FASTING FOR YOUR HEALTH

Fasting has been practiced in various cultures for thousands of years. Especially in the late winter and early spring. Fasting is, however, not suitable for everyone. It can be quite dangerous if your diet is not healthy before fasting, if you are suffering from liver or kidney problems, or need to take medication regularly. Fasting is certainly not a good idea as part of a weight loss program. When calorie intake is suddenly stopped, the metabolism is curbed dramatically with the result that the body actually slows the breakdown of food.

Female Pharmacy customer: Hello, do you speak English?

PTA: Yes, I do. How may I help you?
I was thinking about fasting for a week, but I am not too sure how to go about it.

I can understand that. There are so many blogs and websites saying this is good or that is better, which makes it difficult to decide what to do.
You are right there! That’s why I thought I’d come and ask the experts!

We don’t consider ourselves to be experts, but we do have products that will help you get started.
I was thinking of taking Glauber’s salt. A friend of mine did a fasting week in January as part of her New Year’s resolutions and she said that Glauber’s were very effective.

You see Glauber‘s salt actually purge the intestines. That is, they have an extremely strong laxative effect. This means that you should stay at home while taking them, and make sure there is a toilet nearby.
Oh, that doesn’t sound good. Is there an alternative?

You could use an enema. A lot of people find it uncomfortable, but it does effectively cleanse the lower intestines and is a good start for a week of fasting.
Okay. I’ll give it a try.

Please make sure to get plenty of fluids. Once you start your fasting program, and especially after taking anything that has a laxative effect, you should make sure to drink water, herbal teas and vegetable broth.
Good, I’ll do that.

Have you thought about what you are going to eat after finishing your week of fasting?
To be honest, not really! Is there anything that you recommend?

Well, the key is taking it slowly. It is a good idea to “restart” by eating several small meals over the course of the day. A good choice is fruits and vegetables. I would avoid citrus fruits as the acid might irritate your stomach.
What about warm foods?

Start with light vegetable soups, lentils are an excellent choice. If you don’t want to stay vegetarian, easy to digest food such as fish or chicken are good.
Thank you for being so helpful.

No problem. Here is your enema, the instructions are also in English.
Thanks very much. Goodbye.

You also find this article at PTA IN DER APOTHEKE 02/18 on page 26.

Catherine Croghan, Lecturer in English and native speaker