Friday, April 18, 2008

Practical Matters: My Fasting Feet

I've noticed a difference in the condition of my feet for some time now, and I'm wondering if anyone else has had a similar experience.

My feet have always been a sore spot with me. They have always been dry and calloused, and I suffered from fissures (deep, dry cracked heels). Not a pretty site, if you ask me! I've worked hard keeping them looking and feeling good, in hopes of turning them into one of my "good" features. It was a lot of hard and constant work to get and keep them in good shape, and I met with some success. Uh...Don't get me wrong. My feet aren't, like, ugly, washer-woman feet or anything. They're pretty decent, looking, except for the dryness and fissures, which I've had to work at to keep under control. (I've tried taking photos of them, so you can see what I mean. But for some reason the photos blacken my toenails. So, I don't have a photo to share yet.)


Well, then, about two years ago, I did my first ever 3-day fast. And I noticed afterward that the fissures had gone away. I concluded that it probably was due to the fact that I had pretty much stayed off my feet for three days and didn't wear shoes during that time.  After several weeks, though, the fissures gradually returned. I experienced this same thing last year, when I did another 3-day fast: three-day fast = disappearing fissures (for a time).


Then, this past November I did an extended fast (just shy of 30 days), and once again, the fissures disappeared. The difference is that this time they haven't returned. That's 5 months running with no fissures! My feet are smooth and soft and normal-looking! 


I could be wrong, but I think there's a pattern here. Somehow fasting is improving the condition of my feet. I read once that poor conditions of the feet are connected with the minerals we eat (or not). The explanation went: minerals are tied to our hormones, and our hormones are tied to the condition of our feet. Or something like that. I've searched for the article, but haven't been able to find it. This is all tied to fasting in that fasting, in addition to many other things, helps to restore the body's mineral balance.  So that's how I've concluded that fasting is improving the condition of my feet.


So, have any of you experienced anything like this? 

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ana, I was wondering if the almost 30 day fast you did was supervices or did you do it on you oun.?

Martin

Ana said...

Hiya Martin! My fast was supervised by the doctors at True North Health Clinic in Santa Rosa California...ana

Via811 said...

I think fasting helps with so many things. It doesn't suprise me to hear it helped with your feet.

Sarah said...

Sounds interesting, Ana! For me (I've never done an extended fast) - they went away simply by eating low fat raw over time. But I'm sure fasting would simply speed up the healing process!

Would love to hear about your fasting experience if you wanna share.