Fasting -- a contradiction?

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I have a non-Catholic friend who said that fasting is “unhealthy” because you are denying your body of essential nutrients.

He then asked, “Aren’t you suppose to treat your body like a temple of the Holy Spirit? If so, when you fast aren’t you doing something unhealthy for your body? You cannot say that denying yourself nourishment is a good thing for your body. Thus, you are in contradiction, when you fast, of God’s command to treat your body like a temple of the Holy Spirit.”

How would you respond to this?
 
James_2_24 said:
I have a non-Catholic friend who said that fasting is “unhealthy” because you are denying your body of essential nutrients.

He then asked, “Aren’t you suppose to treat your body like a temple of the Holy Spirit? If so, when you fast aren’t you doing something unhealthy for your body? You cannot say that denying yourself nourishment is a good thing for your body. Thus, you are in contradiction, when you fast, of God’s command to treat your body like a temple of the Holy Spirit.”

How would you respond to this?
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I would explain to him that fasting in the way that we Catholics fast is not harmful to the body. There are people - healthy people who are doing just fine - who would say that two small snack-sized meals and one large meal, all without meat, and as much to drink as you want, is a feast. 😉
 
There’s 80 year old Carthusians that basically don’t live on Meat all their monastic life.
 
Fasting is a penitential act, and penance, together with prayer, is armor against temptation. The Church never asks for unhealthy fasting, though, since that would be wrong against our bodies.
 
First and foremost - Christ Himself fasted for forty days in the desert. Was He sinning, or treating His body as less than a temple, by doing so? Doubt it. Secondly He commanded it - said ‘WHEN you fast’, not IF. And the Apostles (and John the Baptist) followed this practice from time to time, the NT is full of references to ‘fasting and prayer’.

As to the mechanics of our fasting - firstly Catholics are advised to check with their doctors if they suspect their fasting will cause any health problems, and are allowed to not to fast if so. Even if they are under 16 or over 65 for that matter, or pregant.

Apart from that, we only fast two days a year in the Latin Rite, which by no stretch of the imagination will do the slightest harm to the health of an otherwise properly-fed adult. Most of the faddish ‘detox’ or ‘meal-replacement’ diets are far more drastic and undertaken for longer periods.

There are studies about a phenomenon called caloric restriction, suggesting that people who REGULARLY consume a fairly low level of calories (say 1200 or less a day) are actually likely to live longer than those who eat more, regardless of how healthy the diet of the bigger eaters is.

Mind you, we’re allowed (and most of us eat) the equivalent of about two moderate meals, which would be more like this healthy caloric restriction than starvation.

Our bodies are quite well-designed to cope with the occasional day or two without food - dating back to cavemen times when agriculture, and thus a steady daily food supply, was unknown, and occasional days without food were part of life.
 
James_2_24 said:
I have a non-Catholic friend who said that fasting is “unhealthy” because you are denying your body of essential nutrients.

He then asked, “Aren’t you suppose to treat your body like a temple of the Holy Spirit? If so, when you fast aren’t you doing something unhealthy for your body? You cannot say that denying yourself nourishment is a good thing for your body. Thus, you are in contradiction, when you fast, of God’s command to treat your body like a temple of the Holy Spirit.”

How would you respond to this?
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Tell him fasting trains you how to control yourself. This training comes in handy when other types of temptation arise.
 
Dear friend
There are numerous references in the bible encouraging fasting and penance. You might find the below interesting too-
Bible, Revised Standard Version

5 matches.


  1. Matt.10

    1. ]39] He who finds his life will lose it, and he who* loses his life** for my sake will find it.
      Matt.16

      1. ]25] For whoever would save his life will lose it, and whoever* loses his life** for my sake will find it.
        Mark.8

        1. ]35] For whoever would save his life will lose it; and whoever* loses his life** for my sake and the gospel’s will save it.
          Luke.9

          1. ]24] For whoever would save his life will lose it; and whoever* loses his life** for my sake, he will save it.
            Luke.17

            1. ]33] Whoever seeks to gain his life will lose it, but whoever* loses his life** will preserve it.
 
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