Who Is Singapore Punggol East Member of Parliament Ms Lee Li Lian

The N is not the end

Susan Long | The Straits Times | Sun Mar 3 2013

SINGAPORE - New Workers' Party (WP) MP Lee Li Lian sees her life's meaning in toppling stereotypes.

She hopes to eradicate "stigma" in many forms. She yearns to illustrate that N-level students can make it, that joining the opposition is no longer a career-killer, and that a woman of reproductive age is not a workplace liability but, given support, can juggle it all.

Well, the 34-year-old certainly proved, in the recent Punggol East by-election, that gender, youth and less lustrous credentials are no impediments to clinching a single-seat ward.

The Jan 26,2013, polls saw her trouncing the People's Action Party's candidate, colorectal surgeon Koh Poh Koon (43.7 per cent), Reform Party's Mr Kenneth Jeyaretnam (1.2 per cent) and Singapore Democratic Alliance's Mr Desmond Lim (0.57 per cent), and sailing into Parliament with 54.5 per cent of valid votes.

She hopes people's takeaway from Punggol East 2013 is the "power of unity".

"Together, everyone can achieve more. I hope the takeaway for Singaporeans is the power of their votes, that they do have a say in the future and direction of their country," says the financial institution trainer in her first one-on-one interview unchaperoned by party bigwigs. Her answers are artless, served straight-up with folksy charm and toothy grins.

Does she see this as the beginning of more "non-elite" candidates stepping up?

After all, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has said that the ruling party needs to field more personable candidates who can connect with the ground to reclaim ground lost to the opposition.

More candidates from different backgrounds who represent a broader swathe of Singaporean concerns can only be "a good thing", she says. Then adds: "I think Singaporeans also realise that there's no perfect and ideal candidate who fits everything. What matters most, in my opinion, is to have someone with the heart to serve and the ability to relate to Singaporeans."

A month into her new role, the newly trim MP, who lost some 4kg on the campaign trail, is busy building up her grassroots team and getting to know residents. Most evenings, she is in Punggol East attending wakes, holding Meet-the-People Sessions, briefing volunteers.

Her Punggol East Town Council is currently being merged with the Aljunied-Hougang Town Council, which will have seven wards under its ambit.

After being sworn in as MP, she championed in her maiden speech in Parliament better work-life balance in the Population White Paper debate.

She is now perusing the Budget to prepare for next week's debate on it.

She now sleeps five hours a night, juggling "immediate and long-term priorities", acutely aware she has only half a term left to prove herself. She's set herself the target of knocking on every door in her 31,649-voter-strong constituency by the next general election, due in 2016.

"I just need to get everything done faster," concludes the MP who famously announced the venue and timing of her first Meet-the-People-Session on victory night.

She is still on annual leave from her company but may quit to become a full-time MP.

She says her plans to have a baby with her husband of three years, telecommunications consultant Jacky Koh, 36, are continuing apace.

They were derailed earlier by the 2011 GE, where she was fielded in Punggol East and held her own against PAP's Michael Palmer and SDA's Desmond Lim, garnering 41 per cent of the votes.

Mr Palmer became the Speaker of Parliament before he quit in December over an extramarital affair.

Meanwhile, Ms Lee was made legislative assistant to Aljunied GRC MP Pritam Singh, and helped him with Meet-the-People Sessions and volunteer recruitment.

She has had plenty of time to think about the kind of Singapore she wants her children - she hopes to have two - to grow up in. Having come from the Normal (Academic) stream, where students are told they "can't do well in life", she wants her progeny to walk tall and enjoy "equal opportunities" in education and work.

"I hope for a Singapore they are proud of, which takes care of its elderly and disadvantaged. Such that when they go overseas, they will tell people: 'In my country, elderly folks above 80 get free public transport'," she says, revisiting a theme she pushed passionately on the stump.

Elbow grease years

If there is one thing she yearns to implement, it is flexi-work arrangements that help more housewives return to work.

For years, she watched her father slog long hours doing piling work as the family's sole breadwinner.

Her mother quit as a garment factory worker shortly after she was born in 1978.

Every month, pay day was accompanied by budgeting in hushed tones in their spartan three-room Lorong Lew Lian flat.

From a young age, she assumed a "da jie" (big sister) caretaker role.

At age six, her mother found her trying to change the cloth nappies of a younger cousin.

She slept atop a double-decker bed shared with her two younger sisters, whose homework and whereabouts she supervised.

She even attended the youngest one's parent-teacher meetings as her mother spoke little English.

At home, they nattered in Mandarin, Cantonese and Hokkien.

She picked up English from her largely Nepalese classmates at the now-defunct Elling Primary, located next to a Gurkha camp in Bartley Road. By nine, she was taking the public bus to school herself.

At 12, she was one of a few unaccompanied pupils who collected their PSLE results on their own. She rated herself "slightly above average" and was devastated to be posted to the Normal (Academic) stream in secondary school.

Her first thought was for her parents - that it would "make them lose face".

Plus, studying one more year would be a further financial "burden" on them.

Sobbing into the public phone, she called home and blurted out her news. Her mother fell silent for a moment, then reassured her it was fine as she had done her best.

"It made me feel even worse. I cried even louder," she recalls.

She entered Holy Innocents High in the last class, determined not to "feel inferior in any way" and disciplined to do better.

There, she met uplifting teachers, one of whom enlisted her and other students to decorate the chapel for her wedding day.

Ms Lee, who had taken community centre art classes since she was four, was roped in to illustrate the guest book, which the teacher later framed and hung on her wall. "It meant a lot to us that she asked us to help in the most important event in her life," she remembers.

Determined to improve her O-level English, she handed in a composition every other day to her teacher for marking.

In return, she helped the teacher, who lived near her, carry her books home. She also organised a group of N-level students to take private tuition in Additional Mathematics and sit it at the O levels to "improve our prospects".

Eventually, she did well enough to study business administration at Ngee Ann Polytechnic.

To finance that, she dabbled in all kinds of part-time work from age 15 to help out with family expenses.



She had little time for extra- curricular activities, joining only the Art Club and Audio-Visual Club so she could help her father install electronic items at home.

For years, she was a shoe salesgirl on a "permanent part-time" contract, working four hours a day, then a hospital receptionist and assistant nurse.

She witnessed many things, including Singaporeans who anguished over paying medical bills.

She went on to complete a distance-learning degree in marketing with Australia's Curtin University of Technology, largely paying her own way, except for her fees which her parents helped out with.

At 23, she graduated, while holding her first full-time job selling commercial laundry equipment. She discovered her strength was in selling, building rapport with people, hosting corporate events and giving presentations.

Two years later, she met her "introverted" husband at a sales seminar.

They went out for seven years before tying the knot in 2010. He took her, then a first-time voter, to her first WP rally during GE 2006.

She says she was wowed by the hordes who came despite having to wipe mud off their footwear later.
They both volunteered to be polling agents at Aljunied GRC, and she joined WP as a member shortly after "to give back to society because there are others who didn't get the opportunities I was lucky enough to get".

"I also wanted to get rid of the stigma that by associating with opposition, you cannot get your flat, your children will be disadvantaged, your career will be over," says the Upper Serangoon condominium dweller.

Two months later, in August 2006, she became the WP Youth Wing organising secretary.

In 2008, she was elected to its central executive committee and appointed deputy treasurer. WP chairman Sylvia Lim observes:

"What strikes me most about her is her 'can-do' attitude, deep commitment to own any task she is assigned and her unbridled sense of living life to the fullest."

There was zero objection from her parents and sisters (one is an auditor, the other a bank compliance officer) - "they knew I would be responsible" - who help out with her grassroots events.

There were no repercussions on the job front either. She has worked in financial advisory, brokerage, recruitment and training with top companies here.

In 2008, she told her prospective employer, Great Eastern Life Assurance, that she was a WP committee member. They made her an offer the very next week.

She never missed a promotion. When she ran as a candidate in GE 2011, her "very supportive" bosses and colleagues helpfully covered her duties.

She now lives by this simple dictum, which governs all her interactions:
 "People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care."

"I'm not someone very ambitious," she adds, half-apologetically.

"I want to be remembered as a filial daughter to my parents, a supportive partner to my husband and a loving mother to my children. Last but not least, a friend people can count on." Lee Li Lian, Member of Parliament for Punggol East .



 

The more toxic your body is, the longer the pre-fast program should be.

THE PRE  FAST
PROGRAM

In the previous chapter "HOW MUCH OF A TOXIC DUMP ARE YOU?" we discussed how to determine your level of toxicity. The pre-fast  program is strictly to REDUCE the level of toxicity in the body to a point where  a full fast will not be harmful. The more toxic your body is, the longer the pre-fast program should be.

The pre-fast program is in itself a fast. Although not a full fast, the pre-fast program performs a milder version of what  the full fast does. There are many different types of pre-fast programs.  Different health professionals will favor different versions but there is one that is agreed upon by almost everyone. It's taken straight from the Bible. Some would call it a fruit fast. I like to call it "The Eden Diet." 

And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. Gen. 1:29

The rule is simply this: If it fits what God  allowed in the Garden of Eden when man was in perfection, then eat it. 

I am partial to a particular spiritual viewpoint and set of scriptures. No matter what your  spiritual beliefs are, the principles are what natural health experts recommend and they work. Fasting is universal in its spiritual or non-spiritual  application.

So if it is raw (not cooked, pasteurized, or processed in any way), not of an animal but of herbal (plant) origin, you can eat it. That's it, that's the Eden Diet. That also means NO SALT and NO SUGAR!!!

All questions about what you can eat on The Eden Diet are answerable with, "Sure it's OK to eat, as long as it's an herb (meaning  plant) and as long as it's not cooked or altered in any way."

What about vegetables. . . sure it's OK to eat, as long as it's an herb (meaning plant) and as long as it's not cooked or altered  in any way.
What about nuts. . . sure it's OK to eat, as long as it's an herb (meaning plant) and as long as it's not cooked or altered in any way.

 Go easy on the nuts though. Nuts are concentrated protein foods and are  rather difficult to digest. In addition, there is not much water in nuts. High  water content foods are a necessity since they are the foods that flush the  body. 

What about fruit juices. . . isn't that altered from the garden? Yes, but . . . sure it's OK to eat, as long as it's an herb  (meaning plant) and as long as it's not cooked or altered in any way. 

Eat the  fruit whole, (you need the fiber and oxalic acid which cause your bowel muscles to move smoothly) just the way it was intended from the garden.

What about bread. . . that isn't from the garden.

What about honey. . . what plant makes honey?
 
The Eden Diet is an excellent pre-fast program.  It's simple and it works. The enzymes from the fresh unaltered and uncooked  fruits and vegetables work wonders on the system. Yes, vegetables can be eaten uncooked and raw. 

It's interesting that cooked corn often goes through the digestive system with the kernels still intact. When corn is  eaten raw, it's all digested, there are no kernels left in the stool. Raw corn is sweet too, where do you think they get corn syrup to sweeten so much stuff from? 

Okra, broccoli, and other vegetables can all be eaten raw. They flush out the body in many ways and prepare the body for the full fast.

Citrus fruits are especially good for this.  Oranges, lemons, limes, grapefruits, and tangerines all work within the body to  neutralize the toxins and get them out of the body. 

The other rule of The Eden Diet: Eat one thing at a time and allow at least 20 to 30 minutes between different types of foods.

The one food at a time is nature's way. Again notice, only man combines more than one type of food at a meal. All animals in  nature eat ONE THING at a time. The single food allows for greater and faster detoxifying than eating combination of foods.

You may even notice some of the same effects of the FAST FLUSH with The Eden Diet. The Eden Diet will not only begin the detox  process, but if maintained long enough, will cause many miraculous self healings in itself. 

No doctor can cure you. Doctors do not have the power to heal. Only God can do that and he has placed the power within your own body and within the  foods that have been placed in the garden for you.
 

How long should you continue on
The Eden Diet
before you begin the full fast?

First, you can not overdue The Eden Diet! 

You could stay on The Eden Diet for the rest of your life and you would be healthier and live longer than if you ate the Standard American Diet. 

Compared to The SAD  Diet, The Eden Diet would guarantee you as full a life as possible. If you stay on The Eden Diet your health should be just about  perfect and disease free.

So how long do you stay on The Eden Diet? For at least as many days as you intend to fast or until the FAST FLUSH symptoms  disappear. When the FAST FLUSH symptoms of bodily cleansing disappear, you know that your body has reached a certain level of cleanliness. The shock of the full fast will be abated tremendously by this initial cleansing with The Eden Diet.

Pre-fast preparation is VERY IMPORTANT to minimize the discomfort of a fast. The cleaner your body, the fewer problems you will have. The more toxic your body, the greater the discomfort of the FAST FLUSHING process. Remember, it is NOT the lack of nourishment that will cause  problems during a fast, it is the release of toxins into the system.

Please note the warning on page four for diabetics  as well as those with ulcers. These are special conditions that make it  inadvisable to fast. Any person with serious illness should ALWAYS consult a  physician or, even better, a natural practitioner with fasting knowledge and experience before attempting a fast. 

Consulting A  Doctor
 

All books on the subject of fasting that I have read advise you to consult a doctor before beginning a fast, especially if you are sick.

Most fasters for non-religious reasons are persuaded towards natural living, natural foods, natural environments, and natural medicines.
Generally those that lean towards the natural, move away from orthodox or standard medicine.

They often do not trust the money driven, drug and surgery dependent medical establishment. Why then do they all say consult your doctor first before going on a fast? There is a simple answer to that.

I would be willing to say that most  medical doctors have:

1. Never been on a fast personally.

2. No real belief in fasting for the healing and purifying benefits of a fast.

3. Never truly studied fasting as opposed to starvation and malnutrition.

The usual medical view in the cases of illness is  to make the patient eat. If the patient is too weak or too incapacitated to eat, they will put a tube in their veins or directly into their stomach and force feed them.
Even if you are in the intensive care coronary unit recovering from a massive heart attack, not only will they bring you lots of food, but lots of greasy food. If you have visited people in the hospital then you know that this  is true. Modern medicine does not provide you with a healthy diet in what is supposed to be the epitome of healing places, the  hospital. Even the word "hospital" itself comes from the root word "hospice",  which means "a place to die".

Doctors are necessary in this society. Most are honest, dedicated, hard working people. Maybe modern medicine has not moved in the direction of natural cures because that's not what the patient wants.

If we are stricken by the most common of the killers of  Americans, the heart attack, we want drugs. We want a shot, or a pill that will make the problem, or at least the pain, go away, and go away without sacrifice or effort on our part.

We do not want to hear the doctor say:Stop smoking
Stop eating fried foods
Stop eating fatty foods
Stop eating salt
Stop drinking alcohol
Stop eating so much that you remain fat
Start exercising regularly
Start eating low calorie healthy foods
Get lean get fit get sweaty,
Throw away the TV remote control
Walk in the fresh air
Push away from the table and live

The public does not want to hear these words at all. The public  wants to eat, drink, and be merry, then die. 

A reporter attended a convention of cardiologists (heart  specialists). The reporter decided to follow some cardiologists to see how they ate. She was shocked at how many of the cardiologists ate the greasy hamburgers and fries at the local "fast food" hamburger outlet at the convention center.

It was against everything that these specialist taught about how  to eat! When the reporter interviewed several cardiologists about their dietary habits they said in essence, "It's easy to tell someone else how to eat, it's a lot harder to do it yourself."

Doctors are not required to take nutrition courses. They are not  required to know a thing about fasting. They may or may not know about fasting, and the answer is more likely "they don't know". Why then do all of the natural healing oriented promoters of fasting always tell you to check with your doctor  before you fast?

FOR THE EXACT SAME REASON I WILL TELL YOU TO CHECK WITH YOUR DOCTOR BEFORE YOUR FAST!

Because if something bad happens to you on the  fast, you cannot say I didn't tell you to check with your doctor.

It's a precaution that does have its merits. Unsupervised  fasting can be dangerous. Modern medicine can be more dangerous. Just as fasting  experts tell you to consult your doctor to determine risks, ask your doctor to let you see the "contraindications" on the medicines they give you.

The contraindications are a VERY LONG list of things that  can go wrong when you take a medicine. Every medicine that a doctor will give you has them. The contraindicators can be anything from a rash or headache, to death. 

The list is usually quite long with all medicines. We call  contraindications simply "SIDE EFFECTS." This is the stuff that can happen that we do not want to happen. The list of side effects are "POSSIBLE" side effects.  Some side effects are rare, some are common. Some are very mild and just a mere  nuisance, some can put you in the ground. Medicines can be VERY dangerous. There  is risk in all cures. Especially the farther one moves away from what is naturally in the earth. 

To illustrate what I mean, drugs and their side effects are  listed below from THE PILL BOOK and The U.S. Pharmacopoeia. According to  surveys of chain drug stores, mail order, and drug wholesalers, these are the 10 most prescribed drugs in America.

Each of the medicines are listed with their most common  classification or use followed by the side effects. This does not include the  other warnings that describe under which conditions not to take the medicine and what other drugs not to mix them with.

Remember these are the top selling drugs at the moment, this  means these are most likely among the SAFEST of the drugs.

Along with its needed effects, a medicine may cause some  unwanted effects. Although not all of these side effects may occur, if any do occur you may need medical attention.

Remember, these are the side effects that the drug companies tell you about!

1. Amoxil (penicillin-type drug) - stomach upset, nausea,  vomiting, diarrhea, rash, hairy tongue, itching or irritation around the anus and/or vagina.

2. Lanoxin (for heart disease) - loss of appetite,  nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, blurred or disturbed vision, and enlargement of the  breasts.

3. Xanax (tranquilizer) - aggravates narrow angle  glaucoma, mild drowsiness, confusion, depression, lethargy, disorientation, headache, inactivity, slurred speech, stupor, dizziness, tremor, constipation, dry mouth, nausea, inability to control urination, sexual difficulties, irregular menstrual cycle, changes in heart rhythm, lowered blood pressure, fluid retention, blurred or double vision, itching, rash, hiccups, nervousness, inability to fall asleep, and liver dysfunction.

4. Zantac (anti-ulcer drug) - headache, dizziness,  constipation, abdominal discomfort, rash, feeling of ill health, reduction in white blood cells or blood platelets, and could cause hepatitis.

5. Premarin (estrogen) - increased risk of certain types  of cancer, may increase tendency for blood clots, liver cancer and other liver  tumors, high blood pressure, glucose intolerance or development of a symptom similar to diabetes, or the aggravation of diabetes. Breakthrough bleeding, spotting, changes in menstrual flow, dysmenorrhea, premenstrual-type syndrome, amenorrhea, swelling of the ankles and legs, vaginal infection with candida, cystitis-like syndrome, enlargement or tenderness of the breasts, nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, feeling of bloatedness, jaundice or yellowing of the  skin or whites of the eyes, rash, loss of scalp hair, development of new hairy areas, lesions of the eye, intolerance to contact lenses, headache (possibly migraine), dizziness, depression, weight changes, retention of water, changes in sex drive, stroke, blood clot formation, dribbling or sudden passage of urine,  loss of coordination, chest pains, leg pains, difficulty breathing, slurred speech, vision changes, skin rash, skin irritation and redness.

6. Dyazide (diuretic-prescribed for high blood pressure  or any condition where it is desirable to eliminate water from the body) - Loss  of appetite, drowsiness, lethargy, headache, gastrointestinal upset, cramping  and diarrhea, rash, mental confusion, fever, feeling of ill health, inability to achieve or maintain erection in males, bright red tongue, burning inflamed  feeling in the tongue, headache, tingling in the toes and fingers, restlessness, anemias or other effects on components of the blood, unusual sensitivity to sunlight, dizziness when rising quickly from a sitting position, muscle spasms, gout, weakness, and blurred vision.

7. Tagamet (anti-ulcer) - mild diarrhea, muscle pains and  cramps, dizziness, skin rash, nausea and vomiting, headache, confusion and  drowsiness, impotence (men), and painful swollen breasts. Effects of white blood cells or blood platelets include unusual bleeding or bruising, unusual tiredness  or weakness.

8. Tenormin (high blood pressure and angina) - dizziness,  tingling of the scalp, nausea, vomiting, upset stomach, taste distortion,  fatigue, sweating, male impotence, urinary difficulty, bronchial spasms, muscle weakness, cramps, dry eyes, blurred vision, skin rash, hair loss, facial  swelling, mental depression, disorientation, short-term memory loss, emotional  instability, aggravation of lupus erythematosus, stuffy nose, chest pains,  colitis, drug allergy, (fever, sore throat), and unusual bleeding or bruising.

9. Naprosyn (relief of pain and inflammation) - stomach  upset, dizziness, headache, drowsiness, ringing in the ears, heartburn, nausea, vomiting, bloating, gas in the stomach, stomach pain, diarrhea, constipation, dark stool, nervousness, insomnia, depression, confusion, tremor, loss of  appetite, fatigue, itching, rash, double vision, abnormal heart rhythm, anemia  or other changes in the composition of the blood, changes in liver function, loss of hair, tingling in the hands and feet, fever, breast enlargement, lowered blood sugar, and effects on the kidneys.

10. Cardizem (angina, high blood pressure, prevention of  reoccurrence of some kinds of heart attack) - abnormal heart rhythms, fluid  accumulation in the hands, legs, or feet, headache, fatigue, nausea, rash, low  blood pressure, dizziness, fainting, changes in heart rate, heart failure,  light-headedness, nervousness, tingling in the hands or feet, hallucinations,  temporary memory loss, difficulty sleeping, weakness, diarrhea, vomiting, constipation, upset stomach, itching, unusual sensitivity to sunlight, painful or stiff joints, liver inflammation, and increased urination.

These are the top 10 prescription drugs from
THE PILL  BOOK.(drug names are trademarks of their respective  manufacturers) 

Anyone that takes prescription medication  should have a copy of this book. It gives detail descriptions of the 1,600 most  commonly prescribed drugs in the United States. If you are going to take these drugs, you should know the possible side effects.

All of these top 10 warn "do not take this drug if you have had  an allergic reaction to it." Of course, the only way to know if you are allergic to the drug is if you have already had a bad reaction to it or something similar to it. Too often, that one bad reaction is enough and too much. That one bad allergic reaction can KILL you. There is another warning on the top 10 that's also scary.

ALL OF THE TOP TEN DRUGS
PASS THROUGH IN BREAST MILK!

Many of them pass through in the blood stream but  ALL of them pass through in breast milk. The same reactions that an adult can have, so can an infant if the mother breast fed the child or was pregnant with the child while taking the prescription.

The same can also be said of general toxins or  M.E.S.S. in a woman's body, it passes through to the child. That's just another reason why a woman would want her bloodstream and body detoxified and FAST  FLUSHED, to provide a clean environment for her child.

I have listed these top 10 to show you that even though fasting can have side effects, SO CAN ANYTHING YOU GET FROM A DOCTOR!

There is still no true count of the deaths caused by prescription drug reactions. Considering the alternatives, if done in time,  fasting is a safer method of cleansing the body and getting on the road to being disease free than any medicine from a prescription pad.
 
Go see a doctor, but ask your doctor at least two questions. 

1. Have you ever fasted?

2. Do you really know anything about fasting? 

If they answer no to both questions then go see another doctor.  You will probably have to visit a doctor that specializes in natural medicine  and natural healing methods. Look in the yellow pages, but find a specialist that knows what they are doing concerning fasting
.
I honestly would recommend that anyone, (especially with a very toxic body), see a doctor (a doctor that really KNOWS about fasting, not just  ANY doctor) before beginning a LONG fast. Short fasts (under five days)  should not be a health danger for the vast majority, ESPECIALLY IF THEY FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS IN THIS BOOK!

It's amazing that of the many destructive things that we do to  our bodies, we never consulted a doctor before starting them. Equally amazing,  they are against all Biblical and other religious teaching.
 

Did you ask a doctor before you .  . .

 smoked - cigarettes, crack, or marijuana?
 had unprotected sex with someone you weren't absolutely sure didn't have a disease?
 ate that greasy heart clogging digestive system cluttering meal?
 drove that car with no seat belt?
 had those six-packs and got drunk?
 let that potbelly budge out in front?

No, you didn't, did you?

God did not ordain or condone ANY of those  behaviors but you did not ask a doctor before you did them. Yet everyone tells  you to ask a doctor before you fast. What God ordained, they want you to ask a doctor about.

God ordained fasting. Jesus said "when ye fast" NOT "IF," BUT "WHEN YE FAST"Matthew  6:16. The instruction and correctness of fasting did not  come from natural healing doctors or ancient medicine. They recognized the benefits and the correctness of fasting, but they didn't originate it. 

Fasting came out of the spiritual tradition of ALL the major religions. Whether you are one of the sixty something different  denominations of Christianity, or Islamic, Hindu or Buddhist, fasting is  strongly suggested in all major religions and commanded in some.

It was not man's invention. It came from a higher surgeon general. Then why do we need to ask a doctor if we should do something God ordained for us to do? 

If I had to have side effects, I would rather get them from something God instructed me to do than from the needle or pill of man's medicine.

Fasting's side effects are the results of purification. The side effects of drugs are the result of increasing the toxicity already in the body.

Read the list (the list the doctors are given by the drug companies) of the side effects of the top drugs again. The list may change every decade, but the side effects remain essentially the same. That same list of side effects will be just as accurate 100 years from now, only the top ten drugs will change.

Ask a doctor, but ask a doctor that knows about  fasting, better still, ask a doctor that has personal experience with fasting.  For even though I had read much about fasting, I did not believe much of what I read until I experienced it.

You will find that the greatest doctor of all has already been given to you.

Be prepared for QUICK FASTING to change your life for the better, just open your mind to the information presented here.

INTRODUCTION

Fasting is powerful. Fasting can cure your body.  Fasting can open spiritual doors. Fasting can help you attain mastery over self.  Fasting can also hurt you if you don't know what you're doing.

Few people know how to fast. It's not as simple as it seems. Any endeavor requires knowledge to get the maximum benefit.

Would you buy a tennis racket or golf clubs or anything without eventually getting some instructions on how to use them? Would you buy a weight set, and without any prior experience, just start throwing weights up in the air? There are many wrong ways to attempt to do a right thing. With something as powerful as fasting, you should know more about it and how to do it properly because it  involves much more than just not eating. 

Why should I fast?
 How long should I fast? 
 Is fasting a good way to lose weight?
 Should I work while I fast?  
Can fasting hurt me?  
Am I too skinny to fast? 
 Am I too fat to fast?  
How do I prepare for a fast?  
What is a quick way to tell if my body is in condition for a fast? Do I exercise while I fast?  
Can I have sex while I fast? 
These are just a few of the questions this book will answer.

We spend much time figuring out what to eat but when we decide to stop eating, we don't have the proper knowledge to get the  most out of our fast. Often, instead of the fast benefiting our bodies, it does us harm because of our lack of knowledge. Proper knowledge can turn a potentially harmful experience into a blessing that is beyond price.

Observing religious beliefs, seeking God, and maintaining and/or improving one's health are the major reasons for fasting.  Fasting is recognized by every major religion. The benefits of fasting are universally recognized for spiritual development but how many times have you heard anyone tell you how to properly conduct your fast?

Not once was anyone told anything about how to fast other than to simply STOP EATING!

There is more to a fast than that  ... MUCH MORE!

What is Fasting?

Fasting is the abstaining from ALL FOOD. Fasting means taking in nothing but WATER. NO JUICE, NO FRUIT, NO TEAS, NOTHING BUT WATER. 

Often people will make the comment, "I'm fasting,  I just have my coffee in the morning and a sandwich in the afternoon." That is not fasting. Fasting in its strictest sense is the total abstinence from anything considered food, and that's anything but water. There are modified fasts such as a juice fast, i.e., consuming nothing but fruit and/or vegetable juices or a fruit fast, consuming nothing but raw fruits.

There are other such fasts that abstain from everything EXCEPT the item that precedes the word "fast". For example, a grapefruit fast, is abstaining from everything except grapefruits. Many health enthusiasts, for particular reasons, may place individuals on particular types of fasts restricting them to one or a group of foods (usually fruits or teas), for healing purposes.

This book deals with the true fast, NOTHING BUT WATER. When I use the word fast, just as in the scriptures, I mean nothing but water. 

Many ask, "If I'm on a fast can I have a little piece of fruit, or a little piece of bread?" Or a little piece of "you fill in the  blank." If it isn't water, the answer is no! A true fast is NOTHING BUT WATER and more specifically, pure water.

We may talk about sex being the strongest fleshly drive, but it is not. We may think ego is the strongest of the fleshly impulses, but it is not. From the day we are born, the desire for food reigns dominant.

WHY FAST? (The Spiritual)

In a spiritual setting the emphasis is often on the denial of the self and the carnal desires to allow us to become more sensitive to God. Food is man's greatest carnal impulse. Many believe that sex is the strongest fleshly drive, but it is not. We may think ego is the strongest  of the fleshly impulses, but it is not. From the day we are born, the desire for food reigns dominant.

As newborn infants we first seek the love, comfort and warmth of our mothers, then we cry for food. The sex drive does not develop until the onset of puberty, our teenage years. Sex is the last drive to arrive and the first one to leave. The food drive is present from the beginning to the end, it never leaves, it never disappears. The latest U.S. government study shows that over 60% of all Americans are overweight.

We eat too much. Gluttony, the lack of discipline of the appetite, causes us to look old prematurely, to feel old before we get old and to suffer many different diseases. 

All the major killer diseases of today, heart disease, stroke,  cancer, diabetes, kidney failure, prematurely kill the majority of Americans and their sources are traceable to our lifestyles and diets. Science has found that it's just as important that we don't overeat, as it is that we eat properly.

Let me repeat that - studies have found that it's as important that we not eat to excess, as it is that we eat properly.
Fasting allows us to gain control of the appetite. When you can  develop the discipline to fast, you automatically develop the discipline not to overeat. When you can control your strongest carnal appetite (the desire for  food), you can then gain control of the other carnal appetites.

There are many different spiritual reasons why people or groups fast. Sometimes it is to show unity for a cause such as a fast against war, or  injustice, or a host of other social ills. Fasting in a group allows you to achieve something that you would never achieve on your own. You can draw on the  strength, the determination, the support, and the prayers of the group. Some  fast at preset intervals, once per week, once per month, one month per year,  etc. Some fast when the social or spiritual need arises. Some fast because the minister said so.
 

There are many different reasons to fast.
 

It is important to remember when you fast for spiritual reasons:
 

FASTING DOES NOT CHANGE GOD! FASTING CHANGES YOU

Americans are sick.

Everything from
Arthritis to Zits.

You name it, we’ve got  it.

The church is no exception.

Ever been to a church when a well-known healer comes to visit?

Have you ever noticed how long the healing line is?

WHY FAST?The Physical

Anything that God ordains has benefits for us here on earth. Yes, fasting has great spiritual benefits but there are very real and  tangible rewards in the flesh, or shall I say for our flesh. Fasting, when properly done, can provide great benefits for our physical bodies. 

Americans are sick. Everything from Arthritis to Zits, you name it, we've got it. The church is no exception. Ever been to a church when a well-known healer comes to visit? Have you ever noticed how long the healing line is? Come back to that church a year later and look at the line.  It will be just as long, with many of the same people in it.

God did not intend for us to be sick. He did not originally intend for us to be healed because we should not have been sick in  the first place. You only need healing if you are sick. Man was cast out of the Garden of Eden, cast out of perfect harmony, cast out of a perfect life, and cast out of perfect health when he (or they) ate the wrong thing. We've been eating the wrong things ever since then. 

When we eat the wrong things, we eventually get sick, or at least do not have the health and vitality that we should possess.  Proper fasting allows God through nature to heal the body. Look at nature for a minute.

If you have a cat or a dog, think about their behavior. If you do not have a cat or dog, then ask someone who does and they will verify what I'm going to tell you. What happens when a cat or a dog gets sick? What do they eat?
 

Think about this VERY CAREFULLY! 

What do they eat when they are sick? Is it PUPPY CHOW^®? NINE LIVES^®? GRAVY TRAIN^®? PUSS 'N BOOTS^®? Well, what do they eat? Anyone that has a cat or dog can tell you instantly what they eat when they are sick. 

ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! 

NO ANIMAL IN NATURE EATS FOOD WHEN IT IS SICK,
EXCEPT YOU-KNOW-WHO!

Animals instinctively, automatically know what is best for them and they FAST! Man is the only creation on the earth that will force himself to eat when he is sick, all of God's other creations know better. They fast. 

Man possesses a higher intelligence and is in an entirely different category than the other animals but our bodies work remarkably similar. That is why scientific researchers can test pre-market products on animals. They know the animals' bodies react just as ours do.  What hurts their bodies hurts ours and what heals their bodies also heals ours.

I am not advocating animal testing but the connection is undeniable. Their bodies respond similarly to ours.

The same principles of basic health apply. The  same foods affect different species of animals with similar metabolic processes and digestive systems in the same way. What causes animals (with similar metabolic processes and digestive systems to ours) to get sick also causes us to get sick. What causes them to get well, causes us to get well. If their bodies work like ours, their bodies will react like ours. You don't need a medical research degree to figure that out.

Fasting is a natural instinct among the animal kingdom when something is wrong with their bodies. They know to stop eating. We may not feel hungry when we are sick but we have been conditioned to eat for strength and to get well.

The digestion of food, especially the typical American diet, takes a tremendous amount of energy. That is why after a big meal you feel sleepy. It can take several days for the typical meal to pass through your body. It takes all of your energy trying to digest that big meal. The body works overtime. 

When the body stops digesting food, digestion energy is transferred to do other things. It is those "OTHER THINGS" that the body does with this energy that makes a fast so beneficial. 

The minute the digestion energy is released from digestion, the body starts to use it. What does your body do with it? It starts to do primarily ONE THING. It is this one thing that makes fasting so powerful  and yet so dangerous. This one thing allows for miraculous cures and instant recoveries of all types of diseases. Once it is understood, there is nothing magical about it. It is simple, but most things of great power are at the root,  simple.

This one thing can make such a transformation in your life and health that you will become a permanent believer in the power of fasting for your health. 

This one thing, if not understood, can also make you never want to try fasting again. It is nothing new but most people have never heard of it. Most ministers have never spoken on it. Most doctors are even unaware of its mechanism or that it exists. Any fasting book for health will  talk about it, but most of us have never read a book on the PHYSICAL HEALTH aspects of fasting. 

This is the ONE PRINCIPLE that you must thoroughly understand and know! If you do not understand this, ignorance can discourage, discomfort, or KILL YOU!

The Most Important Thing

To Know About Fasting
This one thing is the foundational knowledge for fasting for health.

Listen to it! Digest It! Remember  It!

THIS IS IT!

When you stop eating, the body starts to purify itself

and eliminate toxins!
 

Upon this law rest all the laws of the healing of the body through fasting.

This law sounds simple, it is. It has profound meaning and effect. It is because of this that the major medical benefit of fasting takes place (besides the spiritual aspects). When the body stops taking in food, it starts to eliminate the filth and the toxins.
 

YOU MUST UNDERSTAND THIS!
 

It is because of this effect, that I shall call "FAST  FLUSH", that we experience many of the so called "bad" effects of a fast.  When FAST FLUSH starts to occur, we can feel terrible. Can you imagine how much undesirable residue builds up in your body over the years? Years of smoking or breathing in smoke and pollution-filled air carries pollutants to the lungs, then to the bloodstream, then to the tissues.

We have years of eating dead and diseased foods. Our foods are filled with chemical preservatives and additives, chemical perfumes, dyes and such, and all of this is housed in the tissues of our bodies. It is understandable that cancer is on a rampage when it was virtually unheard of 100 years ago. 

It is understandable that our skin is drier than ever, needing moisture but unable to get it. Look at the lotion section in your drug or  grocery store and see how many of the lotions are now for Extra Dry Skin. As our tissues become laden with chemical overload, we are drying from the inside out.

No one needs to point out the condition of our environment, the quality of our food supply, and the health crisis in the nation. What we need is help in cleansing ourselves of the filth. The FAST FLUSH is one such way. God's infinite intelligence designed a self-cleansing mechanism within us, all we have to do is turn on the self cleaning button. You can not cook in a self-cleaning oven while it is cleaning itself.

This is also true with the human body. You can not continue to stuff food into it while it is trying to purify itself.
 
Let me explain how the FAST FLUSH system works.
 
In a nutshell, "I don't know." No one else knows either, they  just know that it works. When the body "fasts," it "flushes."
 
We all go through a mini FAST FLUSH each night. When we sleep, the body goes into FAST FLUSH mode and tries to detoxify itself and get rid of the poisons. When we wake up in the morning we notice it as "Morning Breath." It is the FAST FLUSH process beginning. 

The more polluted your body, 

the more the FAST FLUSH will bring out.

This principle can not be overemphasized because it is so important and it is the basis of healthful fasting. 

The FAST FLUSH effect is also the  dangerous part.

When a person fasts, it is not the lack of nutrition or STARVATION that is the danger. The danger is the elimination of  toxins that can dump DECADES of accumulated poisons in the bloodstream and colon and could literally cause you to die of TOXIC SHOCK.

You will not die of starvation, not in America at least. Let me make clear the difference between fasting and starving, THEY ARE NOT THE SAME!

Fasting is the voluntary abstinence from food for a time while the body feeds upon its fat, waste, and stored energy in the form of glycogen. When that fat, waste, and stored energy are used up, then the body will begin to feed upon healthy lean tissue and that's when the body enters into the state called starvation.

Television shows pictures of children from impoverished countries with swollen bellies and bald heads. They are undergoing starvation, which is severe malnutrition. 

I spent a week at the beach in Florida while fasting. Guess what I saw strolling up and down the beach day and night. I saw men, executives, well to do men, strolling in bathing suits with swollen bellies and bald heads. A different country, different circumstances, different extremes, but the same effect, SEVERE MALNUTRITION! Eating food with NO NUTRITION has similar results as having nothing to eat all.

A person who is fasting is NOT STARVING. If  they continued until they used up all of their fat, wastes, and energy reserves they would enter into a state of starvation, but that rarely happens and that is not where the danger lies. The body will give signs when it is about to go into starvation. Most people have so much fat on them that they would have to fast over 40 days before their bodies even thought about going into starvation. The real danger for the average faster is in the poisons that are released, not starvation.
 

FAST FLUSH is real.

FAST FLUSH happens
and it will happen to you when you fast.

 

When we stop eating, all of the energy that is normally directed into digestion is freed. The body then begins the process of trying to eliminate poisonous waste.

We think of the organs of elimination as only being the bowels (colon) and the urinary system. If we do not urinate it out or have a bowel movement (BM) we think that it does not come out. That's not true.  There are other organs of elimination. "What others?", I hear you asking. "All I  do is urinate and BM."

The largest organ in the body is also an organ of elimination. The skin is the largest organ in the body (yes, the skin is considered an organ) and it is an organ of elimination. The most usual form is  perspiration (sweat). When the other organs of elimination can't handle the load or if they are somehow clogged and inefficient, then Multiple Emissions of Systemic Sanitation or M.E.S.S. for short, must come out through the skin.

M.E.S.S. causes pimples, zits, acne, blotches, blemishes, pustules, dryness, and a host of other skin problems. The M.E.S.S. comes out through the skin. When M.E.S.S. comes out on the skin, it not only causes the skin to look bad, yes, you guessed it, it causes the skin or the person in the skin to SMELL BAD, too. Now the bad smell is actually caused by the bacteria that grows on the M.E.S.S. once it comes out on the skin, but it all boils down to the same thing.

One thing that you will likely notice during a fast is a marked  increase in body odor of the offensive smelling kind. The body is trying to purify itself. DO NOT BE ALARMED. That is why it is vitally important to understand the main principle of fasting.
 
When you stop eating, the body starts to purify itself and eliminate toxins or M.E.S.S.! 

The M.E.S.S. does not smell good coming out. You may find that your body odor increases drastically during the first phase of a fast. Mine started after only two days of the prefast preparation. Because I understood the FAST FLUSH phenomenon it did not concern me. In fact, I felt good about it because I knew this was only my body purifying itself and the odor was only M.E.S.S. poisons being eliminated from my body. I did not try to cover up the odor with deodorant. An antiperspirant would only slow down the process by blocking in the very M.E.S.S. I was trying to get rid of. Just keep your distance from people or at least have them informed of what is happening within your body. 

Often the M.E.S.S. toxins coming out through your skin can cause a temporary rash as the body purges them from your system. The M.E.S.S. toxins do not look good coming out either. 

The story of the M.E.S.S. toxins coming out gets worse, or better, depending on how you look at it.

Not only can the M.E.S.S. toxins come out through your skin but they also come out through another organ of elimination, the lungs. When a person drinks alcohol or eats garlic, both have one thing in common. Both alcohol and garlic enter the bloodstream. 

When they enter the bloodstream, each releases its chemical directly from the bloodstream into the lungs. Then it goes from the lungs straight to your breath. That's why mouthwash and breath mints do not help much with alcohol or garlic. 

The chemicals from the alcohol and the garlic are in the bloodstream and it is not a matter of deodorizing, it is a matter of getting them out of the bloodstream.

When the body stops eating, the M.E.S.S. toxins are literally squeezed from the tissues and into the bloodstream.

The bloodstream then struggles to get rid of them any way it can and the first available avenue is often the lungs. 

When M.E.S.S. toxins come out through the lungs, simply put.  . . your breath will stink. With any fast over three days, I can just about guarantee this will occur. There are ways to minimize the unpleasant body odor social effects of fasting. I will discuss that in the chapter on what to do during the fast.

When FAST FLUSH happens, stuff we never even knew was in our  bodies starts to be flushed out. We start to FLUSH out drugs (legal and illegal), nicotine, caffeine, pesticides, preservatives, etc. These chemicals can lie stored in our tissues for longer than we would dare imagine. Many of these toxins have been in our bodies since childhood. None of this M.E.S.S. looks or smells good coming out. It's a blessing that we are getting it out of our bodies before it makes us sick or sicker.

As unpleasant as the body odor and bad breath may sound, that is not the difficult part. "What is worse than that?" I hear you screaming.

How the M.E.S.S. makes you feel
is worse than that.

As the M.E.S.S. toxins impact your bloodstream and flood from your tissues, they can make you feel terrible. You will feel drained, you may be weak, tired, listless, rundown, beat down, and only fit to lie down. 

YOU MUST UNDERSTAND WHY!
It is  still because of FAST FLUSH.

Your body is going through a massive cleansing.  You now have more FREED M.E.S.S. toxins floating in your bloodstream than ever before. Your body is now diverting all available energy to cleansing your system. Yes, you may feel tired. The more toxic your system, the more exhausted you will feel. It is NOT LACK OF FOOD that has you weak and exhausted, it is the toxins.

The minute you eat the cleaning process will stop.  The M.E.S.S. toxins will stop pouring out. Your breath and body odor will clear up, and things will go back to the toxic condition that you were in before. When this happens people mistakenly believe that "THE FOOD" gave them energy and the fast was draining their energy due to no nourishment. Long term fasters will tell you that the energy usually increases after the 15th day to beyond what it was before the fast began. ENERGY INCREASES AFTER THEY HAVE GOTTEN THE BULK OF THE M.E.S.S. OUT. 

The temptation to eat due to the effects of  M.E.S.S. coming out is great. Eating will eliminate the negative feeling, but enduring to the end of the fast will have a greater positive impact on your health.

Each person's reaction to M.E.S.S. coming out may be different. I tasted metallic chemicals in my mouth for five days during my last fast. I knew what it was. I was tasting chemicals which had been stored in my body for ages. Even though I have never taken any quantity of medicines or drugs in my life, I had untold poisonous pesticide and pollution residues in my tissues. This was because of the environment and contaminated food I had consumed all my life.

If you have a history of heavy pharmaceutical use, the cleansing could be drastic. If your body is extremely toxic, the outpouring M.E.S.S. can cause serious harm. The next chapter deals with simple ways to tell how toxic you are before you begin to fast.

HOW MUCH OF A TOXIC DUMP ARE  YOU?

Before attempting to fast, it is a good idea to try to get some idea of exactly how much M.E.S.S. you are carrying around in your system. There are two basic ways to roughly estimate this. Neither is complicated or will involve sophisticated medical equipment. Both are fairly accurate.

When toxins enter the body, the body knows this stuff is not good for it. The body tries to do one of three things with them:

1. Burn them up in metabolic processes (that is, use it for  food).

2. Eliminate them through an organ of elimination.

3. Bind them up and store them out of the way for years.

Since the body knows these toxins are not good for it, it recognizes them for what they are: M.E.S.S.

If our bodies can use them for food at least that gets rid of  it. If our bodies can eliminate them, that gets rid of it, too. If our bodies can't do either of the two, they are left with only the third option: Put the M.E.S.S. in a form that can be stored the safest and put them away.

There are two easy methods to determine how much M.E.S.S. is in you.

For the first method you will need:

1. Full length mirror

2. Privacy

3. Honesty

Get alone in front of the full length mirror. Lock the door. Take off all of your clothes. Be honest about what you see.

Look particularly at your midsection. Is it bloated? Is there a potbelly there? 

Are there rolls of fat protecting (or suffocating) your stomach? If there are, then chances are you are pretty toxic.  If your abdominal section is distended, more than likely it is packed full of dead and decaying material that is highly toxic.
 
Question:
Do you have a bowel movement  for each meal that you eat? 

Yes, you should have a bowel movement for each  meal that you eat. Regular is NOT ONCE A DAY, regular is ONCE PER  MEAL. Think again about your cat or dog. They have a bowel movement for each meal that they eat. So should you. 

If the answer to the distended stomach question is yes and the answer to the bowel movement question is no, chances are you are very toxic on the inside.
 
"But everybody else's stomach looks like this, too, and they don't sit on the commode a bit more than I do!" you say.

You have a valid point but everyone else in hell will not make you cool. America's health is not very good. We have sickness on every hand and in almost every body. Because everyone else is unhealthy does not justify your being unhealthy. Another person's sin does not excuse your own.

The second test is simple also. Again you will need no fancy equipment or trained medical personnel. You probably already know the answer to this one without having to experiment.

HOW DO YOU FEEL
WHEN YOU MISS A MEAL OR TWO? 

If you get a headache when you miss a meal, then you are extremely toxic. Fast with just water for 24 hours. If you feel sick, get headaches, or if you are dizzy or extremely weak, you are very toxic. It's normal to feel hunger, but not sickness. If you feel sick it means the FAST FLUSH is really pouring M.E.S.S. toxins into your bloodstream at a very high rate. 

If your body shows signs of being extremely toxic,  you need to go on a pre-fast regimen before going on a full fast. This will be a lot easier and safer on you and your body. Even the pre-fast regimen will not be easy. When M.E.S.S. comes out, it's not pleasant whether you are in a full fast or not.

The highly toxic condition is where fasting can be dangerous. If you do not gradually reduce the toxins in your body, a full fast can be a devastating shock on the system and it may not be able to handle the toxins that pour forth.
 
Besides the visual inspection and the 24 hour fast, you can ask yourself a few questions that will give you insight as to whether your body may be highly toxic. 

A yes answer to these questions means a higher probability of high toxicity and a greater need for a pre-fast regimen.

1. Are you a current or former smoker?
2. Do you work or socialize around smokers?
3. Do you eat much meat?
4. Do you eat many dairy products?
5. Do you have less than one bowel movement per meal?
6. Are you presently on, or have you ever been on, heavy medications or drugs (legal or illegal)?
7. Do you not exercise regularly?
8. Are you more than 20 pounds overweight?
9. Do you drive in congested traffic or live near air pollution?
10. Do you drink less than eight glasses of water daily?
11. Do you eat less than five servings of fresh fruit and fresh vegetables daily?
12. Do you work in an industrial environment with a lot of chemicals?
13. Do you take laxatives?
14. Does your family have a history of short life span?
15. Do you have constant mucus (stuffy nose, sinus congestion, cannot breathe through nostrils clearly, etc.)?
16. Do you have a "bad" body odor without deodorant?
17. Do you have "bad breath" and constantly chew gum to cover it up?
18. Do you get sick easily and have many colds?
19. Do you have a major illness?
20. Do you have many minor illnesses such as arthritis, bad skin (psoriasis, acne, etc.)?

Go through these 20 questions. Many yes answers indicate the probability of a highly toxic body. 

Fasting can do wonders in such conditions but the cautions must be observed. The body has to be slowly and safely detoxified. 

You must remember, you did not become toxic overnight, it took many years. Do not expect to clean it overnight. If you have been clogging it up for 40 years, at least allow one day per year of your age to clean it out.  The next chapter deals with a pre-fast regimen.

The pre-fast program is strictly to REDUCE the  level of toxicity in the body to a point where a full fast will not be harmful...