The feast of fall is always followed by the famine of spring. Fall’s harvest is rich in sugars from fruit and starchy carbs from root veggies and grains. The excess fuel from this high-sugar, high-carb diet is stored as fat which the body uses as a source of insulation and energy for the long, cold winter ahead.
By the end of winter, traditionally, the reserves of grains, tubers, nuts and seeds would be waning. Early spring is nature’s fasting season—little if any food is being harvested.
It is not a coincidence that most religions practice some type of spiritual fasting in the spring. Native Americans would go on fasting vision quests, Christians observe Lent, the Jewish practice Passover, Ramadan for Muslims, and the Hindu holiday, Shivaratri.
These rituals are from times past, when the early spring was a period of scarcity. Traditional life was a balance of feast and famine, with the feast being at the end of summer, and the famine being at the end of winter and early spring.
Early spring is the best time of year to burn the fat we used to insulate us all winter. Fasting forces the body to burn fat as fuel. Fat burns slow and steady compared to the carbs of fall, which raise blood sugars and spike energy. Unlike sugar, fat is a slow-burning, long-lasting, sleep-through-the-night, handle stress, and become more introspective fuel. Fat is the spiritual fuel.
While we all enjoy the feast of fall, now is the time to learn how to enjoy the famine of spring.
The science is clear—humans thrive during periods of famine. Forcing the body to burn fat with extreme diets such the Ketogenic diet, Atkins, Paleo, and other variations of the low-no carb theme have become very trendy but, in nature, a reset for fat as fuel happens naturally every spring.
The famine of spring is nature’s way to enforce a season of intermittent fasting. This is also nature’s time to cleanse and detox. Nobel Prize-winning science has found that fasting increases a process called autophagy. Autophagy is the body’s way of cleaning house. It happens during starvation, calorie restriction, and fasting. Autophagy is one method that the body uses to naturally neutralize cancer cells and degrade cells infected by harmful bacteria and viruses. (1)
Intermittent fasting has been linked to numerous health benefits, including: (6)
- Decreased diabetes risk
- Decreased cardiovascular risk
- Improved longevity
- Protection against cancer
- Reduced risk of neurological concerns
- Decreased inflammation
- Balanced lipid levels
- Reduced blood pressure
- Reduced oxidative stress
- Balanced weight
Our ancestors reaped the benefits of intermittent fasting quite naturally, as the availability of food was scarce and what was harvested in the early spring was very low in fat. The naturally-occurring, low-fat diet of spring forces the body to derive energy from burning its own stored fat. If you were lucky enough to pig out during the feast of fall, you still had some fat to burn each spring.
Spring is truly weight loss season and with one-third of Americans obese, it seems that many of us could stand to lose a few pounds each spring.
Ayurveda suggests that the spring is the best time to fast as it is kapha season. Kapha season is heavy and watery—fasting and seasonal eating are great ways to lighten up. Here are a few easy spring fasting strategies:
- Fast one day a week, having only water or vegetable juice. (Longer fasts on water should be supervised.)
- Eat a good breakfast and lunch, and skip dinner.
- A daily 13-hour fast. After dinner, eat nothing from 6pm to 7am. Water is OK.
Reset Fat Burning with Ayurveda
In addition to fasting in the spring, Ayurveda suggests cleansing with ghee as a way to reset fat for fuel, lose weight, and strengthen one’s digestion and microbiome for the year to come. Ghee has been used for thousands of years to support detoxification and a healthy microbiome and, now, there is ample science to back it up!
A couple of years ago, I was contacted by an editor from Women’s World Magazine asking if I could suggest a weight loss cleanse. I suggested my free Short Home Cleanse eBook—a self-guided, 4-day, time-tested Ayurvedic cleanse that resets fat for fuel and typically helps folks lose that unwanted winter weight.
The magazine organized a focus group of their readers to do the cleanse. The results were quite overwhelming and amazing, so they ran a cover story on this very simple 4-day cleanse!
The Short Home Cleanse is a powerful way to reset fat-burning, naturally support healthy weight loss and strengthen digestion.
The cleanse starts by ingesting small increasing amounts of ghee (clarified butter) every morning for four days while eating a non-fat diet of kitchari (split yellow mung beans and basmati rice cooked into a soup). Kitchari is an Ayurvedic superfood that is extremely nourishing for the lining of the intestinal tract. It also supports a healthy environment for a new population of spring microbes to thrive in the gut.
Starting the day with ghee forces the body to burn fat, as ghee is a healthy fat loaded with butyric acid—the primary food for our gut microbes. (4) Eating a non-fat diet allows the body to remain in fat metabolism. Typically, by the second or third day, the hunger subsides, the energy rises, and you slip into a calm fat metabolic state.
The ghee also forces the gallbladder to contract, supporting healthy bile flow and detoxification. In one study with 88 subjects, 48 of them underwent a ghee cleanse and they saw a significant reduction of 9 different environmental PCB dioxin toxins and 8 pesticide toxins. According to Ayurveda, ghee can be used to help pull fat-soluble toxins out of the body. (5)
>>> Learn more about the benefits of ghee here
Top Ten Reasons to Cleanse with Ghee
- Flushes old bile from the body.
- Stimulates the liver to make new bile, so 94% of old toxic bile is not re-absorbed. (6)
- Scrubs the intestines of toxins opportunistic bacteria.
- Supports the primary source of energy and immunity for the cells of the gut. (7)
- Supports the health of the beneficial bacteria in the gut who make butyrate. (7)
- Lubricates and softens the tissues of the body.
- Pulls stored fat-soluble toxins and molecules of emotion out of the body. (8)
- Encourages fat metabolism and weight loss. (8)
- Supports stable mood and energy levels.
- Supports the body’s natural defense mechanisms against bad bacteria and overgrowth. (7)
Shweta bagla says
Hi. I want to know how we can incorporate ghee on an empty stomach with intermittent fasting. If my fasting window is 7 pm to 11 am, can I have ghee at around 7 am? Would that break my fast?
LifeSpa Staff says
Hi Shweta,
Yes it would for sure break the fast. It is a good way to start a fast, though!
Be Well,
Dr. John
Inaki Legorburu says
Enjoyed this article! Thankyou. A non-fat diet is supposed to help the body stay in a fat burning mode. But doesn’t a high-carb diet do the opposite by introducing glucose as fuel again? This is a key question for me, trying to understand the shared logic between fasting, ketosis, low-carb and low-fat diets.
LifeSpa Staff says
Hi Inaki,
Yes exactly it seems that nature naturally shifted our fuel supply from fat in the spring (from calorie restriction) to carbs in the fall.
This ensures a new stable of carb eating bugs each fall and fat eating bugs each spring to reside in out gut so we do not become dependent on just one or the other.
Read more here: lifespa.com/cleansing-vs-fasting-risks-benefits
Be Well,
Dr. John
Yogesh Singh says
Hi we here in India … give our children lots of ghee so that never fall sick ,their intestines become very strong as ghee ignites that fire which is JATHAR AGNI … if u put ghee in in fire ..fire increases right ?? Same thing happens when u drink ghee first thing in the morning and it has all the panch tatva and 5rasas out of 6 rasas we need …as per Ayurveda we have 13 types of Agni sapt dhatu Agni n panch bhootani Agni …and JATHAR AGNI .. I’m glad to know Ayurveda ( science of life ) is practiced widely now every where … Yogesh Singh ( yoga instructor n Ayurveda coach )
Agastya says
Charaka Su.25 mentions eating once a day favorizes perfect assimilation. The manusmriti, a brahmanical dharmasastra mentions eating every two, four, or eight meal times, generally interpreted as every 1, 2, or 4 days. We once picked our own foods and like animals instinctively reached for whatever is appropriate for the moments whether that is leaf, stem, root, flower, tree bark, etc. So far known : Vitamin C max levels perhaps 1000 mg per 100 g, calcium somewhere above 1000 mg per 100 g in leaves, antioxidants somewhere in the hundreds of times more than common foods, and so forth. With the truly nutrient dense foods, such is possible. If we ate as such, like still our hominid relatives such as chimps, avoidance of all disease would be possible, too all bacteria and all viruses, as far as I can tell. As Caraka notes, anything less than those with legendary longevity and those that resembled the children of Aditi — those that resembled the Gods themselves such as the sun during satya yoga —, anything less is adharm. The goal of such is not health or longevity, it is merely a result. The goal is a noble culture that seeks wisdom, knowledge, intelligence, living well as only those trained in such philosophies are capable of understanding, etc.
Agastya says
5000 mg per 100 g vitamin c I had meant
Dana says
Thank you for this great article! I have a small question: I fast every day between 13-14 hours. But, in the morning I drink hot water with lemon (then yoga, only then food). Does the lemon “officially” stops the fasting? Would it be better if I’ll just drink hot water in the morning?
Dana
Vacheslav says
You’ve heard the day starts with a nescafe, but it all starts with prayer. I’d add to the mix honey, curcumin with black pepper, apple cider, ginger… I personally have a tea spoon of sulfur.
Lissa Roky says
Dear John Douillard,
This is really a good article about Ayurveda. You have given a clear description of fasting and what are the advantages of it. Most of the people believe that fasting is superstitious but they don’t know that it is one of the tips for good health. A poor digestion leads to poor health and a strong digestion facilitates good health. All the eating habits which you have mentioned are really helpful in many ways. If we follow all these ayurvedic food habits we will surely have a good health.
Thanks
Frances says
Dear doctor John,
I would like to know your opinion on intermittent fasting for women. There’s so much information out there on the subject and some clinical dietitians say intermittent fasting is recommended for men only. I would like to know your opinion and advice. Thank you in advance!
Cindy S. says
I am wanting to do this ghee reset but my galbladder and bile are slow. Wondering if the ghee will contest me even more. The only dairy I consume is milk in the morning with coffee and plain kefir a couple of times per week.
I am able to avocado and a few seeds or pecans every other day but other nut fats and butter seem to irritate the situation. This has been going on 3 years. I am finally considering having the galbladder removed it’s causing so much trouble; Constipation, and digestive backup.
I eat beets and have tumeric tea regularly. I also drink an organic probiotic fiber formula each day that’s full of good stuff and is easy on my body and has low to no sugar.
I have cut back on cold foods and am incorporating warmth into my diet more regularly.
Pls advise.
Cathryn says
I’m not a professional but I would be happy to share with you what I did that helped me with those similar symptoms. First of all I would eliminate all nuts, seeds and dairy for now. Just focus on supporting your gallbladder and your digestive system until you have that fully functional. I would also suggest eliminating caffeine completely during this period. ORGANIC Herbal teas like licorice root, peppermint, Ginger would be excellent. I would start the day with 8 oz of fresh made organic celery juice on an empty stomach.
Then later add three desiccated liver capsules and one Digestzyme capsules by Design for health, to a gluten-free Autoimmune Paleo breakfast adding a handful of baby spinach leaves to every meal.
Then mid morning on an empty stomach I would have three proteolytic enzymes capsules by Doctors Best.
Then with the AIP lunch, I would add one digestzymes capsule.
Then Mid afternoon on an empty stomach I would have 3 more proteolytic enzymes.
Then with my AIP organic autoimmune paleo dinner I would add one digestzymes capsule.
Drinking plenty of water and herbal tea throughout the day.
Before bed having one to four ORGANIC Triphala 200 mg capsules (Three Ayurvedic Herbs) to relieve constipation and assist with digestive detoxification. I purchase the lowest milligrams possible so that I can adjust my dosage accordingly until I achieve two and three bowel movements regularly per day.
This slashes inflammation and gives your digestive system a break and much support. I continued this phase for four weeks.
This was extremely helpful for me. I do know that there are many digestive complications for a life after a gallbladder removal and I’m hope that you are able to heal and avoid that procedure.
Klesta Lewis says
Thank you SOO much for this.
I agree with that you are saying, although ‘Cindy S’ states she is eating well, actually a few things here and there are stopping progress.
I have read and research that almost ALL organs can recover and be restored so NEVER take them out. Best to make them stronger than live without.
All organs have a functions to do. Please don’t get things taken out- just focus on detoxing, restoring.
Natalie Hess says
How long should a fast be in spring and do I do cleanse before or after fast?
liz Chambers says
If a person has high cholesterol should they do the fast with ghee, or do you recommend some other oil such as flax seed?
Dave says
John,
Would you please explain why eating the kitchari doesn’t cause an increase in blood sugar, and thus an increase in insulin, and thus an exit from the fat-burning mode.
Thanks,
Dave
Kay says
I was about to ask the same… can I have kitchari without the rice? (just veggies and split yellow mung beans instead?)
nishita says
Can you a be a bit more clear on what you mean by “starting the day with ghee”? Eating it before breakfast? Like a teaspoon?
bklynmermaid says
Yes. Generally you start with 2tsp and then add more each day. You could start with one, then two, then four etc. I’ve been doing these cleanses for about 5years, so I can progress a bit faster (2-4-6 etc). If you have too much digestive upset, back off the dosage. Wait at least 30mins before having breakfast.
Kim says
If one has a dairy sensitivity/allergy can olive oil be substituted to stimulate the gallbladder and use the slippery elm, licorice, marshmallow tea to rebuild the intestinal wall and gut revival to work on the bacterial flora?
Suzy Greene says
I am very sensitive to dairy including your ghee. Can I use a good organic olive oil as a substitute? Your kitchari is delicious! Thank you for your reply. I am very greatfull for all your articles and love your productd.
Vacheslav says
try a tea spoon of sulfur? half an hour before eating twice daily, that would help get rid your allergies. As they say in arabic, ask a trier and not an expert!
Sasha says
Do you still recommend fasting for people with Vata constitutions?