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  • Definately rests ***all ***the internal systems,

    All of the interal systems?

    Are you sure about that.

    I'm going to go out on a limb here and suggest that this is complete and utter gobshite.

    Firstly there are a number of biological systems in the body that are not dependent on or involved in the ingestion, decomposition, distribution, and ejection of food stuffs. For instance, there is the system that excises oxygen from air in the lungs and integrates into the blood stream for distribution to vital organs. If you're in any way unsure about this system, allow me to be the first to ensure you that this is not an internal system that should take a break.

    Secondly, whilst fasting will offer some internal systems a break, it simply means that your body will move over to those that access bodily reserves. Therefore you are still running a similar level of internal systems. A change may be as good as a break but it really isn't the same thing.

    I'm all in favour of detoxification and good body management, but looking at it from a biological point of view, it should be done holistically. That would be to act in tune with the internal systems rather than contrary to them. Perhaps an analogy is in order here. The body is ostensibly a machine, in a simplistic sense not wholly unlike a bicycle. It takes in energy in order to produce action. If your bicycle seems to be running badly, a cure for this would not be to stop using it for a while and then jump back on it again. It requires a degree of corrective action. Fasting isn't corrective action, it's deprivatory action. Also, what will happen after the fast? If you're going to return to using these internal systems the same way that you have before the fast, then what will you achieve. As mentioned above, fasting encourages use of alternative systems. If your lifestyle isn't healthy, then the reserves that these alternative system access are likely to be as toxic the very lifestyle that you're going to be fasting from. As I said, detoxification needs to be done holistically. That involves time and commitment. A fast will offer little more than a fleeting placebo effect.

    As for Craig Sams, by what form of authority does he give out nutritional advice? He has a BSc in Economics, which hardly seems relevant. He has written extensively about macrobiotics, but offers no qualification or other evidence of education by which to back this up. This usually means that there isn't any. Believe him if you will, but it would seem wise to look at the matter in greater depth. "Giving your internal systems a break" hardly stands up as good scientific reasoning. The body is a physical, operational organism, good, credible and reasoned science should be your guide in good body management.

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