How to follow a Traditional Plant based Intermittent Fasting
Traditional Plant based Intermittent Fasting is good not only for health but also to reduce carbon emissions. At Cop26 that commences on October 31st plant-based diet will be the main menu served to the delegates.
Traditional Plant-based Intermittent Fasting is either forgotten or not followed strictly. Now that intermittent fasting is trending both for health and environmental reasons, we must try and revive the traditional intermittent diets followed by our ancestors for spiritual reasons. Here I have tried to explain my families traditional plant-based intermittent fasting lifestyle.
Being traditional, my family has a strict diet regime throughout the year, dating back to 2000 years. Whether the young or the old, we all have the same food regime, with some concessions given to the pregnant moms, feeding mothers, children, elderly and the sick.
On a typical day, we don’t have any restrictions about what type of meat, fish or vegetable to eat. However, there are certain times of the year and specific days in the week when the entire family fasts and follows a vegan diet.
One-third of the year, we follow a vegan diet that includes 50 days of great lent, culminating with Easter. We fast every Wednesday and Friday throughout the year. The three days of fasting and prayer, which occurs 21 days before the great lent, is a kind of preparation for the soon coming rigorous 50 days of prayer, penance, fasting and abstaining from meat-based food and liquor.
The fastting regime
The preparation for the fast begins the previous day itself. Once we go to sleep, we do not consume any water at night. In the morning, there is no bed coffee or tea, not even water. We go on with our daily chores and break the fast by noon with a cup of black tea or water.
Then we have lunch and supper as usual but without any dairy, poultry or fish products. We observe fasting until noon during the lent times, followed by a vegan meal and supper for the 50 days.
Intermittent fasting is a growing trend, and there are a variety of forms of fasting. Apart from the health benefits, like reducing cholesterol, weight loss and lowering blood pressure, intermittent fasting also gives mental peace.
You become self-disciplined and learn to lead a life of contentment by following a strict intermittent fasting regime. In this age of climate change, we need to know how to cut down on excesses and live within the means to save the earth from extinction.
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