By Susan Gammage In our last blog posting, we talked about the Baha’i Teachings on Diet.  I often share the following tablet with my life coaching clients as well. Some rules for health, from a Tablet revealed by Bahá’u’lláh. O God! The Supreme Knower! The Ancient Tongue speaks that which will satisfy the wise in [...]

By Susan Gammage

In our last blog posting, we talked about the Baha’i Teachings on Diet.  I often share the following tablet with my life coaching clients as well.

Some rules for health, from a Tablet revealed by Bahá’u'lláh.

O God! The Supreme Knower! The Ancient Tongue speaks that which will satisfy the wise in the absence of doctors.

O People, do not eat except when you are hungry. Do not drink after you have retired to sleep.

Exercise is good when the stomach is empty; it strengthens the muscles. When the stomach is full it is very harmful.

Do not neglect medical treatment, when it is necessary, but leave it off when the body is in good condition.

Do not take nourishment except when (the process of) digestion is completed. Do not swallow until you have thoroughly masticated your food.

Treat disease first of all through diet, and refrain from medicine. If you can find what you need for healing in a single herb do not use a compound medicine. Leave off medicine when the health is good, and use it in case of necessity.

If two diametrically opposite foods are put on the table do not mix them. Be content with one of them. Take first the liquid food before partaking of solid food. The taking of food before that which you have already eaten is digested is dangerous….

When you have eaten walk a little that the food may settle.

That which is difficult to masticate is forbidden by the wise. Thus the Supreme Pen commands you.

A light meal in the morning is as a light to the body.

Avoid all harmful habits: they cause unhappiness in the world.

Search for the causes of disease. This saying is the conclusion of this utterance.
(Star of the West, vol. 13, no. 9, December 1922, p. 252)

In God must be our trust. There is no God but Him, the Healer, the Knower, the Helper…. Nothing in earth or heaven is outside the grasp of God.

O doctor! In treating the sick, first mention the name of God, the Possessor of the Day of Judgment, and then use what God hath destined for the healing of His creatures. By My Life! The doctor who has drunk from the Wine of My Love, his visit is healing, and his breath is mercy and hope. Cling to him for the welfare of the constitution. He is confirmed by God in his treatment.
(Star of the West, vol. 21, no. 5, August 1930, p. 160)

What are your thoughts on this prescription?  Post your comments here:

By Susan Gammage In light of the upcoming holidays, which often lead to over-eating and thoughts of diets in the New Year, some of my life coaching clients have asked what the Baha’i Writings have to say about diet.  I’ve put together the following compilation to respond to their questions. Are there specific dietary laws [...]

By Susan Gammage

In light of the upcoming holidays, which often lead to over-eating and thoughts of diets in the New Year, some of my life coaching clients have asked what the Baha’i Writings have to say about diet.  I’ve put together the following compilation to respond to their questions.

Are there specific dietary laws in the Baha’i Faith?

• . . . there is nothing in the teachings about whether people should eat their food cooked or raw; exercise or not exercise; resort to specific therapies or not; nor is it forbidden to eat meat.  (From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual 18 December 1945 in Health and Healing, p. 38-9).

What guidance is given on what to eat?

• . . . the food of man is cereal and fruit.  Some of the teeth of man are like millstones to grind the grain, and some are sharp to cut the fruit.  Therefore he is not in need of meat, nor is he obliged to eat it.  Even without eating meat he would live with the utmost vigour and energy.  For example, the community of Brahmins in India do not eat meat; notwithstanding this they are not inferior to other nations in strength, power, vigour, outward senses or intellectual virtues.  Truly, the killing of animals and the eating of their meat is somewhat contrary to pity and compassion and if one can content oneself with cereals, fruit, oil and nuts, such as pistachios, almonds and so on, it would undoubtedly  be better and more pleasing.   (‘Abdu’l-Bahá, From a tablet to an individual believer, in Health and Healing, p. 8).

• . . . All the teeth of man are made for eating fruit, cereals and vegetables.  These four teeth (the canines), however, are designed for breaking hard shells, such as those of almonds.  But eating meat is not forbidden or unlawful, nay, the point is this, that it is possible for man to live without eating meat and still be strong.  Meat is nourishing and containeth the elements of herbs, seeds and fruits; therefore sometimes it is essential for the sick and for the rehabilitation of health.  There is no objection in the Law of God to the eating of meat if it is required.  So if thy constitution is rather weak and thou findest meat useful, thou mayest eat it.  (‘Abdu’l-Bahá, From a Tablet to an individual believer, in Health and Healing, p.  9.)

What will be the food of the future?

• Fruit and grains.  The time will come when meat will no longer be eaten.  Medical science is only in its infancy, yet it has shown that our natural diet is that which grows out of the ground.  The people will gradually develop up to the condition of this natural food. (‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Ten Days in the Light of Akká, p. 8-9, found in Health and Healing, p. 29.)

How much should we eat?

• In all circumstances they should conduct themselves with moderation; if the meal be only one course this is more pleasing in the sight of God; however, according to their means, they should seek to have this single dish be of good quality. (Bahá’u'lláh, From the Kitáb-i-Badí, found in Health and Healing, p. 2.)

What happens when we overeat?

• But man hath perversely continued to serve his lustful appetites, and he would not content himself with simple foods.  Rather, he prepared for himself food that was compounded of many ingredients, of substances differing one from the other. With this, and with the perpetrating of vile and ignoble acts, his attention was engrossed, and he abandoned the temperance and moderation of a natural way of life.  The result was the engendering of diseases both violent and diverse. (‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Selections from the Writings of  ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, p. 152-3).

How can I know which food is best for me?

• In matters of health, particularly regarding diet and nutrition, the House of Justice advises the friends to seek the help and advice of experts and doctors.  This is what Bahá’u'lláh has recommended and He does not indicate which school of thought or practice they should belong to. (From a letter written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to an individual 19 June 1977 in Health and Healing. p. 48-9).

What’s the relationship between diet and disease?

• The outer, physical causal factor in disease, however, is a disturbance in the balance, the proportionate equilibrium of all those elements of which the human body is composed.  To illustrate:  the body of man is a compound of many constituent substances, each component being present in a prescribed amount, contributing to the essential equilibrium of the whole.  So long as these constituents remain in their due proportion, according to the natural balance of the whole – that is, no component suffereth a change in its natural proportionate degree and balance, no component being either  augmented or decreased – there will be no physical cause for the incursion of disease.

For example, the starch component must be present to a given amount, and the sugar to a given amount.  So long as each remaineth in its natural proportion to the whole, there will be no cause for the onset of disease.  When, however, these constituents vary as to their natural and due amounts – that is, when they are augmented or diminished – it is certain that this will provide for the inroads of disease.

This question requireth the most careful investigation. . . (‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Selections from the Writings of  ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, p. 153).

• . . . it will be clearly seen that the incursion of disease is due to a disturbance in the relative amounts of the bodys component substances, and that treatment consisteth in adjusting these relative amounts, and that this can be apprehended and made possible by means of foods. (‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Selections from the Writings of  ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, p. 154-5).

• But the principal causes of disease are physical, for the human body is composed of numerous elements, but in the measure of an especial equilibrium.  As long as this equilibrium is maintained, man is preserved from disease; but if this essential balance, which is the pivot of the constitution, is disturbed, the constitution is disordered, and disease will supervene.

For instance, there is a decrease in one of the constituent ingredients of the body of man, and in another there is an increase; so the proportion of the equilibrium is disturbed, and disease occurs.  For example, one ingredient must be one thousand grams in weight, and another five grams, in order that the equilibrium be maintained.  The part which is one thousand grams diminishes to seven hundred grams and that which is five grams augments until the measure of the equilibrium is disturbed; then disease occurs.  When by remedies and treatments the equilibrium is reestablished, the disease is banished.  So if the sugar constituent increases, the health is impaired; and when the doctor forbids sweet and starchy foods, the sugar constituent diminishes, the equilibrium is reestablished, and the disease is driven off.

Now the readjustment of these constituents of the human body is obtained by two means – either by medicines or by aliments; and when the constitution has recovered its equilibrium, disease is banished.

All the elements that are combined in man exist also in vegetables; therefore, if one of the constituents which compose the body of man diminishes, and he partakes of foods in which there is much of that diminished constituent, then the equilibrium will be established, and a cure will be obtained.  So long as the aim is the readjustment of the constituents of the body, it can be effected either by medicine or by foods. (‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Some Answered Questions, p. 257-9).

Can diet be used to treat illness?

• Treat disease through diet, by preference, refraining from the use of drugs; and if you find what is required in a single herb, do not resort to a compounded medicament. . .  (Bahá’u'lláh, Bahá’u'lláh and the New Era, p. 106, in Health and Healing, p. 3).

• At whatever time highly-skilled physicians shall have developed the healing of illnesses by means of foods, and shall make provision for simple foods, and shall prohibit humankind from living as slaves to their lustful appetites, it is certain that the incidence of chronic and diversified illnesses will abate, and the general health of all mankind will be much improved.  This is destined to come about. (‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Selections from the Writings of  ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, p. 156).

• The Báb hath said that the people of Bahá must develop the science of medicine to such a high degree that they will heal illnesses by means of foods.  The basic reason for this is that if, in some component substance of the human body, an imbalance should occur, altering its correct, relative proportion to the whole, this fact will inevitably result in the onset of disease.  If, for example, the starch component should be unduly augmented, or the sugar component decreased, an illness will take control.  It is the function of a skilled physician to determine which constituent of his patient’s body hath suffered diminution, which hath been augmented.  Once he hath discovered this, he must prescribe a food containing the diminished element in considerable amounts, to re-establish the bodys essential equilibrium.  The patient, once his constitution is again in balance, will be rid of his disease. (‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Selections from the Writings of  ‘Abdu’l-Bahá,  p. 154).

• It is therefore, evident that it is possible to cure by foods, aliments and fruits; but as today the science of medicine is imperfect, this fact is not yet fully grasped.  When the science of medicine reaches perfection, treatment will be given by foods, aliments, fragrant fruits and vegetables, and by various waters, hot and cold in temperature. (‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Some Answered Questions, p. 259).

Conclusion

In matters of diet, as in medicine, the Universal House of Justice feels that the believers should be aware that a huge body of scientific knowledge has been accumulated as a guide to our habits and practices.  Here too, as in all other things, the believers should be conscious of the two principles of moderation and courtesy in the way they express their opinions and in deciding whether they should refuse food offered to them or request special foods.

There are, of course, instances where a believer would be fully justified in abstaining from or eating only certain foods for some medical reason, but this is a different matter and would be understood by any  reasonable person.  (From a letter written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice 24 January 1977, in Health and Healing, p. 48).

What are your thoughts about diet and food?  Post your comments here:

by Susan Gammage, Baha’i Life Coach In my Bahá’í-inspired life coaching practice, I often see people who are familiar with the quote: What will be the food of the future?  Fruit and grains.  The time will come when meat will no longer be eaten . . . our natural diet is that which grows out [...]

by Susan Gammage, Baha'i Life Coach

In my Bahá’í-inspired life coaching practice, I often see people who are familiar with the quote:

What will be the food of the future?  Fruit and grains.  The time will come when meat will no longer be eaten . . . our natural diet is that which grows out of the ground.  The people will gradually develop up to the condition of this natural food.  (‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Ten Days in the Light of ‘Akká, pp. 8-9.)

They are motivated to make a transition to  healthier eating habits and want to know how to go about actually achieving that goal.

The good news is that once you do something consistently for only a few weeks, it becomes a habit.

Here are some simple techniques to help you avoid those tempting junk foods so you can make wise and healthy decisions in your daily routine.

Strategies to Avoid Temptation:

1. Am I hungry? Ask yourself if you’re really hungry or if you’re eating out of convenience or emotion. Many times you probably aren’t as hungry as you think, so try to get involved in a different activity instead of snacking.

2. Water, water, and more water. Drink a lot of water each day. Not only is this good for your whole body (both inside and out), it can actually make you feel full. Also, oftentimes when you think you’re hungry, your body is actually thirsty, so keep yourself well hydrated.

3. Try chewing gum. Putting something in your mouth like gum or hard, sugar-free candy can help convince your brain that you’re eating!

4. Divert your energy. Instead of putting all your energy into making two grilled cheese sandwiches with bacon, try taking a walk or doing something that requires you to use your hands, like knitting or woodworking. It’s pretty hard to do these and eat at the same time.

5. Allow yourself snack time. Choose healthy snacks instead of chips and salsa or chocolate bars. For snack time, try eating celery, popcorn without butter, fruits, or a make-your-own trail mix with raisins, nuts, and dried fruits.

• A good hint for snacking is to have healthy snacks readily available in your home, and unhealthy snacks completely out of the house; that way, the healthy stuff is easy to grab.

How to Choose Healthy Foods:

The next time you’re off to the grocery store, use these tips to help you choose the right foods and avoid the unhealthy stuff.

1. Stay away from preservatives. You don’t need that Twinkie that can outlast any environmental disaster! When you learn to read nutrition labels and ingredient lists, you’ll find that there are many snacks that are full of preservatives. You probably shouldn’t buy the food when the ingredient list contains more than a handful of items. Plus, if the expiry date isn’t until two years from now, it’s being heavily preserved.

2. Use the food guide or pyramid. Canada’s Food Guide or the food pyramid from the Federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gears you toward whole foods and minimal sweets. Get a copy and make your grocery list by following their guidelines.

Canada:  http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/alt_formats/hpfb-dgpsa/pdf/food-guide-aliment/view_eatwell_vue_bienmang-eng.pdf

USA:  http://mypyramid.gov/

3. Buy lots of fresh vegetables that you can use to make up a quick and healthy stir-fry with chicken, brown rice, or even soy products. Buy easy to make salads where the lettuce and other veggies are already washed. These are easy, quick, healthy, and they taste good. The key is to choose vegetables that are dark green or orange in color.

4. Buy fresh fruits and do some research on how to tell when fruits are at their freshest and when they’re in season. Try some of those exotic fruits you’ve always looked at but never purchased. Make your own fruit drinks and smoothies for a healthy, delicious treat.

5. Buy a variety of whole grains and nuts – this doesn’t just mean bread and peanut butter!  Do some research into the kinds of nuts and grains you can eat, and try gradually introducing them into your diet.  A good resources is at:

http://www.mypyramid.gov/pyramid/grains_tips.html

http://nutrition.suite101.com/article.cfm/nutritive_benefits_of_nuts

More Great Grocery Store Tips:

1. Shop in a circle. Many nutritionists will tell you to shop the perimeter of the store. Grocery stores are usually set up with their fresh foods, fruits, vegetables, fish, and breads all around the perimeter. Preservative-laced foods are in the center and at the ends of each aisle.

2. Go alone. Leave your children in good hands and go alone to the grocery store. This way you can concentrate on getting only the healthy foods you desire without being pressured into buying junk. Alternatively, if you do bring your children, be prepared to spend extra time teaching them how to spot healthy foods.

3. Make a list! This technique is a tried and true method to avoid buying foods that aren’t healthy. Stick to your list and, for fun, seek out healthy foods you haven’t tried before to tempt your taste buds.

With some determination and strategies in place, you can achieve your goal to eat healthy! By incorporating healthy changes into your diet one by one, you’re slowly creating a new habit, and moving towards the ever-advancing society promised in the Bahá’í Writings.

Before long, you’ll be choosing healthy foods without a second thought, and those unhealthy foods you used to eat will no longer tempt you. Once you discover the benefits and better taste of fresh and healthy foods, you’ll never want to go back!

What do you do to eat more healthy foods?  Post your comments here:

by Susan Gammage, Baha’i Life Coach Below are 10 top tips for healthy eating during the Fast: Don’t gorge in the evenings: Large meals should be avoided because they can cause the digestive system to block after a long day of fasting. Therefore, break your fast with dates and water or juice as they contain [...]

by Susan Gammage, Baha'i Life Coach

Below are 10 top tips for healthy eating during the Fast:

1. Don’t gorge in the evenings: Large meals should be avoided because they can cause the digestive system to block after a long day of fasting. Therefore, break your fast with dates and water or juice as they contain simple sugars that can be absorbed easily by the body. Then try to have a balanced meal – soups are a good choice as they don’t stress the stomach and hydrate the body.
   
2. Stay off the Salt: Salty foods should be avoided as they will retain water in the body and cause discomfort.
   
3. Hydrate Yourself: A lack of fluids makes the body prone to dehydration and more likely to retain fats and toxins. So, drink ample quantities of water and fresh juices.
   
4. Eat Yoghurt: Yogurt is recommended at both meals, as it contains friendly bacteria which benefit the digestive tract. Yoghurt also helps digestion and cleanses the intestines from harmful bacteria. Also, it is a good source of calcium and protein.
   
5. Avoid Sugar and Grease: Fried foods and sweets should be consumed in moderation as they are full of saturated fats which raise cholesterol and adversely affect your health.
   
6. Get Moving: Exercise is very important during the Fast as it helps you maintain your body weight by burning the extra-calories and eliminating stress. It also has an essential role in preventing constipation.
   
7. Don’t Skip Breakfast: Many people tend to skip breakfast; however skipping meals will slow down your metabolism and lead to fatigue and distress. For Suhoor, try to choose foods that contain protein, complex carbohydrates and high-fibre foods such as wheat, oats, beans, whole grain bread, vegetables and seasonable fruits. Fibers and proteins take a long time to be digested so you won’t feel hungry.
   
8. Avoid Tea and Coffee: Tea, Coffee and carbonated beverages remove calcium from your body. It is therefore recommended that you avoid them especially at breakfast, as they increase salt and water excretion which your body needs during fasting.
   
9. Don’t neglect Protein: Consumption of protein is important in order to prevent muscle wasting; vegetarians should consider this when choosing non-animal protein sources.
   
10. Finish with Fruit: Intake of fruits after a meal is highly beneficial and provides the body with nutrients. Fasting could be effective in treating of moderate (non-insulin) diabetes, obesity and hypertension as the process lowers the blood sugar levels, cholesterol and the systolic blood pressure.

Nathalie Haddad, leading Dietician and Managing Director of Right Bite cautions: “It is highly important to eat moderately and focus on well-balanced and low-fat meals during the Fast. A light, healthy breakfast, one that is high in complex carbohydrates and fiber, will help prevent tiredness, poor concentration, dizziness and headaches. At dinner, it is important to consume food from all five groups with minimum fat content and to control portion sizes in order to avoid weight gain.”

Adapted from: http://www.whatsonsyria.com/magazine/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=586&Itemid=0

Have I missed any? Post your comments here:

by Susan Gammage, Baha’i Life Coach The Bahá’í month of fasting is an excellent opportunity to assess our behavior and habits and to adjust to a balanced and healthy lifestyle. Through fasting, we learn how to control our manners and our eating habits. It is also a good chance for the stomach to have a [...]

by Susan Gammage, Baha'i Life Coach

The Bahá’í month of fasting is an excellent opportunity to assess our behavior and habits and to adjust to a balanced and healthy lifestyle. Through fasting, we learn how to control our manners and our eating habits. It is also a good chance for the stomach to have a break and allow the body to eliminate accumulated toxins.

Many of us wonder what is best to eat during the Fast and how to stay healthy and get the maximum benefit from the fasting process. A quick review of the physiological changes that occur during fasting will help us determine what should be consumed before dawn and after sunset.

What happens in our bodies during fasting?

When the body enters into a state of fasting (approximately twelve hours after the last meal), it draws upon the glucose stored in the liver and muscles as the main source of energy. Fat is used

next, as a source of energy once these stores of glucose are used up. This process promotes weight loss and also prevents muscle wasting.

After a few days of fasting, toxins stored in the body fat are broken down and hormones, such as endorphins, appear in the blood in higher levels, improving vigilance and inducing an overall feeling of well-being.

What to eat during the Fast?

A balanced nutritious diet containing adequate amounts of carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins, minerals and water is vital between fasts in order to ensure a healthy state of mind and body.

As the fast approaches, many of us wonder if fasting will be “too difficult to do.” Here is a practical guide of how we can make fasting both easier and more spiritually rewarding:

1. Make your intention to abide by the will of God:

It is important for the acceptance of any act of worship to do it solely for the pleasure of God. If you sincerely want to fast for Him, He will make it easy for you.

2. Stock up on groceries a week in advance:

Fasting requires two major meals each day. If you buy the food you’ll need for the week, you won’t waste time and energy shopping when temptation might be high to buy more than you need.

3. Prepare yourself:

Read the compilation The Importance of Obligatory Prayer and Fasting to understand more about this spiritual obligation.

Make sure you have a printed timetable of dawn and sunset times in your area for the entire month in a place where you can easily refer to it.

You’ll want to avoid caffeinated drinks such as coke, coffee or tea during the fast, because caffeine is a diuretic. Three to five days before the Fast, gradually reduce your intake of these drinks, since a sudden decrease in caffeine prompts headaches, mood swings and irritability, which you’ll want to avoid when you are fasting.

If you are a smoker, you won’t be able to smoke during the daylight hours, so consider cutting down gradually starting a few weeks before the Fast starts. Smoking negatively affects the utilization of various vitamins, metabolites and enzyme systems in the body, so if you smoke, consider how you can replace these things during the Fast.

4. Prepare your family:

This is especially important if you have non-Baha’i family members. Let them know how their lives might be affected while you are fasting and what you expect of them.

5. Go to bed early:

In order to wake up refreshed and on time for the pre-dawn meal, go to bed early during the Fast.

6. Eat Moderately:

Contrary to popular opinion, nutritionist and dieticians suggest that people tend to gain more weight during the Fast compared to the rest of the year, as a result of following incorrect and unplanned food practices. To avoid the widespread occurrence of digestive and stomach-related problems, there are many eating habits that should be followed during the Fast.

There is no need to consume excess food before dawn. Some Baha’is eat more than usual at breakfast, thinking, “this is my last chance to get as much food into myself as I can, before having to starve till sunset”. Fasting is not the same as starving the body, so eat in moderation.

The body has regulatory mechanisms that activate during fasting. There is efficient utilization of body fat. Basal metabolism slows down during the Fast. A diet that is less than the normal amount of food intake, but contains all the required minerals and vitamins is sufficient to keep a person healthy and active during the Fast.

7. Don’t skip breakfast:

Some people, hating to get up so early, prefer to eat till well after midnight and sleep late, skipping breakfast altogether. Eating breakfast minimizes the feeling of hunger during the day and provides the body with all its nutritional needs.

8. Go about your normal daily routine:

Some people assume that since they can not eat or drink till sunset, they should “sleep off” the fast and awaken only a few hours before the evening meal. They draw their curtains, pull their comforters over their heads or put on the air conditioner, and sleep till the evening. They get up to eat and then dive back into their beds. This is not the aim or spirit of the Fast. Fasting does not curb energy for productive work, except in the last two hours of the fast, so continue to work or study as usual till 2 or 3 hours before sunset. If you have a chance to lie down and rest for a while for an afternoon siesta, this will help you get through.

It is recommended that everyone engage in some kind of light exercise, such as stretching or walking. It’s important to follow good time management practices to ensure you have enough time for prayer, sleep, studies, job, and physical activities or exercise.

9. Breaking the fast:

The dinner meal is the high point of the day for everyone who fasts. This meal, unfortunately, is also the cause of most of the excess and extravagance that takes place during this month.

Muslims break their fast by eating three to five dates with a glass of water. Dates consist of 80 per cent sugar, while the remainder constitutes protein, fat and minerals, including copper, sulphur, iron, magnesium and fluoric acid. They are high in fiber and are an excellent source of potassium so they compensate for the sugar and other elements the body loses during the day.

After the dates and water, they offer prayers with a light stomach and a thankful, attentive heart, and then return to the table to eat in moderation, which prevents them from overeating as soon as the sun sets. Starting with a hot vegetable and lentil soup alerts the stomach, facilitates the digestive process and provides the body with needed energy from the fiber and vitamins.

The main meal should contain vegetables, proteins and carbohydrates to give the body the nutrition it needs. Meat, chicken and fish, should be provided to make up for the loss of nutrition while fasting. It’s also important to eat small helpings of fruit for dessert, to give the body the required amounts of sugar. These should be eaten two hours after the main meal, to facilitate digestion and prevent gastrointestinal problems.

Fruits and mixed nuts may be eaten as a snack before going to bed, and make sure you drink sufficient water, to prevent dehydration.

The first week of fasting settles the body into fasting mode, and by the mid-point most of us have settled into a new routine. The second half of the fast can be used to intensify our focus on prayer and our spiritual connection with God. Consistent fasting does take its toll on the body, so during the last few days of the fast, you might find you need to spend a portion of these days sleeping or resting more than usual.

In summary, an intake of a balanced diet is critical to maintaining good health, sustaining an active lifestyle and attaining the full benefits of the Fast.

What would you like to share about eating during the Fast?  Post your comments here:

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