.

Bottom line: Caffeine is a drug that has a cause and effect. All medicines have a cost; the more you use, the greater the cost long term.

* stay away from decaf except Swiss-made decaf.

* ideal to consume after 9 am.

* ideal for women to consume less than 300mg day and men less than 400mg

Alcohol:

It is a drug. Heavy drinking (greater than two drinks a day) is the second leading cause of death in the USA.

It is a depressant. 

All humans have enzymes to digest alcohol.

Moderate drinking for a male is 1-2 drinks a day; female, is one drink a day. 

(1 beer = 5oz wine = 1.5oz distilled alcohol)

Positive effects:

• Produces euphoria.
• Acts as a tranquilizer or relaxant.
• Decreases tension.
• It can help some with constipation.
• It can help with lactation support.
• Small amounts of consumption reduce mortality rates (@ 1 drink a day).
• Small amounts (less than two drink a day) reduce diabetes issues.
• Small amounts (less than two drink a day) lower blood pressure, clot-forming.
• Small amounts (less than two drink a day) increase brain function.
• Wine may reduce macular degeneration.
• Cardiovascular support – reduce clots, increase HDL cholesterol, reducing insulin resistance.

Negative Effects:

• Excess can cause heart disease. Heart attacks and clogging arteries
• Excess cab cause stroke.
• Excess can inflame the stomach.
• Excess can damage brain cells and increase the risk of dementia.
• May increase the risk of cataracts.
• Red wine may cause headaches.
• Increases liver cancer, high blood pressure, strokes, depression, anxiety, relationship issues, job issues.
• Increases liver cancer, mouth, esophageal, stomach, pancreatic, bladder, and other cancers.

*Alcohol below 16% goes not kill off the yeast—wine, beer, and mead acceptable to digestible bacteria.

* One oz of hard alcohol requires a lot of vitamin C, calcium, zinc, magnesium, vitamin A, B, and folate to metabolize.

* Factors to consider when looking at the above positive and negative factors are age, gender, ethnicity, exercise, stress, and diet.

* Any drink produced from high fructose corn syrup (most USA & Canada beers) should never be consumed. Nor should any alcohol made from GMO grain.

* Any wine produced with high glycophates should not be consumed. European and or Organic wines are the safest.

** drinking on an empty stomach is NEVER recommended and poses the greatest health risk.

 DRUG CONSUMPTION - Prescription or Street or Over the Counter

Similar to alcohol abuse/addiction, drugs aide in avoiding painful feelings that some are unable to cope with at the moment. Depression and anxiety at the root, with a feeling you have no control in your life.

Using drugs over alcohol or cigarettes is connected to personality traits and personal perceptions of the severity of one’s pain. Those believing our perceiving their issue to be greater will use more potent drugs.

Drugs aide in blocking symptoms of pain or discomfort. If something is bothering you, a drug can make the symptoms go away, allowing you temporally function for some time. Drugs don’t cure a condition; even when you think the medicine cured you, you are mistaken. Similar to believing credit cards or loans can cure your money troubles, in time, you will realize the credit was a mask or a trap. For those using the loan or credit short-term and making changes in spending or earning the credit was useful, gain not the cure.  For those using drugs for more than 3-6 months are stuck in a trap waiting for their bankruptcy to allow a reset.

Any type of stress/pain that is overwhelming moves people to deflect, avoid, deny, or distance themselves from the pain. Realizing that problem will not go away by covering it up. If I have emotional, physical, or financial pain, drugs will deflect and distance or block you from the source of pain or discomfort. The intent is to make you feel good or great, allow you to escape from reality and responsibility. All drugs allow you to avoid dealing with the pain or discomfort by numbing painful feelings.

Recreational drugs: give you confidence, temporary high, stress relief, and escape responsibilities. Sometimes they allow you to inflict self-punishment as a source of pleasure, like those that enjoy the pain of tattoos.

Over the counter and prescription drugs: block symptoms of pain or discomfort, giving you temporary relief. If daily slights of pain are perceived as too great reaching for socially acceptable pain pills becomes a habit.

If, when taking any drug, you admit that “Dealing with my pain is too difficult at this time because my hurts are too big.” Knowing that at some point, I must deal with the cause and symptoms, these drugs are useful or helpful. They allow you to retreat and muster up the strength to deal with the cause.

If I don’t address the cause, the drugs will (guaranteed) make the symptom and underlying condition worse. Depressants will cause depression; anxiety meds will cause anxiety, opioids will cause pain, tobacco will cause anxiety and depression; heart meds will cause heart failure. Chemo will destroy your immune system. Credit cards will cause financial pain…bankruptcy.

This guide is not encouraging the use of drugs. Nor does it judge those choosing drugs. The constructive/positive aspect of using drugs is to avoid pain because you are not ready to deal with the Emotion-Link. The destructive aspect is to cause more pain to guide you to your purpose and ask you to deal with the pain. Alcohol, cigarettes, pain killers, and prescription drugs are responsible for a huge amount of illness and death.

‘Natural’ drugs like cigarettes, coco, pot, and opium, can be a problem to susceptible people with personality and emotional issues, like anxiety or depression. Why virtuous or resilient people’s interaction with these substances differs from those vulnerable provides answers to the cure.

Why you may not become addicted to opioids after your knee surgery prescription has expired is not so much in biochemistry and the drug instead in your personality.

Constructed use of drugs is to numb pain while you address the cause. Destructive aspects of drug use are illness and break down to guide you to reset and address buried emotions.

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See The Course for full content.

See The Course for exercises and podcasts.

The history of the fast is ancient and the science behind it lags.  A credible explanation is best described by something called autolysis, which simply means our bodies prioritize the breaking down of tissue. Breaking down first dead and dying cells along with removing toxic matter built up. Microbes--virus, bacteria and fungus--are also used as fuel for the fasting body.

What is most powerful about the fast is the regeneration and rebuilding that occurs after breaking the fast. The regeneration that occurs is indicated during the fast that flips the switch of stem cells to kick into action, which then facilitates the immune systems to turn over old white blood cells for vibrant, healthy white blood cells.

Food allergies, bowel problems, skin disorders, etc., all are linked with a weak digestive and immune system; the fast rests and then kick starts both.

In short, the water fast debunks the germ theory. It does so by turning the body from a swamp to a  garden (temple).

The most important aspect of the water fast is the connection to virtue and changing. - explained in A Course in Health.

Contact Dr. Cola for fasting Guidance and Support.

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 You can find a complete Q & A in The Course: 

Q: Prior to a water fast, which foods do I eat? A: A clean whole food diet is a must. The closer you can get to eating the following foods, the more likely your water fast will be without symptoms. It's best to eat “vegan” for at least two days before the water fast:

· Steamed or sautéed vegetables

· Raw fruit

· Fresh vegetable juices

· Salads

· Sweet potato, yams

· Whole grains: brown rice, Kamut

· Sprouted nuts and seeds

Q: Which supplements, minerals, vitamins, etc., should I take going into the water fast? A: As a general rule, taking vitamins, herbs, and enzymes are not recommended for more than 6 months (see The Course for details)

It is sometimes recommended that minerals be taken ahead of the fast (not during the fast). If you have any muscle cramping, use the appropriate minerals before the fast. The Symptom Survey worksheet on this website is a quick and easy way to determine mineral-needs both pre- and post-water fast. Addressing this before the fast will certainly make your water fast more enjoyable. 

Q: Is there a recommended time to have my last meal before the fast? (see The Course)

Q: Suggestions for weaning from coffee/soda/tea (caffeine) before a water fast? (see The Course)

Q: Should I get colonics or enemas during a fast? (see The Course)
Q: BMI and fasting? (see The Course)

Q: What if I am unable to fast for more than one day? (see The Course)
Q: Should I drink salt water during the fast? (see The Course)

 

Q: Why does my tongue get coated? (And even more as the fast progress?) A: Our tongue is covered with taste buds. The purpose of taste buds is for both pleasure and protection.* Pleasure: for the sweetness of foods and needs no explanation.* Protection: to warn against noxious, dangerous substances. The warning with distaste rejects the food from being consumed, and we will spit it out. The other protective act covers the taste buds in times of illness to avoid all food and thus water fast. The complicated mechanism that instinctively tells a wild animal to fast during illness exists in humans; it is just overrun with emotions and blocks. An aspect of this is the coating on your tongue that is connected to your digestive flora. An extreme example is thrush with an extensive thick white coating. When our digestive symptom is toxic, it will cover the tongue to cover the taste buds to make foods distasteful and encourage the water fast. Often the signal is ignored. Instead of listening to the body, some eat foods that break through the barrier by adding more spices. During the fast, the tongue will become more coated to enhance support and protection. Experienced water fasting doctors use the tongue coating as a guide to breaking the fast. In the past, the tongue's coating was a primary indicator of the body's readiness to take on foods and break the fast. With the persuasiveness of prescription, recreational drugs, and processed chemical exposure, experienced water fasting doctors now will rely more on other objective tests like blood and urine laboratory tests to determine when to break the fast. None the less, the tongue is a valuable marker for the progression of the water fast. A sign of health is a clear (uncracked) tongue. I recommend taking pictures of your tongue before, during, and after a fast as a reference. 

Q: Do you suggest to “detox” instead? (see The Course)

Q: What about the “Master Cleanse”? (see The Course)

Q: Do I need to go vegetarian, vegan, or SOS after the fast? (see The Course)

Q: How long should I fast for? (see The Course)

Q: What about a Juice Fast? A: To clarify: these are diets, not fasts. A juice-only diet, or kombucha, or bone broth is sometimes beneficial--especially for those with immune problems, advanced illnesses, and other conditions. Many of these are helpful in the regulation of blood sugar. These diets are often helpful for those doing extended water fast--to step in and out of the fast for optimal benefit. 

Q: When can/should I reintroduce meats, nuts, etc.? A: There is no short answer. A full explanation of food reintroduction is essential. The best approach to understanding the why and how of food reintroduction after a water fast is to understand a breastfeeding infant's weaning process. While a breastfeeding baby is receiving ideal nutrients in breast milk (if mom is not stressed and eating well), there is very little to digest and break down. The milk essentially absorbs with little to no effort. The bacteria in the milk help from the digestive tract of the newborn. Understanding embryology is helpful in appreciating the importance of breastmilk. During the nine months, a baby is developing inside mom. The steps are the same: the brain, the heart, etc., all form in sequence. One of the last things to develop is the lungs between 7 and 8 months (with the baby's obvious expectation and requirement needing to breathe after delivery). *Most parents are not aware that the intestines are not fully formed in utero. The infant’s digestive tract continues to develop after the baby is born. The expectation is that mom will breastfeed and support this final embryological step over the next year. With the baby’s digestion system not being formed, it requires predigested food in the form of breast milk. And equally important is the bacteria that the milk provides to form strong barriers for the intestines. This has everything to do with the water fast and bacteria in your own gut and reintroducing foods. You can imagine breast milk as freshly made vegetable juice. The juicing process breaks down the food to make it very easy to absorb, with little to no effort. The next step is looking at the process of introducing foods to a newborn after breastfeeding for a year or so. Never would a mother introduce raw nuts, or meat, or cheese to that baby as the first food. If mom did make, this mistake baby would reject the food by spitting it up, vomiting, devolving a rash, colic, or other allergies. The adage of crawling before walking and walking before running applies. Crawling is vegetarian, sprinting is meats. Another side note is that the child’s digestion is continually forming into their teens. Why a child does not develop into puberty until early teens have to do with their ability to pick up nutrients like iodine and zinc: the heavy metals required to make sex hormones. Go back and look at your periodic table from high school. Some suggest that children avoid or eat very little meat and complex foods until about 10 years of age. Often hormone problems start with weak digestion and the inability to absorb and assimilate heavy metals like zinc and iodine. When we heal the digestion and strengthen it in the water fast, we can absorb minerals better with time. If you reintroduce foods too quickly, it often will set you back a little. When introducing any food after the water fast, notice the feeling it gives you, especially on your tongue. Does it coat your tongue and make you feel heavy? Or do you feel light and vibrant? The same symptoms a baby may have during weaning you may experience in reintroducing foods. Look for bloating, gas, reflux, constipation, diarrhea, foul odors, sinus or nasal congestion, and itchy skin. The fast and the weaning process helps support ideal metabolism and digestion. If you are looking for ideal energy and vitality after the water fast, nutrient-dense foods like nuts, cheese, and meats will be consumed in moderation, sparingly, or not at all.  See the course for full details.

Q: What does being sensitized to food or toxins mean? A: One of the great side effects of the fast is becoming sensitized to processed foods and toxic substances. Think about the first time you smoked a cigarette or drank alcohol. Your body was sensitive to the toxin. It rejected the cigarette with coughing, headache, or nausea. The alcohol probably burned and tasted awful. These examples are the same as the infant rejecting complex foods or being super sensitive to the wrong foods, and like a teenager who is sensitive to cigarette and alcohol. The water fast brings us back to this amazing communication that has been turned off. Smoke is dangerous to the body, and nicotine in high doses can be fatal. Your body rejects chemicals with the pain signals described: coughing, etc. It works simply: Our bodies' primary goal is to warn off dangers by giving you symptoms of distress. When our body realizes that the warning signs are being ignored, our built-in mechanism to protect ourselves or avoid the pain goes into survival mode. The emotional blocks override the bodies’ warning signals our bodies send. Our bodies have resiliency and the ability to adapt to these dangerous chemicals; otherwise said: if a teenager wants to impress their friends, fit in, or get a high from tobacco, they will ignore the bodies’ warning signals. What happens now is the body says to itself, “This person is not going to stop the insult to the body--or cannot stop the insult,” so the body’s intelligent design protects itself with the attempt to minimize damage. In this case, the smoke kills the cilia cells in the lungs; therefore, the lungs protect themselves and go into defense mode. The downside to ignoring the symptoms at an early stage is a high likelihood of illness. The blessing that our bodies have the resiliency to adapt is often not considered with illness. Becoming desensitized is a huge gift. Somewhat similar to someone eating too much toxic food, the body stores these toxins and calories in fat cells. The side effect is obesity for overeating and at the same time preserving life. If the body didn’t have the ability to store fat and toxins, we would be overwhelmed with dead and dying cells and be sick all the time. Just like cigarette smoke and the body’s ability to adapt, it is a blessing that can turn to a curse if ignored. Often I jokingly offer meth or heroin to a patient asking if they would like some. Always they respond, “No, thank you.” The reason being is they are clear in their minds the great pain that consuming the drug would cause. I then ask the same person to consider the person addicted to meth being offered the same: they would jump at my offer! Simply put, they associate pleasure with and are sensitized to the drug. Now consider that when I offer processed food to the average person, they will jump at my offer. (Would you like some potato chips, a donut, french fries, candy, etc.?) Then take the same person and put them on a water-only fast for 5 to 10 days, and they develop a distaste for the processed foods. When I guide people through the fast and ask them on day 4 or 6 how the addicting, processed foods sound to them, they respond the same as the patient being offered meth or heroin. Everything is relative, and the desensitization process is an amazing concept to learn. In this process of writing The Grand Purpose and getting recognition, I have been in contact with other physicians and professionals in my field. The offers to help change and grow their practices are many. I ask these professionals why they do what they do? What is their goal for their client or patient? Some are clear that they want to improve the quality of their patient's lives. Then when long-term results are considered and discussed, the conversation turns. Most, if not all, professionals are getting dismal long-term successes. When I offer for them to consider that their model's external/religious/blame may be considered a part of the dismal success, the professional blames the patient for lack of compliance. That is where it must stop. If compliance is the cause of the failure, the professional is not aware that the lack of compliance is caused by the external focus and making the treatment a religion. When I ask myself the same question regarding long-term success, I have uncovered the secret to success. Those who heal and change are not seeking treatment, and I need to encourage people to choose that path.