I've done something like this myself. A few observations from the article:
> our bodies are designed for scarcity
This is something that's been forgotten in many countries where life is now comfortable all the time. Skipping one meal is not the terrible thing that most people imagine it is.
> the Terrible, Insufferable Six-Day Water Fast
The first few days are difficult. After day 3 or so, hunger disappears.
> vicious headaches, dizziness, and a sad, hollow feeling
These are surprisingly similar to an addiction withdrawal process.
> On my final day without food, I wake up at 5 A.M. I slept in! And all of a sudden, I feel tremendous. Light, energetic, unreasonably cheerful.
Exactly.
So, the first 3 days or so are tough. After that, hunger disappears. You get a sense of amazing energy, powerful but calm. Your body is relaxed all the time. There's an amazing mental clarity. You do everything consciously and purposefully. Negative thoughts are gone or greatly diminished.
I can definitely see why fasting was used in most if not all traditions where meditation and prayer were practiced.
BTW, the longer the fast, the trickier the coming out of it. Restarting suddenly on a high-calorie solid food diet may cause problems.
> This is something that's been forgotten in many countries ...
This requires either a Biblical citation (substitute your religious text of choice) or (preferably) citations from peer-reviewed journals.
I've read Eat Stop Eat and do a 24-hour water/coffee/tea fast once a week, but I don't buy these sorts of justifications that appear rooted in a misunderstanding of Darwinian evolution.
* "Non-survival of the least fit" is a better summary than "survival of the fittest".
* Even if our bodies were incredibly well optimized for the conditions present during most of our recent evolution, that does NOT imply that those conditions are optimal for our bodies. [Affirming the consequent]
* Lots of things will make a person feel "healthy" or mild euphoria, particularly when a person has become accustomed to a low baseline for a couple of days. Subjective anecdotes aren't a substitute for quantitative measures of health.
On a side note, detoxification from unspecified toxins is often accepted as an axiom without journal citation or other justification apart from subjective mood following the fast/cleanse.
> our bodies are designed for scarcity
This is something that's been forgotten in many countries where life is now comfortable all the time. Skipping one meal is not the terrible thing that most people imagine it is.
> the Terrible, Insufferable Six-Day Water Fast
The first few days are difficult. After day 3 or so, hunger disappears.
> vicious headaches, dizziness, and a sad, hollow feeling
These are surprisingly similar to an addiction withdrawal process.
> On my final day without food, I wake up at 5 A.M. I slept in! And all of a sudden, I feel tremendous. Light, energetic, unreasonably cheerful.
Exactly.
So, the first 3 days or so are tough. After that, hunger disappears. You get a sense of amazing energy, powerful but calm. Your body is relaxed all the time. There's an amazing mental clarity. You do everything consciously and purposefully. Negative thoughts are gone or greatly diminished.
I can definitely see why fasting was used in most if not all traditions where meditation and prayer were practiced.
BTW, the longer the fast, the trickier the coming out of it. Restarting suddenly on a high-calorie solid food diet may cause problems.