Kefir Infusions

Throughout the history of man, the use of specific plants or fruiting bodies used as medicine and as a general health tonic have been well documented.  This portion of the site is dedicated to the use of various plants and their derivatives with the specific application of allowing them to undergo secondary fermentation with kefir prior to consumption.

There are numerous well documented cases of particular herbs and their effects on health and treating illnesses.  It is also known that the process of fermentation has a powerful effect on the items being fermented.  In most cases, properly fermented foods have a much higher nutritional content than the original form.  These foods are also more easily assimilated by the body as portions of the food are partially or completely broken down by the process of fermentation.

In this post (Which will continually be updated with new information as time progresses), the specific application of adding various items to kefir after a 24 hour initial fermentation will be looked at.  Once the kefir has undergone 24 hours fermentation with the grains, it will be strained and mixed with a chosen item (herb, fruit, root ect.) or a combination of these things and allowed to undergo a secondary fermentation in an airlock 1/2 gallon jar for an additional 1-3 days prior to consumption.  Any noticeable effects or flavor changes as well as the reasoning for using the chosen infusion according to documented case studies will be presented.

Infusions
Kefir + Cinnamon Infusion
Kefir + Nutmeg Infusion

Cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon / day can lower LDL cholesterol
May have regulatory effects on blood sugar, which makes it a great choice for Diabetics (Type 2)
May stop yeast infections that have been resistant to prescription medications
Can reduce the proliferation of lymphoma and leukemia cancer cells
Anti blood clotting effects
A mixture of 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and 1 tablespoon honey offered significant relief for arthritis sufferers in 1 weeks time.  After one month of use, pain was gone while walking
A natural food preservative, prevents spoilage by inhibiting bacterial growth
The smell alone of cinnamon may boost your memory and cognitive function
Fights E-coli in unpasteurized juices
High in Magnesium, calcium, fiber and iron
http://www.123rf.com/photo_6822722_cinnamon-sticks-and-ground-cinnamon.html
http://www.healthdiaries.com/eatthis/10-health-benefits-of-cinnamon.html

Kefir + Cinnamon Infusion
After you have strained your kefir grains post 24 hour fermentation, try adding a few dashes to a teaspoon of ground cinnamon to the mix.  Still well with a spoon and allow to ferment for an additional 12-24 hours.  After allowing your kefir to separate into curd and whey, you can mix together again and allow further fermentation before use in shake.  Airlock secondary fermentation is great for this.Mixture may then be consumed as is or combined to make a shake or smoothie.

My preferred method for consumption afterward is to add the fully fermented kefir mixture to raw milk, 1/2 banana and strawberry whey protein.

Nutmeg
Can help to lower blood pressure
known to help stomach aches and stop diarrhea
Nutmeg oil considered the most efficacious part of the plant
Stimulates the brain and relieves stress, may stimulate dreams (Historically used as a brain tonic by Greeks and Romans)
Anti Inflammatory properties make it great for muscle or joint pain
Oil may be massaged onto inflamed area for relief
Great for Kidneys (Dissolves stones), great for body detox at lower doses
May be good for heart, stimulates the cardiovascular system and increases circulation
Great for stomach ailments (digestions problems, flatulence, upset stomach (Vomiting), diarrhea
Often found in couch medicine, can help with colds and coughing
30 grams (6 tablespoons in a day) can be toxic
Keep doses low as its a powerful tonic in lower doses
http://www.reflexstock.com/stock-photos-images/Nutmeg.html
http://www.indepthinfo.com/nutmeg/health-effects.shtml

Kefir + Nutmeg Infusion
After straining kefir grains from the milk, the liquid may be mixed with a few dashes of nutmeg.  This kefir mixture may be consumed immediately, or better yet, allowed to ferment for an additional 12-24 hours at room temperature.  For a more effervescent drink, allow infusion to ferment under airlock for 24 hours or longer.  Mixture may be shaken 1-2x daily to allow for gas escape, with top returned after gas exchange.

Fasting And Health (2 Week Zen Diet) Experiment 2

2 Week Zen Diet

As before, this "Diet" is more of a guide in eating, exercise and fasting and not what to eat per-se. This regime will focus on a 2 Week Cycle vs the 7 Day Cycle. To give you a brief intro as to why I am trying this version of eating and fasting as opposed to the 7 Day Zen Diet, a few things come to mind.

To begin with, I am not an overweight individual.  To the contrary, I don't have much to lose in the way of excess body fat.  That being said, most everyone has fat somewhere on themselves.  During the 7 Day Zen Diet, I focused on eating regular amounts of food Ad Libitum for the majority of the week.  I chose the end of each week to do my fasting as it's easier to illustrate it that way.  I think that is has numerous benefits for ones health.  There are two ways to look at it.  You could see it as extreme, as you are fasting for 42-44 hours every single week, or less extreme as the fast is no more than 2 days long.  If it was an intermittent fasting regime, that wouldn't sound like much at all, however it is a consecutive fast.

The first 12-24 hours of fasting are used to complete digestion.  During this time, your body may also begin to start autolysis.  (more commonly known as self-digestion, refers to the destruction of a cell through the action of its own enzymes. It may also refer to the digestion of an enzyme by another molecule of the same enzyme. The term derives from the Greek words αυτό ("self") and λύσις ("splitting").

During the first 24 hours, your body may begin to consume muscle tissue and start to break down fats into ketone bodies.  Initially, after your glycogen stores have been used up, 1-2 oz of muscle tissue may be consumed for glycogen.  HOWEVER...The human body has a very protective memory if you will for this type of event.  After it has used 1-2 oz of muscle tissue, it starts to catabolize more fat, leaning more on the use of ketones for energy and less on glucose.  This is good for anyone fasting, as by the second day, muscle loss should be down to 1/2 - 1 oz.  On the plus side, many beneficial things have begun to happen.  Any damaged or old muscle tissues will be consumed allowing for new and healthier growth after the fast, and any toxins stored in your fatty tissues will start to be eliminated.

After the 24 hour digestion period, the detoxification process kicks into high gear.  Water becomes very important at this stage, to dilute the toxins released into the blood stream via fat reserves being broken down.  Fat is excellent at storing harmful toxins and chemicals.  When the body breaks them down, they may enter the blood stream before they exit the body.  Water consumption will lessen the negative side effects some may experience during this cleansing process.

Between 2-3 days of water fasting, the body begins to run in a mostly ketogenic state, where ketones or ketone bodies become the primary source of energy.  Red blood cells and parts of the brain will still need glucose and they will get it by consuming anything they can.  The good news though, is that foreign objects (Tumors, viruses ect.) are the first to go.  The body doesn't recognise them as vital to life and these foreign object are consumed and converted into energy.

After 3 days, the fast should be broken.  A regimen of eating and exercising with a mid 24 hours juice fast followed again by more unrestricted eating and exercising preludes the end of the 2 week fasting period.  The fasting period is a 3 day long water fast, allowing for a longer digestive break and more repairs to internal and external organs.

Here is a brief study in which the 2 week eating with a short fast has been used successfully to extend the life of rodents.  The rodents fasted for 4 days at the end of each cycle, where as my regimen allows for only a 3 day fast at the end and a 1 day juice fast mid may through the 2 week cycle.

Caloric restriction in rodents is well known to retard the rate of aging, increase mean and maximum life-spans, and inhibit the occurrence of many age-associated diseases. However, little is known about the influence of short-term repeated fasting on longevity. In this study, female (NZB x NZW)F1 mice were used to test the physiological effect of short-term repeated fasting (4 consecutive days, every 2 weeks). The results showed that fasting mice survived significantly longer than the full-fed mice, in spite of the fasting group having a heavier body weight than the control group. Mean survival times for fasting and control mice were 64.0+/-15.3 and 47.9+/-9.4 weeks, respectively. Short-term repeated fasting manipulation was also effective on the prolongation of life-span in autoimmune-prone mice.
http://www.anti-aging-guide.com/31mousestudies.php

Fasting And Health (7 Day Zen Diet) Experiment 1

7 Day Zen Diet

Alright, so It's not ACTUALLY a diet.  It's more of a way of life.  At this point in time, I won't cover any of the nutritional aspects of it in any depth.  It's simply an experiment with weekly fasting.  I will post how I am feeling and if I have lost or gained any weight throughout the 2 week test.  Over time, I will divulge more of my eating habits and eventually create a nice readable version for everyone.  Until then, the 7 Day Zen Diet is more of an overall guideline delineating possible eating, sleeping, fasting and exercise times.  Again, this is fairly non-specific and has plenty of room for modifications and dietary habits.  The purpose of this "Diet", man I really hate that word...Is to create a set period throughout the week to fully rest the digestive tract and internal organs, while forcing them to work at cleaning and healing themselves.  I will discuss this process in more detail in another article.

Note:  The following experiment will be done for a period of 2 weeks or more.  I am currently and have been doing a slightly modified version of this lifestyle, with the fasting period consisting of 24 hours water only, some juice or a small fruit before bed followed by another 12 hours of fasting (36 hours total).  This experiment will extend the post 24 hour fast from 36 to 42-44 hours.

Key Points
-It has to be fairly simple to do
-There has to be concrete evidence that some or most of the following things show evidence to increase ones health and or increase ones longevity.
-It has to be repeatable and organized in such a fashion that someone could realistically follow it using the common 7 day week format, vs. a program that uses say a 9 or 12 day cycle.  This is why 7 days were chosen for this experiment.

You may wonder why this program doesn't stop the fasting portion at the end of the 24 hour period.  The idea behind extending it to 36-44 hours is fairly simple.  To begin with, the first 24 hours is when your body depletes your glycogen stores and begins the process of burning fatty acids for its continuous energy needs.  It gets this energy by burning fat in your tissues and accumulated areas around the organs.

As a reminder, the majority of the body actually prefers ketones for their primary energy source (Ketone bodies are created through the breakdown of fatty acids in the body).  However, the brain and your red blood cells still require glucose.  When the liver and muscles are depleted, your body looks elsewhere.  Small portions of muscle become broken down so the body can convert the amino acids into usable glucose and glycerol from fat tissues in the body.

As you can see from this, if you eat carbohydrates during the week, a 24 hour fast may not be overly beneficial for you as your body will be used to having access to glucose and ending a fast at 24 hours has done little in the way of detoxing the body.  That's not to say it hasn't done anything, but rather it has just begun to enter it's overhaul mode when you shut it off by breaking the fast.  By allowing the fast to go into the second and third day, your body begins muscle sparing to prevent excess breakdown of tissue and instead begins to efficiently break down fat into ketones, where you will begin to enter ketosis.  Ketosis has a number of benefits I will discuss at a later time, but for those of you who may be overweight, ketosis is an excellent state to be in.

As I mentioned earlier, you body has started to burn fat for fuel now somewhere around the 24 hour marker.  By allowing your body to go another day or half a day, you can begin to see the detoxing effects.  Fat is excellent at storing toxins and as the fat gets broken down, these toxins are released.  They may exit through the skin, the tongue, the bowels or urinary tract or just about anywhere.  Drinking plenty of water will help to dull some of these effects.  The sicker your body is, the more and stronger side effects will be seen.  During an extended or complete fast, an individual abstains from food until the tongue has turned completely pink again and a sweet taste has entered the mouth.  At this point, saliva will build up signaling a strong urge to eat and stop the fast.  This may happen in only a few day and upwards of 40+ day depending on your body fat and body toxicity.  Doing regular short fasts will prevent the need to purge with 30-40 day long fasts as the body will be working at regular intervals to perform cleanses and rest the internal organs.

So the reason we don't fast for only a 24 hour period is that no studies have proven any anti-aging effects from doing so.  That's not to say that a 24 hour fast isn't beneficial, as it has numerous benefits.  Its to say that the body has simply finished digestion, and only begun to start burning ketones and cleaning the body, which makes stopping at 24 hours more work in the long run that occasionally allowing the body to fast for 2-3 days consecutively.  One popular method for extending life that does use a 24-36 hour fast is intermittent fasting, however the major life extending effects of this diet only appear through CR (Calorie Restriction).  As CR has been proven over and over to extend the life of numerous animals as well as worms and flies.  Through fasting, a worms life was extended to the equivalent of a human living to be 600-700 years old.  Although we are not worms and fasting wont make you live that long, the study does show tremendous results through CR and periodic fasting.

As you will see in the 2 Week Zen Diet, a 24 hour fast is included in the regimen, however its not a dry or water fast, but instead allows for fresh juices.  This prevents the body from consuming muscle (One method for bodybuilder who are not using the Ketogenic Diet or Anabolic Diet), which means you love your carbs.  The fresh juices on the fasting day if you are using the previous methods mentioned for bodybuilding on a low carb diet with periodic carb up phases, the juice fasting day can include simple sugar fruit juices for an additional carb up day, or can remain as low sugar vegetable juices allowing for ketoses if you have allowed your body to function optimally.

So Let look at a few reasons why the 7 Day Zen Diet might be a good starting point for anyone looking to lose weight, increase growth hormone, have a cleaner and healthier system and feel better.

This 7 day plan allows for a 24 hour period of no food which increases HGH in the body.  HGH is a protein based peptide-hormone.  It's known for it's function is cell regeneration, reproduction and general growth.  Bodybuilders should be familiar with this one!  Some people buy HGH as a synthetic drug to help with deficiencies and child growth abnormalities.  To get it however, you need a prescription from a doctor and can only purchase it from a pharmacy.

The benefits of HGH are many and knowing how to create it for FREE is something I would think might be worthwhile for just about anyone past adolescent development stage.  By this I mean, I wouldn't recommend fasting for children and they are still growing.  Its once the growing stages have stopped, that fasting benefits as really noticed.  The more often you fast (Short Fasts) the better able the body is to recognize the situation and increase HGH production and get to work consuming old, dead or diseased cells and quickly rebuilding new ones.  The reason we live longer than animals in general is because we have an excellent regenerative system that takes cells and remakes them continually.  Mice are great study subjects as they don't have such a great system for this.  That's why when we see a mice live exponentially longer than its counterparts due to continuous short fasting, we know that this generality of aging increase can easily be transcribed to the human animal.  If we were testing a particular vitamin and its effect on a mouse, the translation to humans wouldn't be so good.  Something like fasting and life extension however, can and has been translated.

Back to HGH.  Since the 1970's, it has been circulating the bodybuilding arena as an anabolic means of muscle production for professional competition.  It couldn't be banned until early in 2000, when small traces could finally show up on a test.  These athletes paid top dollar for this stuff.  They also thought you had to eat all day every day to retain and build muscle.  Funny thing is, that by fasting, you continually get rid of old and damaged cells and stop them from reproducing.  At the same time, your body is able to build new and healthier ones much quicker.  You also retain more muscle when you stop eating, as your body learns to burn fat instead. 

For those of you that are overweight, how does dieting just 2 days a week sound.  That's all this is really.  Sure your suppose to eat healthy all week, but we know not everyone does.  Fasting for two days a week could help protect you from the crap you eat and may even help nudge you into eating healthier, at least post fast.  Your body will be craving healthier foods for the vitamin and mineral content after a  fast and your head will be a bit clearer to boot. 

VLCD with active follow-up treatment seems to be one of the better treatment modalities related to long-term weight-maintenance success. Very Low Calorie Diets

VLCD represents an extremely efficient and safe therapeutic procedure which, apart from body mass loss, is characterized by favourable changes in metabolism of lipids and a decrease in hyperinsulinism, which eventually results in reduction of the risk from early and accelerated atherosclerosis.

Cravings did not increase during either diet; all changes represented decreases. Compared with a primarily food-based diet (LCD), a more restrictive supplement-based diet (VLCD) resulted in significantly larger decreases in food cravings that occurred by the end of the 5th week of supplement use and did not rebound with resumption of solid food intake. The results of this study suggest that food cravings diminish with calorie restriction.

Medically supervised water-only fasting appears to be a safe and effective means of normalizing blood pressure and may assist in motivating health-promoting diet and lifestyle changes.

The course of fasting therapy consisting of a 2-week fasting period and the recovery period of the same duration resulted in a statistically significant reduction of weight, a decrease of average daily systolic and diastolic AP, lowering of the hyperbaric index of diastolic AP and improvement of the diastolic reserve of the left ventricle. 24-h AP monitoring and stress echocardiography within 3 months showed a high clinical effectiveness of fasting therapy.

This weight loss programme with a VLCD enabled obese subjects to lose weight and decrease cardiovascular risks. Despite some regain in weight during follow-up, the beneficial effects were overall maintained over the year. Sodium intake tended to increase during follow-up. Information on sodium restriction should be included in weight loss programmes.

the short term use of a VLCD is very effective in rapidly improving glycaemic control and promoting substantial weight loss in obese NIDDM patients. Moreover, a VLCD diet increases insulin secretion and reduces substrate for gluconeogenesis. Thus, VLCD treatment may improve glycaemic control by factors more than caloric restriction alone.
http://antiaging-europe.com/lists/29/diseases.html

Fasting And Health (Part 2) Intermittant Fasting (IF)

Below is the definition of Intermittent Fasting according to Wikipedia.  If you read it carefully, toward the bottom of the definition you will notice that a common IF regimen involving a 24 hour eat 24 fast may induce CR (Calorie Restriction).  CR has been well documented to increase health and extend life.  In fact, it's the most commonly known methodology for extending life in yeast, flies, worms, mice and other studied subjects.  The problem is that most people overeat on the off days.

Intermittent fasting (IF) is a pattern of eating that alternates between periods of fasting (usually meaning consumption of water only) and non-fasting. A specific form of IF is alternate day fasting (ADF), which is a 48-hour routine typically composed of a 24-hour fast followed by a 24-hour non-fasting period. (ADF is also sometimes referred to as every other day (EOD) fasting, or sometimes every other day feeding (EODF).)

There is some evidence that intermittent fasting may have beneficial effects on the health and longevity of animals—including humans—that are similar to the effects of caloric restriction (CR). There is currently no consensus as to the degree to which this is simply due to an (often) concomitant overall decrease in calories. (IF and CR are forms of Dietary Restriction (DR), which is sometimes referred to as Dietary Energy Restriction (DER).)

Scientific study of intermittent fasting in rats (and anecdotally in humans) was carried out at least as early as 1943
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intermittent_fasting

If you have read through some of my other posts regarding fasting, you will notice that I don't support the use of a weekly 24 hour fast for the purpose of extending ones life.  If you told me that you wanted to fast 4 days this month to improve your health and asked me how I would go about it I would give you the following advise.  First and foremost, I am not a doctor...I am simply a research fanatic.  Perhaps I have a touch of OCD, but I do read a LOT.  That's not to say that my advise is the only advise you should consider.  Its just to say that after reading extensively on the subject and experimenting on my own I have drawn a few conclusions.

So without further ado...Here they are.  To begin with, for someone with toxic buildups within their fat tissues and internal organs, a 24 hour juice fast weekly would be an excellent start.  I say a juice fast for the following reasons.  Lets face it, if your reading this you may have more knowledge on the subject of health benefits related to inviting the state of ketosis into your daily metabolism.  If your like the average American however, you consume carbohydrates on a daily basis and probably never fast.  If your also like most Americans, you regularly consume some pretty bad toxins either knowingly or unknowingly.  Examples may be high levels of caffeine from not healthy sources, processed and or refined foods, excess gluten and wheat products, alcohol, nicotine ect. ect.  For these people, who may look like a million bucks or like a 500 lb couch potato, the act of fasting and eating whole, live natural foods may be a foreign language to them.

For these people, I would recommend starting with a 24 hour fresh juice fast once per week.  This will prevent muscle breakdown while allowing for a digestive period of rest.  Your body will be able to take a break from processing foods and can begin working slowly but diligently at healing itself.  If you were to start doing a water fast 24 hours every week without being in a state of ketosis from a very low carb diet, then you would be losing muscle mass every week.  So before anyone gets defensive with my lack of a complete explanation for beginners avoiding a 24 hours water fasting once weekly, understand there is a method to my madness.  If you can get through a couple of weeks without a problem with excessive cravings and the like, you are ready for step 2.

Step 2, once you have successfully been able to do a juice fast once weekly, it's time to up the anty.  Now you may want to try doing a 36 hour water fast.  Yes I did just jump from juicing to water only.  Why you may ask?  Simple, now you want to drain the body of glucose.  After 24 hours, your body will begin to enter a deep cleaning cycle for an additional 12 hours.  If you start your fast at midnight on a Monday and end it at noon on Tuesday, the deep rest cleaning portion will be benefited greatly as you will be asleep for a portion of that time, allowing more energy to go to the immune system and detox.

Once you feel comfortable doing this weekly for a while, try increasing the duration slowly.  Once you can make it to a 3 day water fast every 2 weeks, stop increasing the time you fast for.  As you will see in the 2 Week Zen Diet I am experimenting with, a 24 hour juice fast is used on day 5 of the 2 week period and a 3 day water fast at the end.  Another variation would be to eat normal for 10 days, then juice fast for 12 hours, followed by a 3 day water fast and broken with a 12 hour juice fast.  This equates to a 14 day or 2 week period.

In addition to adopting this method of eating and fasting, a few times a year longer fasts may be achieved under observation.  I would try doing a 4-7 day fast twice a year in addition to the bi weekly fasts.

So to use a 4 day fast in one month, I wouldn't waste it personally.  I would either juice fast for 24 hours followed by a 3 day water fast for maximum benefit, or I would do 2 (2 Day) water only fasts.  But that's just me.

A few scientific study excerpts for those interested in the science behind fasting and CR (caloric Restriction)

Three weeks of caloric restriction reduced leucine flux and oxidation during exercise in normal weight young men. However, despite negative nitrogen balance and loss of lean mass, whole body exercise performance was well maintained in response to CR.

it is conceivable that DR conducted in old age can be beneficial not only to retard age-related functional decline but also to restore functional activity in young rodents. Interestingly, recent evidence that involves DNA array gene _expression analysis supports the findings on the age-related decrease in protein turnover and its reversion by late-onset DR.  DR (Dietary Restriction)

in mice, CR maintains higher rates of gluconeogenesis and protein catabolism, even in the hours after feeding. The data are consistent with the idea that CR continuously promotes the turnover and replacement of extrahepatic proteins.

CR enhances and maintains protein turnover, and thus protein renewal, into old age. These effects are likely to resist the well-documented decline in whole body protein renewal with age. Enhanced renewal may reduce the level of damaged and toxic proteins that accumulate during aging, contributing to the extension of life span by CR.

Overall, the current findings indicate that changes in the level of caloric intake may reversibly affect the concentration of oxidized proteins and sufhydryl content. In addition, chronic restriction of caloric intake also retards the age-associated accumulation of oxidative damage. The magnitude of the reversible and chronic effects appears to be dependent upon the tissue examined and the nature of the oxidative alteration.

Oxidative damage to cellular macromolecules has been postulated to be a major contributor to the ageing of diverse organisms. Oxidative damage can be limited by maintaining high anti-oxidant defenses and by clearing/repairing damage efficiently. Protein turnover is one of the main routes by which functional proteins are maintained and damaged proteins are removed. Protein turnover rates decline with age, which might contribute to the accumulation of damaged proteins in ageing cells. Interestingly, protein turnover rates are maintained at high levels in caloric restricted animals. Whether changes in protein turnover are a cause or a consequence of ageing is not clear, and this question has not been a focal point of modern ageing research. Here we survey work on protein turnover and ageing and suggest that powerful genetic models such as the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans are well suited for a thorough investigation of this long-standing question.
http://www.anti-aging-guide.com/34proteinturnover.php

Fasting And Health (Part 1) Dry Fasting

In addition to the regular consumption of Kefir for health, Fasting should also become something you do on a regular basis.  Fasting is primarily the act of willingly abstaining from some or all food, drink, or both, for a period of time. An absolute fast is normally defined as abstinence from all food and liquid for a defined period, usually a single day (24 hours), or several daytime periods. Other fasts may be only partially restrictive, limiting particular foods or substance. The fast may also be intermittent in nature (see: Intermittent fasting). Fasting practices may preclude sexual and other activities as well as food.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fasting
http://www.seekeronline.org/journals/y2005/jan05.html

There are a number of different ways and recommendations for going about a fast.  After extensive reading and experimentation with fasting, I have come to appreciate the idea of "Everything in Moderation".  There are those with serious illnesses and chronic conditions that under strict medical supervision may do well to completely cure themselves with an extended fast.  Some of these longer fasts can last from 3 weeks to 90 days from what I've read.  Although the majority of "Long Fasts" seem to end around 30-40 days.  This is also historically significant with religious circles, as many of the religious leaders take on a 30-40 day fast and recommend periodic abstinence from food by their followers as well, for both religious and health reasons.

In India, there are always extreme accounts of fasting, ranging from only a few months, to years without food.  There are even those that claim to have plant like abilities, needing only sunshine, fresh air and water to life a happy and healthy life...Well...without going any further into these claims, let's take a look at the approach I have come to appreciate and the benefits I believe you can derive from my approach.

http://www.40daydetox.com/40-days-its-physiological-psychological-and-spiritual-significance-day-35/jesus-fasting-in-the-wilderness/
http://www.vitalyogathebook.com/uncategorized/fasting-sadhana/

When I first started fasting this past winter, I did it out of my bodies need for something.  I had been relatively tired and had low energy.  I also felt achy and the long cold winters in the north didn't seem to be helping.  I read everything I could read about fasting before I concluded that it should be the next thing to try out.  I'm what you could call a research fanatic and Google is my God.  I had observed all my life how animals would fast when they were sick and how humans don't.  After reading numerous account of people healing themselves from a variety of different ailments simply by abstaining from food, I decided it was time to try it out!  After all, we are but glorified animals.  Why should we be any different from every other creature on the face of the earth when it comes to naturally healing ourselves.

So I decided to start off with a 3 day fast.  Because I have a tendency to be an extremest, I attempted to do a dry fast.  I believe that we consume too much water on a regular basis anyways.  A recent study testing city water around the United States discovered antibiotics, hormones, pesticides and guess what else...anti psychotics.  You should be able to achieve proper if not more beneficial saturation from a regular consumption of real whole fruits and vegetables without the need for excess water consumption.

Anyways, from what I had read at the time, the dry fast seemed to a more extreme and therefore more inviting method for me to try.  Thus began my experiment with dry fasting.  I tried not to pay much attention to any thirst I may have felt early on.  I had slept until about noon the day I started, after going to bed at my usual 4am.  Simply because I had it on my mind that I couldn't drink anything, I found myself thinking about it.  Not because I was thirsty however.  About 36 hours into my dry fasting experiment, I had to go work on some things at a family's house.  This was in the middle of winter and we had just gotten about 6 inches of fresh snowfall.  Sitting inside, I found myself suddenly full of energy.  They say dry fasting works much quicker at clearing the body of waste as even water needs to be properly digested.  With the absence of water, the body breaks down fats for hydration and also takes moisture from different areas in the body

This method tends to create a highly toxic environment in the blood rather quickly, as it cleans all the debris and any junk stored with the body fat and tissues.  Water helps to saturate these toxins making them less concentrated, which is why dry fasting can be dangerous if not closely monitored.  Long story short, I developed this strange energy that I decided to use.  Instead of using a snow blower, I hand shoveled a very large driveway.  This took me a while to do, but my energy level didn't seem to dissipate.  I felt rather strange as well.  Without consuming anything at all for only a day and a half, I noticed my ability to think had become very clear.  When your not busy eating and digesting, you have this immense energy and a mind that sometimes wont seem to shut up. 
http://www.visionarytrainers.com/blog/post/2009/09/16/Fasting-The-Single-Healthiest-Thing-You-Can-Do.aspx

Sometime between the 36-40 hour mark something weird started to happen.  I could hear vehicles coming down the road from very far away and when they approached they sounds like a jet plane.  My hearing for some reason had started to clear up and I because rather sensitive to noise.  My brain also became overactive and I had a ton of ideas.  I just knew with all this energy I would run out of things to do.  So I started cleaning for a bit and watched several movies.  After staying up rather late, I decided I should go to bed.  I hadn't had anything to eat or drink in about 40 hours.  I tried to fall asleep. 

I became rather cold and covered myself up with more blankets.  I was in a cooler portion of the house without a lot of heat, so that didn't help much.  A few hours before bed, an old Brazilian jui-jitsu injury in my right elbow had begun to completely seize up.  I could barely bend it.  It was a hyper extended injury that took a month and a half before I could do a normal curl with it this past summer.  While lying in bed trying to sleep, I noticed a strange tingling in my elbow.  In my mind I imagined little workers fixing the area and removing calcium build up.  The feeling continued for a while.  At one point, my sinuses seemed to completely open up.  It wasn't a slow feeling, it just happened with one of my breaths.  They felt new again and I could suddenly breath without a problem.  My hearing and sense of smell were great!

Trying to fall asleep I laid my ear against the pillow lying on my side.  The noise was absurd.  I could hear every heart beat I had, but that wasn't the problem, the frequency inside my head was what was driving me crazy.  For those of you who have never done any brain entrainment (Neuro Programmer is the one I prefer), then you may not know what it's like to hear brainwave frequencies.  Listening to brain entrainment however, and hearing what I was hearing are two completely different things.  It would sound like a short drum roll, followed by a few separate individual beats.  As I started to drift off, the pattern changed to a very erratic sound with out a definitive pattern.  I thought to myself, how our own heart beat and breathing must entrain our brains during sleep, taking us deeper and deeper into low Delta frequencies.  After a while, I finally fell asleep.
http://www.bigstockphoto.com/image-642720/stock-photo-heart-beat

A few hours later, I awake in a bit of a panic.  My heart beat is now VERY clear and noticeably not normal.  I can hear a few fast beat, then a pause and a few separate slow beats repeating over and over.  I knew I needed liquid quickly.  I tried to get up and went right to the ground.  I had to stay bent over as I couldn't fully extend my stomach as you would while standing erect.  I was dizzy and had blurred vision.  I needed liquid and fast I told myself.  The nauseousness took me over.  I fought it making it downstairs into the kitchen.  I took a cup and put enough water into it before I had to go back to the floor.  Then I worked my way to the refrigerator to get a hold of lemon juice.  I squeezed some into the water and took a sip.  After a few sips, my head felt completely normal again and the nausea disappeared.  I felt much much better.  It worked so quick to alleviate the discomfort, that I took the cup back upstairs with me.  I knew the dry fast portion of my experiment was over with.

Once I was tucked back into my warm nest on the couch, I had some more lemon water and easily fell asleep again.  I woke up easily with tremendous energy.  I went outside in the snow to the barn, feeding the chickens and giving them warm water.  I did a little shoveling and had some more lemon water.  I even watched a movie and then went back to sleep for a while.  My dreams were very vivid and clear.  My hearing, sense of smell and senses overall seemed very in tune and I felt very aware of everything.  I slept whithout a problem a few more times.  Things were almost surreal to me.  I had no hunger at this point and didn't need to drink anything either.  I decided to head back home.  I hopped into my truck and headed out.  One thing to be careful of is how relaxed and surreal things can become.
http://www.zimbio.com/Master+Cleanse+Diet/articles/mY-P1rUwJDX/Water+Fasting

I thought I was heading back up north to my house, when I realized I was heading south with no off ramp for a while.  I knew that my brain was a bit out of it.  The ride home was pleasant though, even though I went the wrong way without even noticing.  Once home I started with some juices and water and very light food.  I was quickly filled with only a glass of water and a shot of cranberry juice.  My arm injury felt great, I could move it freely with little to no pain.  This strange event has changed my arm.  I had continuous pain in it and was unable to work out with it perviously due to pain.  After only 3 days of dry fasting, the pain is minimal now.  I can only attribute it to the dry fast.  Although I wont be doing a strict dry fast again, I did learn a few things.  I now know what signs and warning to look for and what benefits may occur.  After a while, your senses may become more in tuned and overly sensitive.  Hearing and sense of smell especially.  Body temperature drops after a while, so staying warm is critical.  lemon water has the ability to stop the nausea and heart issues and sleep is great.  The mind can become overactive and needs to be kept busy.

This was my first experiment and not one I recommend trying.  It did however lead me to read and experiment a lot more.  From dry fasting, I experimented off and on with 1-3 days of water fasting, trying various amounts of water.  I concluded that drinking a glass or more first thing in the morning, generally held me over for a while.  Then only drinking when necessary, and not always doing it, makes it much easier.  If you are always drinking, you will always be running to the bathroom.  It makes you wonder how much rest if any your actually giving your body.  So my recommendation is water first thing, then listen to your body and only drink when thirsty, no more, no less.

Summary

Dry Fasting OR Absolute Fasting - A type of fasting, where an individual goes completely without food or water for a period of time.  Usually this time frame is 1-3 days.  Some versions of Absolute Fasting also advise against showers / baths and other things as well.

My experiment with dry fasting ended after 2 days.  Nausea, erratic heart beat, sensitive hearing, sense of smell and overactive mind were all present during the fast.  Old injuries became achy and mobility was decreased but later returned better than before the fast.

Although there are those that will still recommend Dry Fasting as the ultimate healing tool, I would not recommend it to you.  It is an extreme form of fasting and can be dangerous without a doubt.  I am glad I tried this method but doubt I will do an absolute fast any time in the near future.

Part 2 - Intermittant Fasting (IF)

What Is Milk Kefir (Part 3 - YEASTS)

The following list of Yeasts may be found in their original list format located HERE.  The following information provided for each particular species was found throughout various scientific journals / studies and other various sources, each of which are cited under the content of each particular category.

YEASTS

Dekkera anomala t/ Brettanomyces anomalus a
Kluyveromyces marxianus t/ Candida kefyr a
Pichia fermentans t/ C. firmetaria a
Yarrowia lipolytica t/ C. lipolytica a
Debaryomyces hansenii t/ C. famata a
Deb. [Schwanniomyces] occidentalis
Issatchenkia orientalis t/ C. krusei a
Galactomyces geotrichum t/ Geotrichum candidum a
C. friedrichii
C. rancens
C. tenuis
C. humilis
C. inconspicua
C. maris
Cryptococcus humicolus
Kluyveromyces lactis var. lactis
Kluyv. bulgaricus
Kluyv. lodderae
Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Sacc. subsp. torulopsis holmii
Sacc. pastorianus
Sacc. humaticus
Sacc. unisporus
Sacc. exiguus
Sacc. turicensis sp. nov
Torulaspora delbrueckii t
Zygosaccharomyces rouxii

Dekkera anomala t/ Brettanomyces anomalus a A new ascogenous yeast species, Dekkera anomala, is described. The strains studied were isolated from spoiled soft drinks. This species differs morphologically and physiologically from the species presently accepted in the genus Dekkera by the formation of blastese and the ability to ferment lactose.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6465876

Kluyveromyces marxianus t/ Candida kefyr a
Kluyveromyces marxianus is a species of yeast in the genus Kluyveromyces, and is the sexual form (teleomorph) of Candida kefyr. K. marxianus is used commercially to produce the lactase enzyme similar to the use of other fungi such as those in the genus Aspergillus.[2]
It is produced as a nutritional yeast and bonding agent for fodder and pet food, and as a source of ribonucleic acid in pharmaceuticals.

Candida kefyr is a rare cause of candidiasis and is usually associated with superficial cutaneous manifestations rather than systemic disease. It has been isolated from nails and lung infections. Environmental isolations have been made from cheese and dairy products.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kluyveromyces_marxianus
http://www.ncyc.co.uk/print-photo-ncyc-CBS712A.html
http://www.mycology.adelaide.edu.au/Fungal_Descriptions/Yeasts/Candida/Candida_keyfyr.html

Pichia fermentans t/ C. firmetaria a
A biofilm-forming strain of Pichia fermentans proved to be most effective in controlling brown rot on apple fruit when coinoculated into artificial wounds with a phytopathogenic isolate of Monilinia fructicola. Culture filtrates and autoclaved cells had no significant influence on the disease. When sprayed onto the apple fruit surface, this yeast formed a thin biofilm but failed to colonize the underlying tissues. When inoculated into wounds artificially inflicted to peach fruit or when sprayed onto the surface of peach fruit, the same strain showed an unexpected pathogenic behaviour, causing rapid decay of fruit tissues even in the absence of M. fructicola. Both optical and scanning electron microscopy were used to evaluate the pattern of fruit tissue colonization by P. fermentans. While on apple surface and within the apple wound the antagonist retained its yeast-like shape, colonization of peach fruit tissue was always characterized by a transition from budding growth to pseudohyphal growth. These results suggest that pseudohyphal growth plays a major role in governing the potential pathogenicity of P. fermentans, further emphasizing the importance of a thorough risk assessment for the safe use of any novel biocontrol agent.

http://eprints.uniss.it/213/

Yarrowia lipolytica t/ C. lipolytica a
This Study reviews the advantages of using Yarrowia lipolitica for protein secretion.  The early steps were focused on (Cytoplasmic ribosomes to the lumen of the endoplasmic reticulum to the polypeptide).  The first evidence of a co-translational translocation was discovered using a thermosensitive allele of the 7SL RNA.  Several new components of the translocational apparatus were discovered.
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.biotechnologie.de/BIO/Redaktion/Bilder/de/Newsfotos/hefe-yarrowia-lipo,property%253Dbild,bereich%253Dbio,sprache%253Dde.jpg&imgrefurl=http://benqc8508.01lx.net/yarrowia-lipolytica.html&usg=__9aCHYg5uZdNO21wu3Ol5OVPfL38=&h=416&w=572&sz=37&hl=en&start=0&sig2=V20QDz6fFpNY95KIVI5Ukg&zoom=1&tbnid=xrWWcqmVknxqLM:&tbnh=144&tbnw=234&ei=WPp8TbaRJMHBqwHygNWsCw&prev=/images%3Fq%3DYarrowia%2Blipolytica%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26rls%3Dcom.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox%26biw%3D1020%26bih%3D595%26tbs%3Disch:1&um=1&itbs=1&iact=rc&dur=200&oei=WPp8TbaRJMHBqwHygNWsCw&page=1&ndsp=13&ved=1t:429,r:1,s:0&tx=99&ty=64

Debaryomyces hansenii t/ C. famata a
Debaryomyces hansenii is a hemiascomycetous yeast commonly found in natural substrates and in various types of cheese. Pichia guilliermondii is widely distributed in nature and is a common constituent of the normal human microflora. Both species have been described in human infections but are extremely difficult to differentiate phenotypically. Thus, frequent errors in identification occur. The 62 clinical and environmental isolates sent between 2000 and 2007 to the French National Reference Center for Mycoses and Antifungals as D. hansenii or P. guilliermondii were analyzed by using the carbon assimilation pattern, the presence of pseudohyphae, and sequencing of the ITS and D1/D2 regions of the rRNA gene. The objective of this study was to assess using nucleotide sequences whether phenotypic identification was accurate and whether phenotypic characteristics could be used to differentiate the two species when sequencing was not available. We found that 58% of the isolates were misidentified and belong to seven different species: P. guilliermondii, P. caribbica, P. jadinii, D. hansenii, Candida palmioleophila, C. haemulonii type II, and Clavispora lusitaniae. In conclusion, D. hansenii may not be as common a human pathogen as previously thought. Sequencing of either ITS or D1/D2 regions is a good tool for differentiating the species more frequently confused with D. hansenii, keeping in mind that reliable databases should be used.
http://jcm.asm.org/cgi/content/full/46/10/3237
http://www.diark.org/diark/species_list?query=Debaryomyces%20hansenii%20CBS767

Deb. [Schwanniomyces] occidentalis
This yeast has a high affinity K+ uptake system with the ability to hold high concentrations, allowing it to deplete the eternal K+.  As an ascomycete yeast, it has the ability to grow in limiting conditions.  In other words, it can very easily absorb the K+ from its surroundings even when conditions aren't favorable for most other organisms attempting to do the same task.  This ability in return increases the driving force of the organism.

Healing Properties of Kefir (K-Z)

Kidneys
Lactose Intolerance
Leaky Gut Syndrome
Liver
Lungs
Maintenance functions
Medications
Metabolism
Metastasis
Migraines
Minerals and Amino Acids
Nervous System
Osteoporosis
Pancreas
Parodontosis Cures
Pathogenic Microorganisms
Pharmaceuticals
Pneumonia
Prostate
Psoriasis and eczema
Restores Healthy Microflora
Salts
Sclerosis
Sleep Disorders
Stamina
Stress
Tuberculosis
Tumors
Ulcers
Urinary Tract Infections
Vaginitis (Inflammation of the Vagina)
Vitamins
Weight Loss
Wrinkles
Yeast Infection

Kidneys
According to a paper located HERE, recommendations include consuming 1 litre a day while maintaining a strict diet will improve kidney function.

The kidneys of a healthy individual can be maintained with the help of B vitamins. B vitamins are ever present in kefir and are easily digested as such. Regular consumption of kefir may help to regulate normal kidney function in those without kidney disease.

In a study found HERE, current sufferers of kidney disease were given single daily tablet containing 2.5 milligrams of folic acid, 25 milligrams of vitamin B6, and 1 milligram of vitamin B12, or a placebo (inactive) tablet. After 6 month follow up visits over a 3 year period some evidence shows that the B vitamins provided to those with failing kidneys were successful in lowering homocysteine levels in their body. However, those who were given the additional B vitamins also showed a lower GFR, which indicated healthy kidney function. They had twice the rate of heart attack, stroke, and other deaths at the end of the follow-up period. This was caused by a failing kidneys inability to excrete these water soluble vitamins through urine. Although the form of B vitamins in the study are not at all from Kefir, those with a failing kidney (One not eliminating properly) should be cautious when consuming large amounts of these otherwise healthy vitamins.
http://www.diabetesselfmanagement.com/Blog/Diane-Fennell/study-links-high-dose-b-vitamins-with-kidney-decline/

Some people claim that dairy products may increase your risk of developing kidney stones. According to this site, the author answers a few questions by a reader. The authors views are as follows concerning kidney stones and kefir. Its stated that to date there is no evidence that consuming dairy will cause kidney stones or that eliminating it will deter them. There are a number of causes for kidney stones and each case may be person specific. Regardless of a milk being raw or pasteurized, the calcium and phosphorus content are the same. The protein content in both cases breaks down into uric acid. As each individual is unique as are kidney stone causes, if one is prone to such an event, they should discuss this with a health professional. The author goes on to point out that there is no correlation to kefir and kidney stones, so avoiding kefir will not prevent them. On the other hand, kefir builds up micro flora in the body increasing vitamin K, which is known for strengthening blood vessels in the body. The kidneys included!
http://curezone.com/forums/fm.asp?i=1711555
Try consuming a Kefir + Nutmeg Infusion for it's powerful detox properties and ability to dissolve kidney stones
\
Lactose Intolerance
http://researchnews.osu.edu/archive/kefir.htm
"The researchers asked 15 adults to consume five separate test foods: 2 percent milk; plain kefir; raspberry-flavored kefir; plain yogurt; and raspberry-flavored yogurt. Each food was eaten after a 12-hour fast and followed up by a series of breath hydrogen tests every hour for eight hours. Participants were asked to record any symptoms of lactose intolerance for eight hours after eating each food. 
Past studies by other scientists have shown that eating fermented dairy products, such as yogurt, improves lactose digestion. Participants in the current study reported having little or no symptoms associated with lactose intolerance after eating both types of yogurt and kefir. Flatulence was the most-reported symptom. Drinking kefir reduced flatulence frequency by more than half, compared to milk.
Breath hydrogen levels were also significantly lower after consuming the plain and flavored kefir than after drinking milk. Flatulence is the biggest complaint among lactose-intolerant people, Hertzler said, and breath hydrogen is indicative of excessive gas in the digestive tract.

“Both kefir and yogurt improve lactose digestion simply because some of the bacterial cells give up their lives in the intestinal tract, release their enzymes and digest the lactose,” Hertzler said. “It’s a one-shot deal. However, kefir has additional microorganisms that may be able to colonize the intestines and benefit health further by protecting the intestine against disease-causing bacteria.”


Liver
According to a paper located HERE, recommendations include consuming 1 litre daily.  The patient enjoys restful sleep without medication.

Nervous System
According to a paper located HERE, recommendations include consuming 1 litre of kefir daily with a meal.  In severe cases, sleeplessness disappears without the use of medication.  appetite returns and depression disappears.

Sclerosis
According to a paper located HERE, recommendations include consuming 1/2 a litre daily of kefir.  The most severe sclerosis improves remarkably and does not return.

Stress
Try consuming a Kefir + Nutmeg Infusion to stimulate the brain, relieve stress levels and promote dreaming

Ulcers
According to a paper located HERE, recommendations include consuming 1 litre a day so long as the illness dictates.  In recorded cases, ulcers have disappeared within 2 months time.

Yeast Infection
Try consuming a Kefir + Cinnamon Infusion to stop precription resistant yeast infections.