In a similar fashion, our digestive system also requires occasional periods of inactivity. Most of us suffer from over nutrition instead of malnutrition. This overburdens the system. Fasting provides the much-needed relief. This rest period is utilised by the system for finishing pending work and carrying out long-postponed repair jobs, so to say. One wonderful capability of the human digestive system is that whenever it has less work to do than it is designed to handle, it utilises this respite for healing the wounds of the previous excesses.

Unfortunately, even those who acknowledge the benefits of fasting, apply it so mindlessly that it does more harm than good. That is why today even experts advise you against going on fast. Indeed, they are right. Unscientific fasting can create complications, just as electricity can give you a shock instead of doing all your household chores if you mishandle it. Hence the need to understand the various do’s and don’ts.

The first thing that must be realised is that one day of fasting in a week is no excuse or substitute for overeating on the other six days. A fast makes sense only when it is coupled with sensible, balanced eating on the other days. Before trying out the fasting way to good health, you have to first reduce your overall food intake to prescribed limits. Any dietician will be glad to tell you what is right for your system, depending on your age, body build, physical activity and health condition. Once you have regulated your dietary habits, you can graduate to utilising the fasting method not only for removing the accumulated toxins, cleaning up the system and carrying out the necessary wear and tear repair, but also to reduce your weight. Almost everybody except those who are grossly underweight or have low blood pressure can benefit from it. Fasting is also not advisable for those with heart trouble, peptic ulcer, TB, diabetes or cancer.

Health conscious people have no reason to neglect or dread this perfectly natural method of rejuvenation. Please remember that fasting does not mean voluntary starvation, but a carefully planned, deliberate, gradual diet deceleration. Come to think of it, every major religion has ordained the observation of fast. In Islam, it is during the Ramzan month. Hindus are supposed to be on fast on Amavasya, Dooj, Ekadashi, Purnima, etc. Buddhists and Jains also follow a similar practice. Perhaps the basic purpose of these instructions was to ensure that the practitioner had his digestive system in good order. Other spiritual benefits grew on this foundation. But over the centuries, far too many aberrations have crept in which defeat the very purpose of a fast.

People wake up early and consume exceptionally rich diet to last them for the day. They load themselves in a similar manner at the time of finishing the fast. Some people convert a fast day into a non-cereal day. But, generally, on a fasting day, you end up eating much more than what you do on a normal day. Ghee-laden alu ki tikki and chaulai ki kheer garnished with dry fruits can put more burden on your system than the standard dal-roti. Yet many think that this type of fasting is doing them a lot of good, without realising that such yo-yo eating ends up harming them instead of benefiting.

The digestive system is a highly sensitive and complex mechanism like a computer but again, like every machine, it can be slightly unwise. When you go on fast, you know that you are doing so deliberately, but your system does not. So, it responds in two irrational ways.

One, it supposes that there has been a sudden decline in calorie intake and, therefore, it responds suitably by slowing down all non-essential operations. That is why you feel run down, irritable and weak at the time of fasting. To goad you to gobble up the coveted calories, it may even bring about headache, nausea and nervousness.

Two, when the fast is over, it learns an unintended lesson: it perceives that there has been a drought once and a similar shortage can occur again. So it starts hoarding nutrients like a miser. Due to this defence mechanism, you put on more weight than what you had lost or wanted to lose through fasting. So, for God’s sake never employ fasting for weight reduction. The excess weight, after waving goodbye for a brief while, will come back with a vengeance. Use fasting only as a cleansing device.

Even if it is not possible for you to eat healthy food round the year, reserve at least one month for atoning for your sins. Steel yourself that from Day 1 to Day 30 of this particular month: you are not going to commit even a single atrocity on your system. Avoid items such as pooris, paranthas and butter chicken like potassium cyanide. By the way, don’t tell others that you are fasting. They will (a) try to dissuade you; (b) think that you are ill, or crazy. Uncertainty and ridicule will make you tense and you will be deprived of many benefits.

After you have shunned high-protein, high-fat food for about a week, you are ready to go on a fast. In place of dreading the "ordeal", look forward to it. A positive frame of mind is extremely important. For at least two days before the fast take exceptionally light, easily digestible food. What is light food? Well, all items served by any reputed hospital fall in this category. Hospital authorities know that rich food translates into poor health. Their kind of food is not meant only for convalescing people. If you eat similar food at home, you can avoid going to hospital with lifestyle-related illnesses such as skin problems, anaemia, arthritis, heart trouble and high blood pressure.

In other words, if you are fasting on a Wednesday, Monday and Tuesday should be devoted only to soup, khichdi or some vegetables. No fats or high-protein stuff on these days. Mind you, take care of quantity also along with quality. So, no excessive eating even if you are having only khichdi.

The "F"-day arrives! If you are used to smoking or taking some snacks or tea in the morning, you will feel miserable without them. But since you are doing so much kindness to your system, go the whole hog. Shun even these. Don’t worry, the withdrawal symptoms will pass. These are false hunger pangs. You are strong enough to challenge a person twice your size. Don’t feel helpless before a puny cup of tea.

Breakfast time will make you feel more miserable. Several clever ploys will be employed by the system to make you give up. These will include giddiness, weakness and irritability. Just as liquor and cigarettes are habit forming, so are some food items, especially sugar and fat. You have to conquer the cravings sooner or later. Why not do so before the doctor instructs you to put them on the taboo list or else...?

Drink plenty of water. If you are feeling utterly famished, you can mix some glucose or half a teaspoon of sugar and a pinch of salt — with a dash of lemon juice if possible — to every glass of water. It will pep you up a bit and also help in cleansing the system.

Don’t schedule any heavy work on the fasting day. Remember, fasting is like sending your car to the garage for periodic servicing. Only in this case, it is not your vehicle but your body that has been pulled out of active duty.

Those of you who manage to go past lunchtime deserve to be complimented, but please remember that the battle is not won as yet. The evening teatime will find you rebelling against the whole idea of fasting. Kindly remember that good health comes at a price. "Easy comes, easy goes!" does not apply to your diseases or your obesity. You have to account for your dietary sins through such penance. Keep on reminding yourself that the benefits that you get will far exceed the pain of denial. Take my word for it. If you just cannot take it any longer, indulge yourself with half a glass of buttermilk or coconut water.

Ah, the sun sets on the longest day of your life. This is the time when even the bravest succumb to the loud entreaties of a famished stomach and eat ravenously, undoing in a few minutes all the good work of several days. Don’t! End your fast only with half a glass of mausammi juice mixed with an equal quantity of water. Resist the temptation of taking any solid food. Wait for the dawn of the next day for enjoying that privilege.

And for heaven’s sake, don’t even dream of your favourite delicacies. All that you can have the next day is some soup, khichdi, sprouts, salad and porridge. Only on the day next should you come back to the regular fare. Gradual increase is the key.

If you do it right, you will feel so light and elated that you will not only forget the pain of the fasting but will also curse yourself why you did not give it a try earlier. You can expect more energy, better sleep, relaxed positive attitude, more mental and emotional clarity, creativity and inspiration. The list is virtually endless. Believe it or not, fasting is easier than it seems. In fact, if you are through with the first day, it is immensely possible to extend it over the second day. But you don’t have to go to such great lengths. Regular short fasting is beneficial for everyone. The so-called ill-effects occur only if you hog it before starting the fast or end it up like a glutton.

I hope reading this article has motivated you. I wish you could draw some benefits merely by reading about fasting. Unfortunately, just as somebody else cannot eat for you, somebody else also cannot fast for you. You have to do it yourself. So what are you waiting for? Fold this paper and unfold your fasting programme. You have nothing to lose except the morbid matter that has accumulated inside you and is giving you various ailments. If you are determined enough to combine it with sensible eating round the year and an equally disciplined exercise regime, you can also get rid of the extra tyres that you have been carrying around your waist.

Even those who cannot bring themselves to making a month-long or week-long preparation can derive some benefits by merely skipping a meal, particularly after having had an exceptionally heavy lunch or dinner. Just make sure that such abstinence does not become a pretext for "eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow you may diet!" A camel can drink up all the water necessary for a week at one go. Human beings are not provided such storage facility for either their water or their food. Happy fasting.