A healthy brain seems to be what we need in order to live free of Alzheimer or any other degenerative diseases.

A fascinating documentary on ARTE, a French/German channel, three years ago got me to rethink my way around health and the pharmaceutical industry.

The program was called “Le jeûne, une nouvelle thérapie ?”= Is Fasting a new therapy? This serious program had me wanting to find out more and  so I went on to read the book which was so much more detailed than the documentary. The subject was well researched and put together. It was such a compelling read I went on the web to again find out more.

The more I read about Fasting the more I got clear that this could be for me.  I love food, I am a good eater, and so is my husband who does all the cooking for us. But we were both very heavy not to say obese and seeing my doctor for something else I was asked to step on the scale.

I was then sent for blood tests and on their readings I was told I had to lose weight:  I was on the verge of becoming diabetic.

Trying to avoid this food or that one because it is too much fat or too much sugar or whatever the new fad, is something I  was never  willing to do but fasting is different. It  is present in every religion so I trust there is something in it for us. In the West we eat far too much and surely fasting could do us good. As hunters and gatherers, we had food when we could find some which wasn’t every day. Animals fast when there is no food around and when they are ill.

As I was reading the pros and cons I got more and more interested. Apart from having breast cancer 8 years ago, I have always been healthy and active and I don’t take any medicine/pills on a regular basis. Fasting is free and I didn’t get the need to do it in a specialized clinic like a lot of people do. I decided to trust myself that I could do it safely on my own in my own home.

It was all or nothing and I was up for the challenge.

I got a book on the day-to-day reality of fasting by this German doctor, Hellmut Lützner, specialist in nutritionist medicine and Chief Medical Officer at the Kurpark à Überlingen /Bodensee fasting clinic since 1975, who had been helping people with fasting for over 20 years.

I was on my way.

I never looked back and I now fast as much as 3 or 4 times/year:

I stop eating for one week when my husband is away in London for his own health checks. I only drink water, a lot of it, up to 3 litres/day and keep busy, very busy and very active. Having some donkeys and sheep as well as an orchard and lots of projects to grow various soft fruits and vegetables chemical free keeps me busy!

To my surprise during my first fast, I was full of energy, felt good, and I wasn’t hungry. I enjoyed not having to do any cooking, washing up and tidying of the kitchen. I had so much time to do other things and I read a lot, something which is a bit of a luxury for me. The energy I used to spend digesting was spent gardening, walking, or just being. Not only did I lose 7kgs, (2lb/day) but all my important organs got cleaned up starting with my brain. My thinking got sharper, my concentration lasted longer, my stomach felt light after meals….and so on. Every time I went on a one-week fast since then, the feelings were different but the results were the same.

With my weight coming back as I slowly went back to my former eating habits it became clear that I had to change something about the way I was eating.

This is when a friend told me about David Perlmutter M.D. “the Empowering Neurologist” on the web. On one of his interviews I got to hear Dave Asprey, the man behind “The bullet proof diet”. When I googled him it says “The bullet proof diet claims that it can help you lose up to a pound (0.45 kg) per day while gaining incredible levels of energy and focus. It emphasizes foods high in fat, moderate in protein and low in carbs, while also incorporating intermittent fasting”.

I was interested  to hear how this guy not being from a medical background, came to work on diet and his journey to get there so I got his book. I enjoyed the read and the information but  I chose what I was going to take on and try from his book and what I was going to leave out. I didn’t take it all on as I am not living in the USA: The book focuses on Americans and I am in the South of France, with a traditional dairy cow’s farm only a few miles away and vegetables and fruit trees not being sprayed at all with any chemicals. Our local butcher sells meat from grass fed animals, so what I can eat and enjoy from just around me is plenty.

But the result nonetheless was amazing for me.

There is now more good fat and less carbs in my diet, my energy level is very high, I eat as much as I feel like eating during the meals and my weight is stable.  I love coffee and the bullet proof coffee is great.

So I have now a way to spring-clean my organs and slim with fasting and then a way to keep the weight off .

Fasting for one week at a time is something I am able to do now but won’t be for ever. Finding a way to eat that is pleasant, satisfying and good for my brain and body as much as my taste buds is a better choice in the long run.

My cancer was stress related even though my cancer specialist disagrees with me. Going through chemotherapy was a grim and miserable time. I am committed to do whatever I can to avoid returning there.

Stress is inherent to being alive but in order to keep very high levels of stress out of my life I use Wim Hof’s method, (Lots of videos on you tube)which is basically, breathing deeply 3 X 30 times in a row on an empty stomach while lying down and having regular daily cold showers. I started at the beginning of February this year and I haven’t had a hot shower  since. It’s challenging and fun!

Conclusion: FASTING is good and safe for me as I spring-clean all my organs and lose the extra weight that had me be obese as well as reducing inflammation.

EATING good food keeps my weight down and reduces inflammation.

A particular kind of BREATHING oxygenates my body so that I am thriving with plenty of energy, and reduces inflammation.

INFLAMMATION is responsible for a lot of ills like rheumatoid arthritis ( inflammation of the joints), conditions that are so painful but could be avoided.

I was 62 last February, I am healthy and active, and I want to keep on living a healthy life full of exiting projects and encounters for as long as possible. When I’ll die, it doesn’t have to be with a lot of pain….

I thought this was worth sharing. Is it? I hope so.