Page:Linda Hazzard - Fasting for the cure of disease.djvu/165

 expression of the stable in reference to the ailments of the horse embodies the phrase, "off his feed," and this alone illustrates the instinct that impels the animal to fast when its physical well-being is disturbed. A python in captivity has been known to abstain from food for thirteen months with no deleterious effects beyond a loss in weight; and cats often prolong abstention to skeleton condition, when they rapidly return to health with strength and vigor increased. Instances such as these may be multiplied indefinitely.

Omitting the mental states of fear and worry, which of necessity react upon the physical body, and bodily conditions of severe pain or of continued exposure, the average human being cannot die from want of food for several months. This fact has been substantiated in many instances in medical history, and it is verified and corroborated daily in fasting for the cure of disease.

If, then, the body can exist without food for a time, and, if in illness the stomach instinctively objects to its introduction, it is reasonable to infer that food not desired is not necessary, and, once accepted, this inference is abundantly justified. The results of its practical application are such that they