Water Fast for CHF

Hi everyone,

I am 56 yrs old and have had high BP and CHF for quite a number of years now and am also overweight at 275 lbs. BP averages between 170/90 - 190/100. I am about to start a long term water fast to improve my heart function.

I have studied the topic extensively and actually did a 21 day fast in 2010. My BP normalized and I was able to walk and even jog for short distances. I learned a lot during that fast and now I find myself thinking about how good I felt at the end of that fast. I know it is difficult to get started due to hunger and temptation, but that disappears after the fourth day of the fast. I expect to start around Aug. 29th and I would like to post updates every few days.

Has anyone tried a fast ?

Regards
Gordon

[Rich38]

Interesting post. I'm not sure what you mean by a "water fast". do you mean ony water -no food for the duration of the fast? If I were you I would not attempt any kind of fasting without consulting a doctor first. Personally I think if had the will power to fast for 21 days a year ago you have the will power to embark on a more triditional mode of dieting with a view to sustainable long term weight loss. I should think that an extended water only fast could result in dangerously low levels of blood chemistry.

In any event, good luck and keep us posted.

Rich38

[Gord10]

Thanks for your comments,

Yes, just water that is high in minerals...no food. For some reason I found it a lot easier to fast than try to stick to a diet. My hunger disappeared after the fourth day so i wasn't always thinking about food. I saw my doctor this past week and got my blood work, urine and EKG tests done so I am ready to go.

The primary purpose of the fast is to improve my heart function along with the other ailments I deal with.

I will post every few days

Gord

[jrbon]

I think I already gave you my views in a different forum, but will you be so kind to gave us some links that clarifies how the water fast enhance the heart?

Also when you speak about water high in minerals, where do you get that water and what minerals are they? As far as I understand the heart needs: potassium, sodium, calcium, magnesium, selenium and copper. I do not know many (none) water that contains copper and selenium.

Jesus

[Gord10]

Thanks for the questions.

One such study was published in June 2001. 174 people were put on a 10 to 13 day fast. All of them had a dramatic drop in BP. The complete study can be found here:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/32727377/Medically-Supervised-Water-only-Fasting-in-the-Treatment-of-Hypertension.

Unfortunately this is an area that will probably never get funding to do full blown double blind, peer reviewed studies.

With regards to minerals most well water has copper and selenium and I believe a lot of municipal water probably has as well. I know most tested bottled water does comes up below detectable levels.

Regards
Gord

PS Started the fast today.


  

[Gord10]

It’s been a few days since I last posted and I apologize. Julie and myself went to her brother and sister in-laws cottage over the weekend.

First week is over and I feel great. No aches, pains, or odd feelings but I do get tired very easily now so I hop on my mini-trampoline for a couple of minutes and back to work. I do not notice any improvement in anything yet and I don’t expect to for perhaps another week

I’ve been asked a lot how I am able to work when on a fast. My life does not require a lot of energy as I sit behind a desk all day so it is quite easy for me to carry on with work while on my fast. I go out a couple of times a week to a dairy farm that I am doing research at that requires me to climb a ladder a few times and take lots of readings. That is the extent of my physical exertion. I hope this helps explain why I can do this.

My weight as of the Sept 4th was 258.8. Lose in week one -12.4 lbs
BP on Aug 29th was 182/103. Sept 4th it was 154/95

Gord

[Gord10]

Just cruising along now. No urge for food and drinking a lot of water.
As far as how I feel I do have very low energy and need to rest throughout the day. My mouth is always very dry and my breath is horrendous. (Can it be worse than it normally is?) My Psoriasis is improving and the biggest improvement is on my hands which is the last place I developed the disease so it should be the first area to improve. My blood pressure dropped a bit again and today I don’t seem to be as winded as in the past.
I found a great little book on the topic of water fasting. It is only 50 pages and is the best overview I have come across and it is only a one hour read. It covers everything from history all the way to how to end a fast. The book is a download from a library in Australia and the link takes you to their sign up page which is simply a matter of your email addy. A page comes up asking for a donation which you can click on “no” if you wish and still get the book. It comes to your email and is good for 30 days. If you wish you can download it to your hard drive.
http://*************.org/copyform.aspx?bookcode=020141
Stats at Day 12
————————————————–August 29, 2011————September 12, 2011
BMI (Body Mass Index)—————————38.9———————-35.9
BIA (Bioelectrical impedance analysis)——----55.8———————49.6
Weight ———————————————271.2——————–250.4
Waist ————————————————49”———————–47”
BP (Blood Pressure)—————————–182 / 103—————141 / 94
Probably about a quarter of the way there….My glass is quarter FULL !

[Gord10]

Hi Everyone,

Well today is day 15 of my water fast and for some reason I have more energy now. I went for about a mile walk yesterday and this morning and I was tired after the walks but quickly recovered. I feel great, no aches, no pains, but I am seeing the positive improvements I have been expecting start now. My gout is completely gone, no pain at all and my edema is completely gone and in fact my ankles look spindly and weird. In addition, my psoriasis is improving. I am going to wait another week and then I will be posting new pics on my blog. The difference in my ankles and the psoriasis is amazing.

My weight is now 247.2 lbs which is a total loss of 24 lbs in a matter of 15 days. This is normal and expected as the first pile of weight loss was just fluids and is the reason why the edema is gone and perhaps the gout. The best stat to report is my BP….it is now down to 138 / 89.  I am so glad I did this….my mental attitude is changing, it is a very difficult thing to explain but it is as if I am being renewed.  Not quite but I have a very uplifting, and positive attitude and feeling now.

I do have a certain protocol that I follow which addresses the issue of feeling sick or avoiding some of the symptoms that caused me to cut my fast last year short. This time I feel confident I can make it to the 40 to 50 day mark and then another 30 days or so on fresh fruit and veg juices plus a couple of supplements.

For those following my blog, I don’t have time today to do my video and I will be out of town Tues. and Wed. but I will attempt to get done on Thurs. or Fri.

Gord

[Gord10]

Day 18 update.

A few things to report today.

First, I am feeling great and am getting stronger every day. I can now tie my shoes without grunting and moaning and walk up two flights of stairs with no difficulty. My psoriasis is healing nicely with scale production almost stopped now and overall my skin feels softer. I started going for morning walks a week ago and I am now cranking it up to mornings and evenings. Each walk is about a mile. I feel great, my heart is getting stronger and stronger, I don’t get winded very often anymore. Of course I have my weak spells but they tend to pass very quickly.

My stats as of today Sept. 15, 2011

My weight is 244.4. My fast start weight was 271.2  Total loss of 26.8 lbs
My blood pressure is 136/83. BP at start of fast was 182/103
My waist is still 47 inches..(Actually that is my tummy measurement)
My BMI is 35.1. Down from 38.9
My BIA is 47.7. Down from 55.8

I have further updates, video and commentary at my blog.

Regards
Gord

[Gord10]

I’ve made it to day 23 with no problems, issues, pain, sickness etc. I feel great and getting stronger everyday which one would think should be just the opposite.

I would like to point out why I am doing a fast as opposed to a diet. The first reason has to do with the digestive system itself. When on a fast it is essentially shut down which allows for it to heal. Diets can never accomplish that healing. One of my health conditions is psoriasis which is an auto-immune disease. (Rheumatoid Arthritis is another) This is caused by something called leaky gut syndrome where minute food particles get through the intestinal wall. Shutting down the digestive system allows for healing of the intestinal tract and allows for the healing of my psoriasis. A diet cannot do that.

My heart condition is improving also due to that fact that the fast is removing plaque buildup in my arteries. My body is in complete ketosis so it is consuming all kinds of garbage, fat and a bit of muscle. Again, a diet cannot do that.

And finally, I am not restricted to certain foods or limited in their amounts. I don't have to watch a clock to know when I can eat and when I can't. I have NO appetite so this is a breeze!

Be sure to watch my next video as I talk about the association between Dr Oz of TV fame and one of the top Water Fasting Doctors in the world. It should be up later today.

My Stats for September 20, 2011.  Day 23 of my Water Fast.

My weight is 236.4  My fast start weight was 271.2  Total loss of 34.8 lbs
My blood pressure is 130/85. BP at start of fast was 182/103
My waist is 45” inches..(Actually that is my tummy measurement)
My BMI is 33.9. Down from 38.9
My BIA is 45.1. Down from 55.8

Best Regards
Gord

[Gord10]

Day 30 of my water fast. Sept. 27,2011

I apologize for taking so long to post an update. I have been very busy.
Still going strong and my blood pressure is now down to 120/73 so I am very happy with that. In addition, my psoriasis in now completely gone. One might say this is a cure but it is not. Psoriasis is a symptom of leaky gut syndrome. All I did was shut down the lower digestive track so my body could heal and repair. Now many will say that it will come back as soon as I start eating again but I will keep posting even after the fast. I may end the fast on October 2, 2011 which would be the 35 day mark. I have accomplished what I had to and now comes a number of weeks on juices and smoothies. (Vegetable and fruit.)  I will not be taking in any protein for the first few days after the fast to allow my body to switch back from ketosis. Protein consumption while in ketosis causes a lot of stress on the liver. More on this soon. Be sure to check out my latest video. Weight is now 232 lbs

Regards
Gord

[Gord10]

Day 33 of my water fast. Sept. 30,2011

My blood pressure today is 126/76 so I am very happy with that and my weight has finally dropped below 230 at 228.2. Weight loss has slowed dramatically which I expected but I was hopeful I could try and keep it close to a pound a day. That is not going to happen so I will take whatever I can get and after all, this is about my heart and I am ecstatic about the change on that front.

Still thinking about ending my fast on Sunday which would be 5 weeks but I keep swinging back and forth on that. I feel so good I just may go one more week but no more. That would be 42 days and near the duration where I personally would feel safe. In any event, I intend to keep posting at least until Nov. 1 and perhaps longer.

Many have challenged some of my comments and views over the past few weeks so I took the time a few days ago to put some of my research together so I could put it on my blog for anyone to view. There are about 15 studies and abstracts there now and I have another 20 or 30 that I will put up when I get time. In addition, I have a number of quite lengthy documents that I can’t put on the blog at this point. I have also received a few emails asking for me to send these studies to individuals and I just don’t have time for that. Putting what I have on my blog was challenging enough for me as I hate computers.

Regards
Gord

[Gord10]

The fast is over. I ended my fast Monday morn so I went 35 days. Probably one of the easiest things I have ever done. Total weight loss was 45 lbs but more importantly my blood pressure is completely normal and my heart is far far stronger than it was at the start. I haven’t had any new lesions/scale production in three weeks now so it looks like my psoriasis is disappearing as well.  I am walking 2 to 3 miles a day and jogging for five minutes at a time. This is the best thing I have ever done and now look forward to tomorrow, next year and the coming decades.

This is something I personally feel everyone should consider after doing their own research. I urge anyone interested not to believe anything you are told by anyone that hasn't done a fast. Look at the research, talk to anyone that has done it. (And I don't mean someone that has done a 1 day or 5 day fast. Search out the people who have done at least a 21 day fast.) Read Dr Fuhrman's book and learn why Dr Oz of TV fame consults with Dr Fuhrman.

I am now on a juice diet which incorporates a lot of kale. Thursday I will be moving to fruit and vegetable smoothies and then steamed vegetables over the weekend.

I will not be posting any longer as I just don't have time. I will however keep my own blog up to date with twice weekly posts just to debunk those who say I will quickly gain it all back.
Gordons-water-fast.com
(Before and after pics should be up over the weekend.)

Best Regards
Gord