Today we live in a convenience age. You can save time by eating fast food and you can get better by taking a quick acting pill. But chronic diseases are on the upsurge and there appears to be a veritable epidemic of cancer. It seems in this age of McDo nald's health is degenerating. Could there be a connection I wonder? If we were to take a minute to look back at history we would see that something altogether not convenient has been around for several thousand years, and that is fasting. Fasting or forgoing food is the world's most ancient and natural healing procedure. When animals feel unwell they stop eating and rest. They know something that humans appear to have forgotten and that is by ceasing eating the body triggers a very powerful cleansing process. This 'cleanse' reaches down into every cell and produces truly remarkable therapeutic results.

What happens when you fast? After 24 hours of zero food intake the digestive system no longer has anything to do. Thus digestive enzymes that usually drain a lot of the body's energy to accomplish their task travel not to the stomach but to the intestines and into the bloodstream where they gobble up waste matter which comprises decaying and moribund cells, metabolic refuse and other pollutants. At the same time as this cleanse is taking place organs and glands get an unaccustomed holiday and this break gives them an opportunity to purify and rejuvenate. Altogether this operation results in enhanced immune system function which at the end of the day means that health is restored and illness killed off. Benjamin Franklin said long ago "the best form of all medicines are rest and fasting."

Main stream opinion today tends to dismiss this

as "faddy and New Age". As we have already said that is nothing new age about it at all as it has been around for a very long time. Hippocrates according to some claims to be the father of modern medicine. His sensible motto provides the backbone to the 'The Hippocratic Oath' to which all doctors swear. This is "do no harm". He prescribed abstinence from food while a disease was on the increase and particularly so as it approached the healing crisis. Moreover another piece of wisdom from the same source was 'eat sparsely at all times". Unlike some pharmaceutical medicines none of these practices do harm. Essentially it is a good idea to leave the table with room for a little more, and follow the very sound advice recommended by our grandmothers "feed a cold and starve a fever."

More recently both Dr. Kelly and Dr. Roderigo suggested that all disease began in the intestinal tract. By cleaning the intestines you get rid of the toxins which are the main constituents of all disease. Fasting and cleansing with the help of enemas and colonics have become increasingly more popular with those truly anxious to bring their health up to speed. Such treatments have been heartily embraced by people like the Swedes and more and more clinics are popping up in the United States.

Back in the early 1990s a centre specialising in this form of cleansing took root on the Thai island of Koh Samui which was at the time a much favoured destination of back-packers. In 1997 the came into being and offers a de-tox programme at a reasonable price in a very beautiful and peaceful setting. If this powerful form of health care interests you perhaps you should check it out!