About 10 years ago I tried fasting for a week. Nothing allowed but water and juicing vegetables and fruit. The idea was to give your digestive system a break.
First day I had headaches from no coffee, but after that, I was able to deal with it okay. Best time to try this is in the hot humid weather to sweat out a lot of the toxins. The theory is that the body will first eat up all the fat, then attack any diseased areas, but I don't know that this is true for a fact. I read about people fasting for 40 days to purify their systems, but there was no way I was about to try that.
I was healthy and not overweight, so I can't say if it really affected me or not, other than being hungry and losing about 11 pounds. It's easier if you can get a friend to fast with you at the same time for mental support.
The hardest part was going to a job and seeing a huge lunch spread and telling everyone I had to pass on it. Second hardest was turning down grilled brats and cold beer on a 90 degree day at a friend's house. Brutal.
That was the third year I fasted, but haven't since. Once a year is recommended, and 1 to 3 day juice fasting has been suggested more often.
My results were inconclusive, so I don't see myself doing this again anytime soon.
