Fasting vs Starving

The Hygienic Fast

1.       Occurs only with complete abstinence from all food/nutrients in any form while taking distilled water according to thirst

2.       Usually accompanied by a distinct lack of hunger

3.       Represents a peaceful period of rest willingly entered into and usually marked by a genuine calm

4.       Always undertaken for beneficent emotional, spiritual, and/or health reasons

5.       Properly supervised by a trained practitioner who daily monitors the faster’s vital signs and subjective experiences

6.       Represents a process of the body utilizing its nutritional reserves and autolyzing morbid tissue while abstaining from eating

7.       Always followed by a period of supervised refeeding and a feeling of increased well-being and improved health 

  

Starvation

1.       May occur even while taking insufficient and nutrition-deficient amounts of food or may occur in the complete absence of food over an extended period of time

2.       Ordinarily accompanied by a compelling sense of hunger

3.       Represents a torturous period of turmoil that is forced on the body by oneself (or by someone else) & marked by extreme distress

4.       Often undertaken for social, spiritual, or political coercion

5.       Never properly supervised

6.       Represents a process of the body-exhausted of its nutritional reserves – slowly breaking down its vital tissues essential to life functions (The body conserves to the end.)

7.       Usually followed by learning to live with irreversible tissue damage; it is oftentimes followed by death


Reference The Health Seekers' YearBook by Victoria BidWell