Food for Thought
- Mira Duriman
- Sep 11, 2022
- 9 min read
Jeremiah Roa began to shake convulsively. No one was there to witness or help. He wanted to scream in excruciating pain, but instead, a quiet prayer reverbed throughout his skull. For three hours, Jeremiah was stuck on the toilet.
There, he heard the party decrease in volume as conversations about Valentine’s Day transitioned into a sea of farewells. He was hoping that it wasn’t his last goodbye as well. “It felt like stabbing from inside the stomach,” he recalled.
Flashbacks of his life became vivid. His four brothers and one sister titled gave him the title of an art prodigy as he spent the majority of his life creating animations for popular videos games such as Activist’s Guitar Hero. In fact, the company used the structure of his face as a template reference for one of the characters that the gamers can choose from. This particular character traveled along with the Guitar hero series. He was drawing realistic portraits of his father at the age of three with precise detail, shadows, and intention. His desire for perfectionism translated well in the quality of his work but affected his ultimate end goal: completion.
Jeremiah Roa wanted his 40th birthday to be monumental. So, he decided to prepare for an only a 5-day water fast in hopes to improve his health and spiritual enlightenment. His prior lifestyle already consisted of weight training and cardio. Every day, he completed 3 miles on foot, then finished with his home gym. All he had to do was convert his craving for comfort food into a diet of sole water, but things didn’t go as planned.
According to Harvard Health, water is known for “carrying nutrients and oxygen to your cells, flushing bacteria from your bladder, aiding digestion, preventing constipation, normalizing blood pressure, stabilizing the heartbeat, cushioning joints, protecting organs and tissues, regulating body temperature, and maintaining electrolyte (sodium) balance” to help detox the body from any diseases, impurities, aches, and being overweight. Beginner fasters must also be precautionary of any pre-existing and all future factors of extreme water diets that may reverse the true intentions for the fast.
Water fasting is not recommended for all audiences without first seeking advice from their healthcare provider. Healthline does not recommend it for people that are prone to gout attacks as, “Water fasting may increase uric acid production, as a high-risk factor,” which does the opposite of healing. Furthermore, “there is some evidence that fasting may encourage eating disorders like bulimia, especially in teenagers” as the diet consumes a massive amount of concentrated time and effort. Jeremiah was dedicated to prevailing against any obstacles that this fast would face him.
Within the first week, the process of drinking cold water began to pain his stomach. So, Jeremiah started to drink half a cup of warm water every 2 hours for a consecutive 5 days to reduce his appetite and stay committed to his plan. He was still completing his 3 miles and lifting 85 lbs. He felt his body get weaker, so he decreased 5 lbs. every three days to adjust to his new energy. He was doing well until he ran into some friends.
A petite woman, smaller than he, challenged him to prolong the water fast. Jeremiah contemplated the offer as he was already maintaining a good streak. She said, “Don’t stop now.” He fast-forwarded to the 10th day with no complications until he ran into another friend. Jeremiah befriend a muscular man that taunted his ability to remain consistent. His friend boasted that he completed a 21-day water fast. Although Jeremiah was proud of his personal progress and results, he couldn’t let his friend win. He was bugging Jeremiah the whole night to match his 21 days until Jeremiah accepted the request. The peer pressure was on.
Jeremiah felt the immediate support from his friends to pursue a longer fast because he saw the results that he was in the process of earning and became inspired. UNLV Conley explains, “The notion of being pressured or challenged gets at the issue of cultural and social values and how they become attached to specific foods and eating behaviors and practices... Fad diets, wonder ingredients, and magical cures come and go largely based on cultural valuations around health or cost or uniqueness.” Jeremiah knew he had the accessible luxury to get water.
So, at this point, he successfully fasted for a total of 21 days. Jeremiah said, “The third week is easiest.” His shoulder injury, which was hurting for 20 years, was healed. He looked 10 years younger. His eyesight got better, and his mind felt more attentive. His family thought he was crazy. His bones started to bulge.
Jeremiah enjoyed looking at food and watching people eat. The appeal of smell and visual enticement of food became heightened as he tasted the aroma of dishes. He savored these moments with family instead of consuming meals. He said, “It feels like you’re eating but through somebody else.”
UNLV Associate Professor Donovan Conley, PhD. says that “As to him feeling "full" based on external stimuli (seeing/smelling), that part takes the social/cultural externals and weaves them together with psychological perceptions.” The sight of comfort foods along with the experience of wholesome moments reinforced a positive physiological response from external cues which erased the desire for appetite. He felt content with the water, but in the 4th week, his body started to reject the water.
UNLV Nutrition Director Samantha Coogan explains, “His appetite changed based on perceptions from his body, and as a compensatory reaction as his body realized that it was being starved, it started to preserve more energy.” In other words, his body “reduces energy expenditure/caloric burn, which in turn, then reduces his overall desire and need to eat.” Jeremiah became conditioned to go against the temptation of appetite.
To elaborate more about water rejection, Coogan says, “Water intoxication is possible, especially if he was not supplementing with any electrolytes. He likely experienced a case of hyponatremia (although I am not diagnosing him), but his symptoms seem to mimic those of someone who is electrolyte dehydrated. It's possible to overconsume fluids (i.e. water), but still, be clinically dehydrated. Hyponatremia is the depletion of blood sodium and can be detrimental. It causes athletes to "hit the wall" during training and competition along with lethargy, irritability, and disorientation. In addition, lacking potassium, phosphorus and the other electrolytes can be just as harmful.”
Jeremiah’s brothers were fascinated by his journey. At first, they were skeptical of the water fast’s results, but one day, Jesse Roa and CR were watching television together. Yoshinori Ohsumi’s won a Nobel prize for autophagy. An instantaneous smirk appeared on the brother’s face.
According to Healthline, “Autophagy is a process in which old parts of your cells are broken down and recycled. Several animal studies suggest that autophagy may help protect against diseases like cancer, Alzheimer’s, extended life span, and heart disease.” The men were convinced.
Jesse Roa, an entrepreneur, chef, and investor, decides to join the water fast first. Since he didn’t want to look like bones, he only committed to 28 days starting February 1, 2017. His love for eating the food he cooks for himself and his family was his biggest challenge. The first three days were the hardest, but as time progressed, he became accustomed to his diet.
Ramen. Steak. Burgers. Tapsilog. Ramen. Steak. Burgers. Tapsilog. The thought of food lingered in his head. Although he wasn’t hungry, Jesse said he missed the action and “the fun of eating.” He never excluded himself from social gatherings, but the thought of flavors made him salivate. It was not in his character to break.
Jesse noticed himself always spacing out. “I tried to do nothing,” he says after encountering a spiritual awakening. There was an unleashed conviction from within that gave him the extra energy to feel alive. He recalls, “It was a mix of willpower and human power. You don’t need religion to fast, but it gives you extra encouragement.”
Similar to Christianity, the International House of Prayer (IHOP) explains, “The practice of regular fasting as normal Christian behavior was taught by Jesus (Mt. 6:16–17, 9:15), exercised by the early church (Acts 13:2), and has been the regular discipline of believers throughout church history.” The water fast is encouraged to help realign and cleanse any perverted thoughts from distracting one’s destiny.
IHOP continues, “A ‘fasted lifestyle’ is a disciplined lifestyle, in which we steward our bodies and time with wisdom and diligence. Fasting is not only abstention; it is an exchange where we abstain from certain things in order to “feast” on God’s Word and prayer, whereby the abundance of His grace is made more readily available.” Jesse Roa felt his senses heighten in a way he has never felt before.”
On the 28th day, Jesse is done with the fast. His transitioning foods were varieties of soup, French onion, cheddar broccoli, or chicken noodle with low amounts of 4 oz steak. On other meals, he suggests half greens with juices instead of smoothies. Avoid sugars and carbs. Don’t do any calisthenic exercises.
CR forgot to eat dinner one night. It was then that he realized it was his turn in the water fast. He decided to do a cold turkey and his journey began. His goal was to be super healthy.
Just like Jesse, the first two days felt like years. He was drinking 14 cups a day frequently using the restroom. All the waste discretion left his body within those first 24 hours. Usually, he eats midnight snacks, but he began to sleep off his hunger. He reduced his workload which lowered his stress levels. CR was doing a lot of concentration to keep his vow. He slept in peace knowing he played his part for the day.
Ramen. Pho. Taco Bell. Ramen. Pho. Taco Bell. He started to miss the idea of food.
CR’s daily routine always anticipated a hot meal after a hard day of work. Now, he has to replace that thought with another distraction. Instead, he would go for walk in a park, go hiking, go off-roading, play video games, but nothing too strenuous that exerted all the energy has preserved. He had no energy, but he felt no aches.
On the 15th morning, CR celebrated the completion of his fast by the highly anticipated grocery shopping. He bought dark vegetables such as spinach and beets to juice. Since his body detoxed from all the toxins, CR thought that all the vitamins in the juice were going to benefit is empty body until he looked at his feet.
Two minutes immediately after drinking a cup of spinach juice, CR’s feet were flaring with gout! His feet stiffened and he alerted his brothers of an emergency. “Get me a burrito from Taco Bell. Anything will help!” he yelped.
CR didn’t get any results he wanted because he wasn’t supposed to eat high purine. He didn’t have a slow entrance back to eating regular foods. Usually, it takes his gout to heal in about 10 days, but in this instance, it was two weeks until he was fully recovered.
Coogan says, “high-sugar foods (natural & artificial), processed foods, refined oil, foods with certain additives/preservatives (i.e. unnatural dyes, some shelf extenders), over charred meats (can cause acrolein to build up), cooking oils with lower smoke points (can cause acrolein to accrue especially in meats), inadequate macronutrient balance, inadequate starchy vs. non-starchy carb balance (i.e. too much white bread, pasta, rice - these foods can still be incorporated into a healthy lifestyle, but in moderation), excessive carbohydrate intake (above 45-65% AMDR) without being physically active, fluid/electrolyte imbalance, tobacco use, and excess alcohol intake” contributes to bad health and lifestyle. CR was aware of his existing conditions, but he was so excited about his health, that it took him a few steps back.
Jeremiah was proud of his brothers’ results because it wasn’t as severe as his. After his 40-day fast, he wanted to speed up his metabolism. He says, “For how long you fasted, that’s how long it should take you to eat a normal meal. What you eat will determine your metabolism and long term.” First, he plans and eats half a cup of food for one meal three times a day, every day for three days. He drank vegetable juice. He ate soup by increasing the calorie intake exponentially from 300, 600, to 1,200 calories and so forth.
On Valentine’s Day, Jeremiah displayed the same behavior as CR’s anticipation towards the thought of food. Mountains of burgers and pots of spaghetti stared at Jeremiah in the face. He ate so much food, his waistline went from 24 inches to 34 inches; he gained 8 pounds within one day. He couldn’t talk or move. Jeremiah, envisioning himself under that much pain, makes him feel a deep empathy. He said, “My body was shaking so violently like I was demon-possessed.” He thought his body was going to explode and that his family was going to find him dead the next day.
Coogan explains, “When we restrict whole food groups and then try to reintroduce them right away, the body will reject it as it hasn't been used to metabolizing that volume of food before, known as Refeeding Syndrome. This typically occurs in malnourished patients and can cause fatal shifts in electrolyte balance and fluids. A big dump of carbs can cause excessive bloating and water retention.” She continues, “Whenever you cut out foods, you need to slowly reintroduce them so that your metabolism can keep up. Our metabolism fluctuates for several reasons, one being caloric intake. Refeeding Syndrome could even occur in those on feeding tubes or IV nutrition therapy.”
Jeremiah prevailed through that pain because he believes that “The body cannot fix itself if your mind is negative. Be cool about it and believe it’s going to heal your body” as he was pushing through this life-threatening moment. Although he believes in God, he tested the ultimate devotion within himself.
All three brothers knew that this fast can lead to death without proper research. Each had to know one’s boundaries. They could not act out on sporadic decisions because it took mental and physical perseverance to deny temptations from others and oneself.
Jeremiah says, “You have to have self-control. There is no other way. You have to resist, or you will go to the emergency room.”
CR responds, “Our body is greater than you think. God made our body to be like him.”
Jesse concludes, “Everyone has struggles, but there is no difference between men and women. If you have no wholeness, you can’t do it.”
Water fasts are not fast at all. It tests the mind of its dedication to fulfilling its intentions. Each fast is going to reveal a truth that is life-changing for every challenger. The brothers starved and also ate together.
Works Cited
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