Fasting

It will be obvious to many that Spielberg didn't make this documentary however, the content is well balanced, science based and very informative. The topic should be a wake up call to the populus. As a species we have sleep walked into a dangerous and life threatening eating regime. There are many reasons for this but the topic of fasting and the various methods that can be utilised, has the potential to help us undo some of the problems that we have created and the consequences of which we often now suffer. Yes, this is a relatively new concept which needs more time to be proven fully and yes, if the guidelines and medical supervision (where necessary) are ignored, there can be serious side effects, but some of the less extreme versions should be able to let most people make educated choices as to how they can address some of the problems that we face as a modern species. I have to admit that I needed to watch it twice to get all of the information into my head, but it was time well spent. I and others in my family have some chronic conditions which might benefit from trying some of the less extreme versions of fasting. I for one will be trying some of the methods and then make up my own mind as to how it suits 'me'.

"Fasting" has been an inspirational movie for me, especially when considered along with my other practices in life. The film takes an excellent perspective, looks at the benefits and risks of fasting from most or all angles, and helps with deciding whether or not one should fast, and if so, it brings up several alternatives and caveats to consider. "Fasting" is not designed to be a research document; rather, it is designed to be informative, and also allows different people in different circumstances, from different backgrounds to simply share their experiences and some of their knowledge. Personally, I came to the movie by way of other intuitive practices: It appeared at just the right time in my life, and a new facebook friend who shares my intuitive practice told me a little about their approach to intuition, which included intermittent fasting as part of a spiritual regimen. Simultaneously receiving these two signals from the universe caused me to watch the film as soon as I was able, while simultaneously kicking off my own short term fast, which should last about 1-3 days, depending on what my intuition tells me. I have used intermittent fasting, albeit at irregular time intervals, in the past for these same intuitive reasons, and felt great benefit, but I had not done so in several years. I have also done time restricted feeding: I haven't eaten dinner since 2013, but for health reasons: I get massive heartburn if I eat solid food after about 4 p.m., and that usually occurs during sleep, sometimes getting so bad that I would wake up in the middle of the night not breathing, on the verge of drowning in my own vomit. I brought my own personal experience to "Fasting", and the movie was done well enough to help improve my life right now. Sure, there were some things I didn't like in the movie, but they have nothing to do with the quality of the movie itself -- these things were perfectly relevant and on-point, regardless of my own personal preferences. Normally, I would give "Fasting" 10/10, but I had to take off two stars for the following reasons: 1. Sound editing. Most or all speakers spoke way too fast. I had to watch the movie at 90% speed, and that was still too fast. By the end, I even lowered playback speed to 80%, which sounded about right for speed, but pitch and the musical score were affected. I consider this speedy talking to be the single major flaw of "Fasting". 2. It's a bit too North-America-centric. Hence the title of my review, a quote from Siddhartha, by Herman Hesse, which also helped me decide to fast these next few days. Of course the doctors in the different clinics can and should use the language as they did in "Fasting", but the people sharing their personal experiences were a bit too clinical-sounding at times. There's nothing wrong with that, but how about fasting for people who don't think and express themselves in such clinical terms? Likewise, the part entitled "Religious Fasting" would be more universally expressed as "Spiritual Fasting", and consider a broader variety of people who are spiritual, but practice outside of organized religion and/or its doctrine. I consider this lack of universality to be a minor flaw. In summary, "Fasting" is a great movie, because it raises awareness of a social phenomenon that has been relevant in prehistoric, ancient and modern times. "Fasting" is relevant to the human experience on Earth, and it's presented in a meaningful way, regardless of one's personal feelings about the phenomenon itself or different people's experiences with it. I am thinking, I am waiting, I am fasting, right now. 8/10

Some of the "patient" contributors were a little out there like the lady on the documentary cover. So if you have an out there person their results or experience will also be Out there. These decisions need research, comparison & Logic :(

This is no documentary but a bombardment of random and excessive information about the great benefits people have achieved through fasting. There is no plot, no smooth delivery, no time for you to take in so much information that it causes nausea and headache after 10 minutes of watching. Great topic and people should really learn about fasting which is probably one the healthiest thing you can do in your life yet this documentary is not the way. Deeply disappointing.

Well written and worth the watch. Your body is a healer in itself. Learn to listen to your body, this documentary shows and points out issues that make sense to a person. Well done. I am starting my fasting now. When your body loses energy and food, it starts to discard the cells that are not producing, the defective cells will be the first disposed of.

While I'm quite familiar with the works of Drs. Longo and Panda -- very legit and well-respected scientists -- the journalism involved in this documentary was far from balanced.

I thought a lot of the content was great, but it could have been an hour shorter. The anecdotes dragged on and on. And the sound quality sucked... But the actual information in the film was pretty great. It's inspired me to try intermittent fasting.

In a society with an insane obsession with food and the ill effects of it Medicine - with its ills, we are shown there is a way to heal naturally. We are not meant to eat long periods throughout the day. That's contrary to our biological rhythms and therefore HEALTH.