如果有節目主持人問我，為什麼要堅持宣導斷食，我最直接、也最簡單的回答會是——還債。

這位債主，其實離我們最近，卻也是我們最不熟的存在。他，就是我們自己的身體。

乍聽之下或許令人驚訝，但你無法否認——那些年紀輕輕就被上蒼提前召回的人，不是因為運氣不好，而是債務早已超過停損點，宣告破產。

我們與身體之間，確實存在一種債務關係，而且，每一筆都被身體如實記錄。如果你懷疑這一點，不妨反問自己——有哪一位債主，是不記帳的？

我們所欠下的債，可以粗略分為三種：消化債、睡眠債、免疫債。至於堆積與承載的負擔，其實都隱含在這三種債務之中。

只是，這些債務的運作方式，早已超出我們的認知範圍。

 

當你開始用「債務」的角度去理解身體，你會更容易看見——免疫力不是突然崩潰，而是逐步潰堤。

你也會開始理解，為什麼一頓大餐之後的沉重感，其實不是「滿足」，而是負債增加的訊號。

在我初次接觸斷食的時候，我對這種「債務關係」其實沒有太深的體會。那時我只覺得這是生命的一種考驗。

而這些考題，是造物主安放在人生中的必修題，你無法逃避，只是何時面對。直到我將這些體會連結成書名——「健康是一條反璞歸真的修行路」，甚至是近期所撰述的「法則，就在我們身上。」我始終明白，養生與天意不能分開。

 

從現金卡到信用卡，從沒有額度，到無限預支的世界，我們這一代，親眼見證了「信用」的榮耀與崩壞。

在商業世界，預支信用，有機會轉為獲利；但在生活與身體的層面，預支，幾乎只會導向利息的堆疊與失控。

我們確實可以向身體預支，這件事，不需要討論，因為我們每天都在做。但必須清楚：這種預支，無法轉為獲利。

以睡眠債為例。我們習慣用「為了工作」來合理化犧牲睡眠，甚至期待它換來成就與成功。但最終的結果，往往不是飛黃騰達，而是生命的折損。

我們在告別式上看到的，只是結局。沒有人會留下完整的「睡眠債務報表」，因此無從舉證，只能從結果反推。

也正因為長期見證這樣的後果，我才會不厭其煩地提醒。但我也清楚真正聽進去的人，始終是少數。

 

「惡性循環」這個詞，我們很熟。但它真正的運作機制，卻極度陌生。身體的債務，同樣會計算利息。而這些利息，不只是數字，它會轉化為新的本金，再繼續擴大。

幾乎所有積欠睡眠債的人，同時也在累積消化債。這兩種債，一旦形成，就不會自然歸零，時間只會讓它們持續複利成長。

但身體仍然給了我們一條路：不是「清償」，而是——停損。而斷食，正是這個停損機制。

我曾從前輩口中聽見「三週不進食」的必要性，當時並未領悟。直到自己走進長斷食，才明白——那不是一種極端行為，而是一種讓生命回補的過程。

日本蘋果爺爺八年的等待，提醒我們：時間，是可以累積翻轉的。而長斷食所帶來的，不只是變化，而是一種償還債務的複利效應。

我開始學會向身體請求，請求它允許這些重新累積的生命力，可以彌補過去的無知。

 

如果你靜下來，看一看周遭的人，暫時放下情緒與評價，你會發現大多數的人，都是苦與累的集合，最終，成為病與痛的集合。

而身體，其實一直在提醒我們：該還債了。只是，它非常低調，低調到你幾乎忽略它的存在。

直到最壞的情況出現——它選擇辭職不幹，我才真正理解，所謂的「器官投降」，其實是身體最後的語言。

所以，知道了，就不要再等待。開始行動，把你能還的，一點一滴還回去。

拿出誠意，讓身體感受到你的選擇。這位低調的債主，從來不催討，但也從不遺忘。

 

（長期的精疲力竭不是成長的勳章，而是愚蠢的證明。）

 

The Low-Profile Creditor

If a program host were to ask me why I insist on advocating fasting, my most direct and simplest answer would be this—repaying a debt.

This creditor is, in fact, the closest to us, yet also the one we are least familiar with. It is our own body.

At first glance, this may sound surprising. But you cannot deny it—those who are taken from this world at a young age are not merely victims of bad luck; their debts have long exceeded the threshold of loss, and bankruptcy has already been declared.

Between us and our body, there truly exists a relationship of debt. And every single entry is faithfully recorded. If you doubt this, ask yourself—what kind of creditor does not keep accounts?

The debts we owe can be broadly categorized into three types: digestive debt, sleep debt, and immune debt. As for the burdens of accumulation and overload, they are, in fact, embedded within these three.

Yet the way these debts operate has long surpassed the limits of our understanding.
—

Once you begin to view the body through the lens of debt, you will start to see more clearly—immunity does not collapse overnight; it breaks down gradually, like a failing dam.

You will also come to understand why the heaviness after a lavish meal is not “satisfaction,” but a signal of increasing liability.

When I first encountered fasting, I did not have a deep understanding of this “debt relationship.” At that time, I simply saw it as a kind of trial in life.

These trials are compulsory lessons placed into our lives by creation itself—you cannot escape them; you can only decide when to face them.

It was not until I connected these realizations into book titles—“Health Is a Path of Returning to Simplicity” and later “The Laws Are Within Us”—that I fully understood: the way of health cannot be separated from the will of nature.
—

From cash cards to credit cards, from no credit limits to unlimited advances, our generation has witnessed both the glory and the collapse of “credit.”

In the business world, leveraging credit may lead to profit. But in life—and in the body—advancing credit almost always leads to accumulating interest and eventual loss of control.

We do, in fact, draw advances from our body. This is beyond debate—we do it every single day. But we must understand clearly: these advances can never be converted into profit.

Take sleep debt as an example. We often justify sacrificing sleep “for work,” even expecting it to bring achievement and success. Yet in the end, what it yields is not prosperity, but the erosion of life itself.

At funerals, we only see the outcome. No one leaves behind a complete “sleep debt report.” There is no way to prove it directly—we can only infer the cause from the result.

And it is precisely because I have witnessed these outcomes time and again that I continue to remind others, tirelessly. Yet I also know that those who truly listen remain few.
—

We are all familiar with the term “vicious cycle.” Yet its true mechanism remains largely unknown.

The body’s debts also accumulate interest. And this interest is not just a number—it transforms into new principal, continuing to expand.

Almost everyone who carries sleep debt is simultaneously accumulating digestive debt. Once formed, these debts do not naturally reset to zero. Time only allows them to grow through compounding.

Yet the body still offers us a way out—not repayment, but loss control.

And fasting is precisely this mechanism of stopping the loss.

I once heard from a mentor about the necessity of “three weeks without food.” At the time, I did not understand. It was only when I entered prolonged fasting myself that I realized—it is not an extreme act, but a process of replenishing life.

The eight-year wait of the Japanese “apple grandfather” reminds us that time itself can accumulate into transformation. What prolonged fasting brings is not merely change, but a compounding effect of debt repayment.

I began to learn how to ask my body—to ask for permission, so that this newly accumulated vitality may make up for the ignorance of the past.
—

If you quiet yourself and observe the people around you—setting aside emotion and judgment—you will notice that most are a collection of fatigue and suffering, eventually becoming a collection of illness and pain.

And the body has always been reminding us: it is time to repay the debt.

It is simply very low-profile—so subtle that you almost overlook its existence.

Until the worst happens—when it chooses to resign.

Only then did I truly understand that what we call “organ failure” is, in fact, the body’s final language.

So now that you know, do not wait any longer.

Take action. Repay what you can, little by little.

Show your sincerity. Let your body feel your choice.

This low-profile creditor never presses for payment—

but it never forgets.