July 30, 2009 at 12:54 pm (2009 Daniel Fast, 21-day fast, Daniel Fast, Daniel Fast Guidelines, Foods and Menus, Health & Healing)
Tags: 21-Day Daniel Fast, 21-day fast, amazon, Daniel diet, Daniel Fast, Daniel Fast Cookbook, daniel fast recipes, Daniels Fast, Daniels Fast Cookbook, fasting, Spiritual Fasting, the daniel fast
I just read an article from Johns Hopkins University that cited a new study about MSG. You can find it at MSG STUDY. It’s worth reading, especially when you wonder why you feel so good while on the Daniel Fast.
The article is also very convincing as to why most men and women lose weight while on the Daniel Fast. Here’s an overview:
The study finds that MSG causes the human body to gain weight three times more than those who don’t use the chemical! Here’s an excerpt:
“The study focused on 750 Chinese men and women, ages 40-59, living in 3 rural villages in north and south China. Most of the study subjects prepared their meals at home without commercially processed foods and roughly 82 percent used MSG. Those participants who used the highest amounts of MSG had nearly 3 times the incidence of overweight as those who did not use MSG, even when physical activity, total caloric intake, and other possible explanations for body mass differences were accounted for. The positive correlation between MSG and higher weight confirmed what animal studies have been suggesting for years.”
Most people think MSG (monsodium glutamate) is found only in prepared Chinese food or the food you get in Chinese restaurants. But the truth is that more and more food manufactures are adding MSG to their products because the chemical is a flavor enhancer.
Here is what is really amazing: in 1950 Americans consumed about 1 million pounds of MSG a year. Now that consumption has increased by 300 percent! That’s right, American consume more than 3 million pounds of MSG each year! And we wonder why we have a weight problem!
The best way to avoid MSG is to make you own meals from scratch. When that it’s possible, then - here we go again - READ THE LABEL on the foods you purchase to see what the ingredients include. One problem is that the law only requires ingredients to be listed if they represent a certain percent of all the ingredients. So if what seems like only a small amount of MSG is added, then it will not appear on the list.
I hope that most of those on the Daniel Fast are making most of your meals from fresh products and using packaged products that you can be sure don’t include chemicals. One thing I know is that many men and women continue to eat a more healthy diet with pure foods after they complete the fast because they realize good food is so good for them.
Please take a few minutes and read the article about THE MSG STUDY. You owe it to yourself and to your body!
8 Comments
July 25, 2009 at 7:18 am (* Thoughts from Susan, 2009 Daniel Fast, 21-day fast, Daniel Fast)
Tags: amazon, Daniel diet, Daniel Fast, Daniels Fast, fasting, Spiritual Fasting, the daniel fast
“Sometimes you are so hungry that the only way to get fed is to fast.”
That was the thought going through my head yesterday when I sensed the Lord calling me to start a new Daniel Fast for a period of study, prayer and intense focusing on Him. I am so hungry for more of my Father and less of me! I asked the Lord to help me, and those are the word I heard in my spirit, “Sometimes you are so hungry, the only way you can get fed is to fast.”
So I finished the cup of coffee I had already started, took a deep breath and declared that I was entering into a new Daniel Fast. I will fast for at least 21 days, but then see how things are going and I may extend one week at a time until I sense that it’s time to end.
I also wrote in my journal about what I was seeking for this Daniel Fast with spurts of conversations with the Lord. That’s how He and I communicate in our morning time together. I talk, He talks. I write and well, He’s already written His Word, so I read what He’s written. It’s a great time of fellowship that I cherish.
At the end of this time, I realized that this is to be a consecrated time of centering myself on Him and His ways. A time to shed and forego a few activities so that I can focus on some projects He’s call me to complete. This is also a time when I will form some new habits so I can grow spiritually, so I can renew my mind to the Truth of God’s Word, and so I can move toward better health and vitality.
Finally, this is a time when I am to step up to what God has for me. Even at my “seasoned age,” I still wrestle with self-esteem issues and the shadows of hurtful events in my past. However, I hear the Lord calling me to follow Him to the truth of who I am in Him and to put away how the enemy tried to shape me to be.
I am moving forward with the Lord and to the Lord and His amazing way of living. It’s a kingdom of God living, not that I have to wait for when I depart this world. But rather, the kingdom of God living that He spoke of in His Word.
I’ll keep you posted about my journey on this fast, hopefully to encourage you on your walk of faith. You can find those updates on www.Daniel-Fast.com.
I can say, even as I write this post just 24 hours into my Summer ‘09 Daniel Fast, I am charged with a new energy and hope. Our God is so good and He wants us to rely on Him in every way. The more we turn to Him the more He can minister to us. What a great blessing!
Be blessed!
Susan Gregory
The Daniel Fast Blogger
www.Daniel-Fast.com
6 Comments
June 17, 2009 at 8:00 pm (21-day fast, Daniel Fast, Health & Healing)
Tags: 21-Day Daniel Fast, cholesterol, Daniel diet, Daniel Fast, daniel fast foods, Daniels Fast, fasting, foods, health, lower cholesterol, Spiritual Fasting
First, I want to make it clear that the purpose of fasting and of the Daniel Fast is not all about health. Remember, the definition of fasting is “to restrict food for a spiritual purpose.” So seeking a deeper relationship with God is the primary purpose of fasting.
With that said, there are some powerful benefits to Daniel Fast. One of those is that many people find their cholesterol lowers after they have been on the Daniel Fast for 21 or more consecutive days.
So why is the Daniel Fast so good at lowering cholesterol? The main reason is that the eating plan includes so much fiber (a.k.a. roughage). Fiber is a powerful part of food and sadly, most western diets contain very little of it these days. Fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains and beans are all packed with fiber. And the great benefit of it is that it helps in the digestive process!
Now here is the little known fact of why that it so important to hour health and why eating adequate fiber lowers cholesterol. During digestion, our body created bile to help digest the food. However, undigested bile is what increases cholesterol. When we eat enough fiber, it kind of scrubs our intestines, absorbs the left-over bile, and then eliminates it from our body!
That’s a good thing! If the bile builds up it goes into the blood stream, turns into cholesterol and then the build-up starts.
The Daniel Fast is totally plant based with lost of whole grains, fruits, vegetables and beans. So when you eat these fiber rich foods for an extended period of time, your body starts the cleaning process with the help of the fiber scrub brushes and your cholesterol count goes down.
Very cool in my opinion! To make things even better, fiber also contributes to preventing cancer and also aids in slower sugar absorption which is good for those with diabetes. Plus, fiber makes us feel fuller and thus reduces the appetite.
So, if you have high cholesterol, then the Daniel Fast is a sure prescription for helping you toward better health!
You can learn more about fiber at this site: Benefits of Fiber
Leave a Comment
January 23, 2009 at 12:15 pm (2009 Daniel Fast, 21-day fast, Daniel Fast, Health & Healing, Spiritual Fasting)
Tags: Daniel diet, Daniel Fast, daniel fast recipes, Daniel movement, Daniels Fast, fasting, Spiritual Fasting
Many men and women will complete their 21-day Daniel Fast over the weekend. And so I wanted to post some advice about ending your fast. Even if you are not concluding your fast, please keep this information in mind. It is important.
- Ease back into your “typical diet.” This is especially true with caffeine, sugar, fatty foods, meat and dairy products. Small portions are wise and go slow, perhaps just one or two foods per day.
- For caffeine beverages, drink one small cup or glass and then see how your body reacts. Don’t be surprised if you get the “jitters.” Consider starting with de-caf (I realize that’s almost criminal for those of us who love the java).
- Don’t be surprised if you feel tired after you start eating the “typical foods.” Your body has been detoxed over the 21-day Daniel Fast and it might scoff at what it has to digest!
- Continue to drink lots of filtered water, at least 1/2 gallon a day.
Also, consider the lessons you’ve learned and the good habits you’ve adopted on the Daniel Fast. Don’t leave them behind, but let them become a regular part of your life. This includes your prayer and study time with the Lord as well as improved eating habits.
Finally, while you may always fast at the New Year, consider fasting at other times of the year. Many parents pray and then fast from dawn to dusk on their children’s birthdays. If you have pressing issues or circumstances facing you, consider a time of consecrated prayer and fasting. Last year I fasted during Pentecost seeking the Lord’s direction for some personal business matters.
The Daniel Fast is an excellent method for a partial fast. It beats John the Baptist’s fast — honey and locust!
Be blessed!
42 Comments
January 6, 2009 at 5:49 pm (21-day fast, Beverages & Water)
Tags: 21-Day Daniel Fast, 40-day fast, amazon, biblical fasting, Daniel diet, Daniel Fast, Daniel Fast Cookbook, Daniel Fast Guidelines, Daniels Fast, Daniels Fast Cookbook, fasting, Spiritual Fasting
One of the most frequently asked questions I receive about the Daniel Fast concerns herbal tea. People have a hard time understanding why they can’t have it on the fast, especially if it’s caffeine-free and organic. The same question is asked about fruit and vegetable juice.
The answer is really quite simple and it’s found in Daniel 1:12 where the Prophet’s words are recorded:
“Please test your servants for ten days, and let them give us vegetables to eat and water to drink.”
This is the anchor text that says we drink only water on the Daniel Fast. Tea and juice aren’t off the list because they are bad for you. They are off the list because there is no room for juice or tea in “drink only water.”
I hope this helps solve some of the confusion as to why no other beverages are allowed on the Daniel Fast. When you think “beverage” during the Daniel Fast, you think “water.”
Now, let’s move to a little bit of a complicated matter, and that has to do with “juiced fruit and vegetables” that are allowed on the Daniel Fast. The reason they are listed is tbecause many people have meals of juiced produce. It’s not a beverage . . . it’s a meal. One woman wrote to me today and told me she uses juiced meals when she’s traveling and at work. But she also accompanies the juiced meal with a beverage . . . which is filtered water.
Water has many benefits . . . including thwarting hunger, helping with detox headaches and cleansing the body. The average adult should drink at least 1/2 gallon of filtered water every day. If this is a new practice for you, you will be very surprised by the benefits you experience.
53 Comments
January 3, 2009 at 1:32 pm (2009 Daniel Fast, 21-day fast, Daniel Fast)
Tags: 21-Day Daniel Fast, 21-day fast, Daniel diet, Daniel Fast, Daniel Fast Food List, Daniel Fast menus, daniel fast recipes, daniel fast salads, Daniels Fast Cookbook, fasting movement, jentzen fast, jentzen franklin, prayer and fasting, Spiritual Fasting
The last several weeks have been wild! It’s all good! And I am thankful to be able to announce a brand new collection of Daniel Fast recipes. They are all new in the Daniel Fast Cookbook – Version II.
The Daniel Fast Cookbook - Version II
This cookbook is a great stand-alone, but also serves as an excellent companion to the Daniel Fast Cookbook – Version I or even Daniel’s Fast Cookbook. The Daniel Fast Cookbook – Version II is more than 100 pages and more recipes than you will need for the fast. It’s already sold 100s of copies to my great Daniel Fast friends who purchased eBooks from me before.
The Daniel Fast Cookbooks are filled with Daniel Fast recipes and you can visit the new website that I am working on:
You can click on “Store” and purchase this new Daniel Fast Cookbook or The Daniel Fast for the Body, Soul and Spirit.
Thanks in advance for supporting this lay ministry by purchasing the eBooks. My whole goal with this blog, the Daniel Fast website and the Daniel Fast Cookbooks is to support you and others as you enter into this powerful time of spiritual fasting!
24 Comments
January 3, 2009 at 1:03 pm (2009 Daniel Fast, 21-day fast, Corporate Fasting, Daniel Fast)
Tags: 21-Day Daniel Fast, Daniel diet, Daniel Fast, daniel fast recipes, fasting, jentzen fast, jentzen franklin, prayer and fasting, Spiritual Fasting
We are coming up to the first day of the New Year Fastthat Jentzen Franklin promotes. Pastor Franklin has motivated tens of thousands of people to start the New Year with prayer and fasting. Many who will join in this 21-day fast, which begins Sunday, January 4th, will use the Daniel Fast as their method of fasting. You can get a copy of the Daniel Fast Guidelines by going to www.Daniel-Fast.comand adding your mailing list so they can be immediatly downloaded to you.
I’m glad that you reached this site if this is the first time you’ve been here. We have a whole community of men and women who practice the Daniel Fast at least once during the year. Many of us use the Daniel Fast several times throughout the year as we seek God and want to intensify our time with Him.
Jentezen Franklin (this is his spelling, although most people leave out the second “e”) has been a wonderful gift to the Body of Christ by teaching about spiritual fasting and then moving people into the New Year Fast and the Daniel Fast each year. I am so thankful for his devotion to God and His Word.
Please take some time to look around on this blog and learn more about the Daniel Fast.
Also, if you want a free copy of The Daniel Fast Guidelines in brochure form that you can download on your computer, just fill out the little form at the site below and the document will be emailed to you immediately.
www.Daniel-Fast.com
Also, but sure to check back to this blog periodically as I will add more content, information, tools and inspirational material over the coming weeks.
Be blessed!
291 Comments
January 1, 2009 at 4:43 pm (2009 Daniel Fast, 21-day fast, Daniel Fast)
Tags: 21-Day Daniel Fast, 21-day fast, 40-day fast, biblical fasting, Christian Fasting, Daniel diet, Daniel Fast, Daniel Fast Cookbook, Daniel Fast eBook, daniel fast recipes, Daniels Fast, Daniels Fast Cookbook, fasting, Spiritual Fasting
Okay, after the last few weeks of designing and putting together a new Daniel Fast website, autoresponders and a new shopping cart . . . I think rocket science really is easier!
Please take a look a the ‘new Daniel Fast site that I am currently building. It will be one of the support sites where I can offer all kinds of tools and helps to support you in your Daniel Fast.
You can find the site here: www.Daniel-Fast.com
Please visit it periodically as it will be changing almost every day. The same is true of this Daniel Fast Blog. Now that we have entered 2009 you will find new content, thoughts and information every day.
God bless you and I hope the very best for you as you enter the 2009 Daniel Fast.
12 Comments
December 17, 2008 at 8:33 am (2009 Daniel Fast, 21-day fast, Corporate Fasting, Daniel Fast)
Tags: 21-Day Daniel Fast, Daniel diet, Daniel Fast Food List, daniel fast recipes, Daniels Fast, henry fernandez, jentezen franklin, jentzen fast, jentzen franklin, Spiritual Fasting
Oh my, if there has ever been a good time to start the New Year with prayer and fasting, this is it! Many television preachers and evangelists are calling for a New Year fast including Jentezen Franklin and Henry Fernandez. Some will start with a 21-day fast, while others will engage in a 40-day fast.
The Daniel Fast is not tied to any specific date or to a period of time. Unlike Lent, which is a 40-day period of fasting before Easter, the Daniel Fast is a “type of fast.” With that said, more and more church bodies and individuals have started a tradition of starting the New Year with a period of prayer and fasting. And since the fast is usually for an extended period of time, most Christians use the Daniel Fast as their method of fasting.
Typically, believers who start the New Year with prayer and fasting decide on a 21-day fast commencing on the first Sunday in January. For 2009, that will be Sunday, January 4th. Pastor Jentezen Franklin has been the strongest promoter of the New Year Fast and will again teach on the benefits of prayer and fasting on his television program.
You can also learn a lot about fasting on this blog or by reading The Daniel Fast for the Body, Soul and Spirit.
I hope you spend some time on this blog as it’s entire purpose is to help men, women and young people in their journey toward a successful fasting experience. After you’ve looked around the blog and you don’t find the answer to a question you might have, feel free to post it here! I try to respond within 24 hours!
Be blessed and I hope the very best for you as you seed the Lord through prayer and fasting.
62 Comments
December 29, 2007 at 8:49 am (2008 Daniel Fast, 21-day fast, How many days?, Preparation)
Tags: 21-Day Daniel Fast, 21-day fast, Daniel diet, Daniel Fast, Daniel Fast Cookbook, daniel fast recipes, Spiritual Fasting
Well, we are drawing closer to New Year’s Day, which will mark the beginning of the 21-Day Daniel Fast for many. Others will start their 21-Day Fast on Sunday, January 6th, which is the first Sunday of the year. Still others will commit to a shorter period of spiritual fasting, but still give a “first fruits offering” of themselves to the Lord by beginning the New Year with prayer and fasting.
The 21-Day Fast is the most popular, primarily because that is the model set out by Daniel in Chapter 10:2, 3 – “In those days I, Daniel, was mourning three full weeks. I ate no pleasant food, no meat or wine came into my mouth, nor did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled.”
I hope you will find all the information you need on this site to be successful on your fast. One thing I want to advise: be prepared! First, have the right kinds of foods in the house that you can eat for the Daniel Fast. See the Daniel Fast Food List. Also, plan your menus and prepare the foods so they are available to you. See the Daniel Fast Cookbook, plus there are many recipes on this site that you can make ahead.
Second, you might want to get rid of or at least put away foods that are tempting. Kind of like the biblical accounts of Jewish women as they prepared for the Passover by cleaning their houses from top to bottom and removed all yeast from their homes. Many Jews engage in this same practice today when they prepare for the Passover.
Third, plan time to prepare meals as they will likely take a little longer than when you are not fasting. Most of the mels you prepare will be from scratch since there are so few prepared products that don’t have chemicals in them. So you will want to set aside enough time to prepare your meals, not only for those you will have at home, but also those you will have at work or when you are traveling.
Of course, you also want to prepare your heart for the 21-Day Fast. Seek the Lord’s guidance as you get ready to start the fast. Are there issues in your life that you need to address? Are their needs in your family or ministry that can use special attention? Are you seeking healing? Do you feel oppressed by financial bandages? These last few days of the year are an excellent time to search your heart, open yourself to the Lord, and allow Him to lead you into you personal 21-Day Fast. See The Daniel Fast for the Body, Soul and Spirit.
Continue to visit The Daniel Fast Blog as I add content every day. Also, if you have questions, please leave a comment and I try to respond within a couple hours — many times immediately.
God bless you and I hope the very best for you as you set aside this time to give the first of yourself to Almighty God. Remember, He rewards those who diligently seek Him. So keep your mind on Christ and your focus on righteousness.
86 Comments
