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# Fasting Is A Powerful Natural Healing Art

There is no doubting that fasting is a powerful natural healing technique which reaps substantial detoxifying and rejuvenating effects on the entire physical, mental, and spiritual body. The numerous permutations on fasting include : water fasting, juice fasting, multi-day fasting, intermittent fasting, tea and herb fasting, etc. The main benefits of fasting include : weight loss, detoxification, and rejuvenation of the cells, tissues, and organs of the body - including those involving mental processes, such as the endocrine glands and central nervous system (including, of course, the brain). However, the growing question is : Are some types of fasting just simply more effective than others?

Water Fasting
http://www.allaboutfasting.com/water-fasting.html

Many people believe that water fasting is the most effective form of fasting, since you are taking in zero calories and allowing the body to fully rejuvenate itself. However, many would argue that there is a fundamental flaw in this logic, which is that even when the body is at complete rest it STILL needs nutrients to carry out the detoxification and rejuvenation processes. So while water fasting is surely a serious form of detoxification fasting, which has shown significant results in studies, I argue that a fast which remains liquid, but which also provides the bodily processes the basic fuel they require to perform both detoxification and rejuvenation is the ideal form of fasting. 

Now, the specific source of liquid nutrients varies from fresh, organic fruit juice, to tea, herbs, etc. It is my belief that teas and tisanes (herbal infusions) have the potential to provide a significant range of nutrients and medicinal effects to achieve maximum results, and in a controlled manner, for anyone who learns to use the various teas/herbs according to their natural effects. For instance, some herbal infusions, such as ginger tea (tisane), have the effects of increasing circulation, detoxifying, alleviating pain, relaxing muscles, and reducing anxiety. Ginger can then be used to produce these effects as one component part of an overall fasting routine. Other teas and herbs, such as green tea, can substantially reduce the hunger cravings which a straight water fast would produce, and which makes water fasting so difficult - and potentially even dangerous - to many people. Again, this is the result of the system being deprived of the basic nutrients it needs to carry out its basic processes, including detoxification and rejuvenation. After detoxifying, the body needs nutrients to then rejuvenate and build new cells, tissues, organs, etc. So while water fasting focuses on the detoxification part, it does NOT enhance the rejuvenation process. This is where the nutrients from high-quality tea and herbs come into play.

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# The Fundamental Cause Of Most Disease

Most diseases of the human body involve the main causal factor of reduction in digestive capacity, or efficiency. This reduction in proper digestion results primarily from a combination of consuming the wrong foods, and having a sub-par amount of "good" microbes in the gastrointestinal tract, whose role is to break down food into the most usable components. Your gut microbes are responsible for breaking down the food and liquid you consume. When your "good" gut microbes are depleted, and the "bad" gut microbes are allowed to overgrow - because they are not balanced out by the "good" ones - that's when you begin to see disease develop. After all, ALL of our bodily and mental functions rely on the energy from food to proceed properly. For instance, if you consume bad oil fats, such as those found in fried foods, your digestive system is not going to be able to break such denatured nutrients down into the proper molecules that your organs and cells need to functional optimally. In contrast, when you consume healthy, pure oils, such as extra virgin olive oil and coconut oil, these fats break down into molecules which are best used by the cells and organs. You can use the analogy of the engine of a car. The engine runs on oil to lubricate the parts and make it run optimally. Therefore, you must put the highest grade ("octane") oil into the engine to get the best output with the least amount of buildup of residue which then makes the function of the part decline. The same is true for your body and brain. That is, if you consume high-octane fats (olive oil, coconut oil, etc) versus low-octane fats (oils heated and denatured during frying, etc.) your body systems will degrade as a result of sub-optimal energy supply, and the buildup of toxic residue. When this buildup occurs in the brain, such degradation tends to manifest as : depression, anxiety, dementia, etc.

One of the most important benefits of fasting is that it allows the body to clean out the residue which has built up through the consumption of sub-par nutrients. When you restrict your intake of solid food and liquid the body essentially starts to "eat itself", and luckily, it starts with the "diseased" parts first. This is why, during a fast, some of the initial, commonly noticeable effects include : rejuvenation of skin, disintegration of skin abnormalities (ex. warts, dead skin, etc.), rejuvenation of hair (including softening of hair, and faster growth), increased rate of finger and toenail growth (and dissolving of nail issues, such as reduction of fungal growths, hardening of nail tissue, etc.). Since the skin (including hair and nails) is the main organ which is most immediately visible to us, it is only logical that we notice improvements in this organ first.

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# Fasting To Enhance Gut health

One of the most important and powerful benefits of fasting is that it helps improve gut health. The microbes in our gastrointestinal tract are the biological workforce which breaks down the food and liquids we consume into the proper micronutrients which are then used by the many bodily processes. If your gut microbiome is composed of less "good" microbes and more "bad" ones this will diminish your body's ability to extract and use the nutrients consumed. This causes decline in the various systems of the body.

Most toxin residue, resulting from intake of toxic food and liquids, or from inadequate digestion, collects in the colon, where it putrefies and produces toxic compounds which enter the bloodstream and toxify the blood. Since your blood is the main transporter of nutrients to all the cells and organs of the body, the result is the degradation of function of all bodily functions, including mental ones. In fact, contemporary research is increasingly showing a strong connection between a poorly balanced gut microbiome, the resulting toxic colon and blood, and overall function of the cells, organs, and systems of the body.

Gut microbiota: How it affects your mood, sleep and stress levels
http://www.sbs.com.au/topics/life/health/article/2016/10/14/gut-microbiota-how-it-affects-your-mood-sleep-and-stress-levels

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# Fasting With Fermented Tea To Improve Gut Health

Therefore, for optimal health it is vital to keep your gut microbiome detoxified and strong. Luckily, tea fasting can substantially alleviate this gastrointestinal toxification issue. In fact, there is one specific tea which is especially good for detoxifying the colon and blood, and increasing populations of "good" gut microbes (to minimize the "bad" microbes), thus improving the function of the entire system by cleaning the energy processing system. That specific tea is known as "Puerh" tea. Unlike the other major teas, Puerh is a fermented tea, whose processing and aging promotes the growth of microbes which are beneficial to the human gut. When this tea is consumed regularly - and especially during a fast - it replenishes "good" gut microbes, while simultaneously helping to clean the colon and blood. Puerh tea is an especially popular tea amongst Chinese tea enthusiasts, with a plethora of different types which are grown in different regions and terroirs (primarily in China's southern Yunnan province). Puerh tea contains numerous strains of "good" bacteria which populate the gastrointestinal tract, strengthen the digestive and immune systems, and thereby cleanse the whole system.   

6 Reasons to Drink Pu-Erh Tea
https://nakedmetea.com/6-reasons-to-drink-pu-erh-tea/


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# Basic Tea Fasting Strategy

Since tea is ultimately infused in water, tea fasting is essentially an enhanced "water fast" in which various teas and tisanes are strategically utilized for their medicinal properties. The water acts as mainly as a delivery mechanism for the herbs, and to flush the system.  There are many resources online which detail the specific physiological effects of the basic teas and the numerous herbal teas (tisanes). A quick online search will provide those. Here is one related to the major tea categories to get you started :

Camellia Sinensis (Tea) Health Benefits
http://www.theteatalk.com/camellia-sinensis-health-benefits.html

You basically want to do a water fast, and supplement that with the various teas. It is difficult to drink only tea, so you should use water as the base for the fast, and then add teas sporadically, and as appropriate.  For instance, upon waking, you could drink a few glasses of water followed by a cup of hot black or Puerh tea, which each have a significant amount of caffeine to wake you up, as well as flush the toxins which have accumulated in your system overnight during sleep. You could have a few more cups of Puerh throughout the day to progressively build up the "good" microbes in the gut. In the evening you could switch to green tea, which contains compounds such as L-theanine, which have a calming effect on the mind. Ginger is another major calming herb which can be taken during the fast in the evening, to physically and mentally relax and promote sleep.

Supplementing a water fast with teas and tisanes takes the power of fasting to a whole new level. You have greater control over the fasting process, and are able to use the tea to therapeutically alleviate some of the difficult side effects which accompany straight water fasting. For instance, tea has a general appetite suppressing effect, and so it helps with the hunger pangs which are common with straight water fasting. Ginger infusion can be used to alleviate some of the physical and mental discomfort which are common during fasting. Used in combination, water and tea/tisane fasting is a powerful - and more enjoyable - way to detoxify  and rejuvenate the entire system.

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For some further excellent, and entertaining, information about fermented ("ripe") Puerh tea check out this video from the fine  tea experts over at Mei Leaf teahouse in London :

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