One of the most effective methods cleansing and treating the body. It is inherent in him at the genetic level and is one of the instincts of self-preservation. When a person or animal is sick, he always refuses food. Thus, the body does not waste energy on digesting food, but directs all its energy to fight the disease. Let's take a closer look at the pros and cons of fasting.
Therapeutic fasting: myth or reality?
In the modern world, environmental disaster is becoming increasingly widespread. By the age of 40, a person becomes a “carrier” of many toxic substances. 
They are delayed throughout the body, but mainly in inert tissues ( adipose tissue). The body protects its most important organs - and. But in order for these organs to function properly, they need a normal blood supply.
Blood flows through arteries and capillaries, which are capable of accumulating cholesterol, which in turn is a type of toxin. increases the risk appearance and . These two diseases are the leading causes of death worldwide.
Toxins that “lie” almost throughout the body can cause any disease, including. Mortality from ranks third on the list of deaths worldwide.
Carcinogenic elements do not allow the body to function properly, which ultimately loses its protective reactions against various pathologies. According to statistics, every third person in the United States suffers from one disease or another due to poor nutrition. So what to do and how to eat properly so as not to fall into the risk group? To do this, you need to make conscious efforts that will help cleanse the body of the accumulated mass of harmful microelements. After all, the body of every person who at least sometimes eats at fast foods, by definition, belongs to the group of patients with chronic toxemia.
The best and most radical methods cleansing from chronic carcinogens - therapeutic fasting. It is useful not only physical health, but also mental or spiritual.
In addition, therapeutic fasting can prevent many diseases that can be aggravated by treatment with chemicals. 
(RDT) or therapeutic fasting promotes radical cleansing of contaminated body systems and restoration of the central system.
The organs of the human body immediately rejuvenate and become smaller (enlarged organs indicate the presence of some pathology, including chronic toxemia).
Did you know? A camel can lose about 1/3 of its mass, and then quickly restore it. Such a procedure can be fatal to almost any living organism except a camel.
Proper therapeutic fasting performs two main functions.
First- preventive: during a fast, during the first 2-3 days all toxic substances, toxins, bacteria and viruses are removed from the body.
The body begins to replenish energy from internal reserves (endogenous nutrition), thus burning body fat, in which many carcinogens have accumulated.
Second- therapeutic: the body, which no longer spends energy on digesting food, destroys all pathological changes in organs and cells. At this stage, the germs of tumors and other diseases are destroyed. useful for absolutely everyone and at any age. It helps strengthen the body's defenses, heal and rejuvenate all organs, cells, tissues, molecules and even atoms.
After a course of RDT, a person begins to feel the great power that nature has endowed him with, but he has never used it before. And the culprit was harmful toxins.
Types of fasting
There are several people in the world who have not eaten at all for many years and yet look absolutely healthy.
However, beginners are not advised to simply go without food for a long time. There are special techniques therapeutic fasting, which are divided for such types:
- dry fasting,
- fasting on, or
- cyclic fasting.
Dry
There are dozens of methods dry fasting which are practiced by people all over the world. But we'll talk about Shchennikov's technique, which is often practiced by domestic therapists.
Important! In some cases, fasting can suppress immune system body.
This technique, like most others, consists of three stages: preparatory (physically and mentally), main (time without eating food) and exit from fasting.
Some people don't take it very seriously preparatory stage, which is very important for the final result. At this stage, which takes two days, you can only eat raw vegetables and fruits.
It is advisable to refrain from emotional stress and watching TV. It is recommended to carry out a complete cleansing of the body using enemas and laxatives.
After this comes the phase of direct dry fasting. During this period, you should refrain from eating any food and water, as well as from taking water procedures.
Shchennikov highlights three types of dry fasting: seven-day, nine-day and eleven-day. 
Beginners are advised to start with a seven-day fast and regularly consult a doctor about their health status. If your health is compromised, fasting should be stopped. Three days after the start of the procedure, a cold contrast shower is allowed.
Fasting method according to Shchennikov includes a special daily routine. During the fasting period, you need to be calm, with moderate loads and try not to talk. You are allowed to breathe only through your nose, and try to keep your mouth closed.
Did you know? Yogis who practice therapeutic fasting may fall into suspended animation. So, in 1950, an experiment was conducted with one yogi: he was walled up in a concrete pit where no oxygen was supplied; he spent 50 hours in this pit and remained alive and well.
- morning sleep from 6 to 10 o'clock;
- walks in the fresh air from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.;
- mental stress from 13 to 15 hours;
- classes with a personal instructor from 15 to 18 hours;
- evening sleep from 18 to 22 hours;
- light night walks from 10 pm to 6 am.
You need to get out of fasting sequentially and very neat. This should be done at the same time of day at which the fast began. Start exit you need a glass of warm water. It is advisable to drink it very slowly and gradually. Next, you can take a warm bath, and after 3-4 hours eat some cottage cheese.
Over the next 2-3 days you need to eat chicken, cottage cheese, etc. Then you can eat, and, low-fat, etc., but you just need to eat in small portions.
On the water
Fasting and dietary Water therapy is tolerated by the body a little better than dry fasting. In this case, you are allowed to drink about 1.5 liters of purified water per day. 
But before starting such a course of treatment, you need to consult a doctor and thoroughly prepare. In this case we will talk about seven-day fasting diet.
Two weeks before the start of RDT, you need to prepare yourself psychologically. Be prepared for the fact that you will experience abdominal pain, dizziness, etc.
Usually only beginners experience such symptoms. Experienced people tolerate RTD very easily and even enjoy it. They say that during the fasting process you begin to see, hear and feel everything around you better. Thus, you can remain “one on one” with nature. 5-7 days before the start of RDT, you need to start limiting yourself in food. First, give up fatty foods, then baked goods, and on the last day, eat only raw ones.
On the first day of fasting, you need to take a magnesium solution. It will help cleanse the intestines. Every morning for 7 days you need to do cleansing enemas.
Every day you need to drink from one and a half to two liters of pure mineral water. If you are an experienced smoker with experience, then you need to reduce your cigarette consumption by at least 2 times, or better yet, quit smoking altogether.
Important! Poor nutrition can cause diabetic ketoacidosis.
If you are fasting in the summer, then you should refrain from visiting the beach, as the hot rays of the sun can damage sunstroke. In winter, you should avoid hypothermia.
On average, about 5 kg are lost in 7 days of fasting for weight loss. excess weight. At the end of therapy, everyone's condition improves internal organs and cells, and also a surge of emotional strength appears.
The exit from the RTD must be consistent. After completing this course, intestinal motility is slightly inhibited, so first day The only way out is to use decoctions from or cereals. 
On second day You are allowed to consume fermented milk products, but you should still avoid them. On the fourth day it is allowed to eat, and on the sixth day you can start eating as before.
At tea
Fasting and dietary therapy on tea it is very similar to RTD on water. The period of preparation and recovery from fasting on tea includes everything described above. The duration of the course should not exceed 7 days, and it is best to start with three days. 
During this course, you are allowed to drink only green tea without sugar. You can drink from 1. to 1.5 liters of tea per day.
This drink itself is very healthy and is able to remove all toxins from the body that have accumulated in it over the years. In this course of therapy, it is also allowed to use non- large quantities water (but only if absolutely necessary). Such fasting and dietary therapy will even help you lose weight quickly.
On juice
Fasting days do not have a huge impact positive action on the body. Such therapy should begin with one or two days of fasting. Then you can gradually increase the number of days without food. 
A day or two before the procedure, you should give up all fatty foods and start eating vegetarian. It is best to eat fresh vegetables and fruits.
Did you know? A malignant cell consumes glucose 16 times faster than a healthy one.
The day before starting RDT, you need to do an enema or take laxatives. This will help cleanse your intestines.
During the RDT period, you can use any freshly squeezed juices: apple, carrot, pumpkin, etc. You need to drink about 1 liter per day. If you are very thirsty, you can additionally drink mineral water without carbon or tea without sugar. 
When leaving RDT in the first days, you need to leave juice in your diet and add fresh fruits and vegetables to your food.
After 2-3 days you can start consuming broths and. It is advisable to stay away from salty and fatty foods for as long as possible.
Cyclic
The essence of cyclical fasting days is pauses in food intake. These pauses stimulate the work of all organs and tissues.
As a result, dead cells are removed from the body, and new ones are formed in their place. In this section we will talk about cyclic fasting according to Voroshilov.
While observing the starving people, Voroshilov came to the conclusion that best results those who abstain from food for 7 days once a month can boast. If the desired result is achieved, the period of the pause in nutrition can be reduced from 7 days to 4.
But for beginners the best way to start the correct therapy will be the 1/7 regimen. That is, one day a week you need to completely abstain from eating any food.
Such procedures can be repeated for months and even years. The body will not suffer from this, but, on the contrary, will gain new strength.
Important!When you fast for longer than a day, nerve cells begin to die. They die due to lack of glucose, which is their main “food”.
After a 4-hour break after lunch, you can begin preparing for fasting. It will consist of two procedures: taking laxatives and tubing.
After taking laxatives, you need to walk in the fresh air for 2-3 hours, so bowel movements will begin faster.
Tubazh- this is cleaning the gallbladder and. To carry out the tubing procedure, you need to use a solution of magnesium sulfate (5%).
Two teaspoons of dry powder should be diluted in a glass of water and drunk in small sips. After this you need to eat boiled or fried. After some time, rumbling will begin in the intestines, and later, emptying.
The next day, the fasting process itself begins. On this day you can drink tea, (without sugar), juices and an unlimited amount of water. It is advisable to exercise, go to the sauna or. It is better to get rid of it for a while, it is also prohibited to use it.
Getting out of such an RDT is not particularly difficult. If you started cyclic fasting using the 1/7 method, then you need to not eat at all one day a week, and eat as usual on the remaining 6 days (but if possible, eat only healthy foods and plenty of raw vegetables or fruits).
Useful properties
There is undoubtedly a benefit from RDT, and it is very great. Therapeutic fasting is a general health-improving method of therapy.
When refusing food, the human body turns on reserve forces and independently begins to fight such diseases: cardiovascular, skin, respiratory tract diseases, central nervous system disorders, gall-intestinal diseases, etc. 
During fasting days, the body does not spend energy on digesting food, but uses it to remove toxins and waste from the body.
Some opponents of this method of therapy claim that toxins can be removed with special drugs, and there is no need to starve. This is true, but it is impossible to remove all toxins with chemicals, and in addition, the body will not be able to restore normal functioning gastrointestinal tract and kill the germs of various pathologies, including tumors.
Did you know?When a person's temperature drops by 1ºC, metabolism decreases by 6%.
RDT is beneficial not only in the treatment of various diseases, but also in their prevention. It is not for nothing that Tibetan legends about long-lived monks who have not eaten for many decades are known throughout the world.
These may be legends, but in the world today there are people who have not eaten for many years and at the same time look healthier than any person who eats food daily. 
Such people, in order to make sure that they were not lying, were taken under observation for a long time. And today the benefits of therapeutic fasting are very great and this has already become a clear fact.
Besides, fasting days will help those people who have long dreamed of losing excess weight.
Fasting for weight loss is in a great way lose a few kilos in just a couple of days. The fat will go away and the organs will become much younger. Yes and general condition improve. Therefore, there is undoubtedly a benefit from RTD, and it is not at all negligible.
Should you fast? Contraindications and harm
This method fast weight loss and disease prevention also has its downsides. One of the main disadvantages is considered to be the “return effect”.
When the body is restricted in food, it perceives it as a stressful situation and does everything possible to avoid it in the future. When exiting and RDT, the body begins to store almost everything that a person eats into fats. 
As a result, it may turn out that the body accumulates even more fat than it lost during fasting days.
Where should a newbie start?
Many beginners ask a simple question: how to fast correctly? For beginners, it is best to start with a one-day fast. 
Before starting the procedure, you need to get yourself in the right mindset psychologically. Think about what this will do for your body. The right motivation always brings success in any endeavor.
Two weeks before the start of RDT, you need to start eating right. Try switching to vegetarian food; as a last resort, you can add lean meat (boiled chicken) to your diet.
Try to reduce your food portions every day. It is best to eat 4-5 times a day, but in small portions. This way your body will get used to the fact that food intake will be limited.
Before starting fasting days, you need to discuss your health status with your doctor. 
This is very important, because sometimes fasting can harm the body. During RDT you should not drink alcohol or smoke (if you cannot quit smoking, then you need to at least reduce the number of cigarettes you smoke per day). It is not recommended to wear synthetic clothing and sunbathe in the sun.
Any RDT technique must be performed strictly according to the rules so as not to harm the body. All of the above methods can be tested on yourself only after consulting a doctor. If approved, gain strength and move forward!
Precautions
In some cases, RTD can cause harm to the body. This technique has its contraindications, which should be carefully studied. Fasting is prohibited in the following cases:
Did you know?It has been scientifically proven that animals that hibernate during the winter (while not eating) are able to independently overcome trypanosomal disease and syphilis.
In any case, if you suspect at least one of the above diseases, it is better to consult a doctor.
And remember that therapeutic fasting should be useful, not harm.
When sports and diets do not help you lose weight, you can try a method of losing excess weight such as water fasting. Don't be afraid, you won't die of hunger even if you don't eat anything for quite a long time. A person can live without food for about a month, but without water - only a few days.
Classic therapeutic fasting always involves drinking plenty of water and this differs from extreme dry fasting. This article presents useful information for people who want to fast in the name of gaining slim figure. What happens in the human body during hunger, how to fast on water, reviews about this method - read everything right now.
How much weight can you lose while fasting on water?
You don’t need to think that by giving up food for a day or two, you can radically lose excess fat. A short fast will help you get rid of just a couple of kilograms (about one kg per day). In this case, the main share of lost weight will be occupied by excess liquid, which is always present in abundance in the body of obese people.
A longer fast (for 7-10 days or even several weeks) allows you to lose weight much more effectively. The weight will come off faster during the first days, then the body will be able to adapt to the new conditions and will use fat reserves more economically. It is impossible to indicate an exact figure characterizing how much weight you can lose during a fast; a lot will depend on your individual characteristics and the duration of the hunger strike.
How much water to drink while fasting?
As mentioned earlier, water fasting for weight loss requires special adherence drinking regime. How much water should you drink during such a diet? Authoritative sources recommend sticking to the norm of 1.5-2 liters per day. This amount of water allows the body to cope with intoxication and maintain well-being at the proper level.
At the same time, there is no need to forcefully drink water. You need to listen to your body and its needs.
Is it possible to drink something other than water while fasting?
No! You can only drink clean water, preferably spring water. No teas, juices, herbal infusions, etc., no matter how beneficial they may be! Any other liquids other than water will interfere with the cleansing processes taking place in the body during fasting. In hot summer weather, you can get by with just cold water. But in the cold season it is better if it is warm or even slightly hot. The fact is that during a fast that lasts more than 2-3 days, the body begins to feel chilly, and the entry of cold liquid into the body can increase the chill.
One-day fasting
One-day water fasts are practically not dangerous to health, and therefore they can be practiced at least every week. Choose a day that works best for you, such as Wednesday or Friday, and regularly give your body a break from eating at that time.
This relieves the digestive system and gives it the opportunity to renew itself. Can you lose weight with such short-term fasts? This will depend entirely on you. If, after a hungry day, you greedily pounce on food and do not observe moderation, you are unlikely to be able to significantly lose weight in this way.
What happens in the body during fasting
The human body is a very smart and perfect system. When food does not enter it for a long time, many complex processes are launched aimed at cleansing and healing. Are you interested in taking a closer look at water fasting?
Already on the second or third day of fasting, the secretion of the gastrointestinal tract changes qualitatively. The secretion of gastric juice stops, proteins and unsaturated fatty acids fill the stomach from the inside, which activate the neurohormone cholecystokinin, which suppresses the feeling of hunger.
From the second day, a fairly strong smell of acetone begins to emanate from the mouth, which indicates the beginning of the stage of increasing ketoacidosis, lasting from 6 to 8 days. During this period, a person may be worried severe weakness, headache, sleep disturbances, sometimes nausea and even vomiting. At this time, active breakdown of fats occurs. On the 6-8th day of fasting, the so-called acidotic crisis occurs, after which the body switches completely to internal nutrition.
The state of health improves, a surge of strength sets in, the smell of acetone disappears, the urine becomes lighter, the headache and dizziness disappear. After passing the acidotic crisis, the loss of body weight is 500-300 g per day, and this rate is maintained almost until the end of the fast. This is water fasting. Reviews of people who have tried this method of losing weight say that it is very effective.
If you decide that in the morning next day If you start fasting, then in the evening carry out a special cleansing procedure for the intestines - an enema. Some experts recommend cleaning the liver, joints, kidneys, and blood vessels before a long fast. This will help preliminary unload the body from toxins and thereby make you feel better during hunger. But such measures must be resorted to if you really dare to embark on a very “long voyage” (30-40 days of fasting); a week-long hunger strike can easily be done without such additional effort. However, it's up to you to decide.
How to overcome hunger correctly
The correct way out of fasting is very important. The general principle here is this: a gradual return to a normal diet should take approximately the same number of days as the hunger itself lasted. Those. if you refused food for a week, then the exit should last 7 days. On the first day, you can only drink natural juice, and it should be diluted with water in a 1:1 ratio.
On the second day, before lunch, you can again drink only juice, but this time pure, without water, and after lunch, eat pureed vegetables or fruits. On the third day, it is allowed to add porridge with water, a small amount of bread and dried fruits to the fruit and vegetable puree. The fourth day is even more varied: vegetarian soups and vegetable oil are allowed. On the fifth day you can already eat kefir, fermented baked milk and butter(A little). Sixth day: the diet is enriched with sour cream, cheese, and salt. But on the seventh day you can already eat eggs and cottage cheese. After a seven-day recovery period, you can gradually begin to eat fish, chicken, etc.
Rules of conduct during fasting
Water fasting is tolerated quite well by healthy people. In addition to observing the drinking regime, a fasting person is recommended to do daily cleansing enemas. This helps remove waste products from the rectum. If enemas are not done, toxins will be absorbed into the blood, which can cause severe self-poisoning of the body. You are also required to take a shower every day.
It is good if a fasting person leads an active lifestyle and spends a lot of time in the fresh air, and not just lying on the bed. It must be said that during fasting the body can become very cold, so you need to dress warmly. Stressful situations should be avoided.
Should you fast for longer than 7 days?
Is a week-long water fast effective for weight loss? 7 days have passed, you have experienced the full brunt of ketoacidosis, you have overcome the hardships of an acidotic crisis, and if so, you would probably be able to continue the hunger strike further. Why not try to reach higher altitudes, especially if you are well prepared and know the theory perfectly. But still, if this is your first week-long fast, then it is better to stop, do the right thing, and evaluate the effect. How many kilograms did you manage to lose, are you satisfied with your result? After some time, you will be able to venture to greater heights, based on your own experience.
Health effect
Increasing immunity, rejuvenation, improving intestinal microflora, getting rid of many chronic diseases, etc. - all this can give a person fasting on water. The results after breaking the fast can be truly stunning! But this is only if everything is done according to the rules and amateur actions are not allowed. Improved health and overall well-being will be a pleasant bonus to the lost kilograms and a prize for the willpower and patience shown during a complete refusal of food.
Contraindications
Water fasting, if done independently at home, is recommended to be practiced only by healthy people. And it is not so important for what purpose you are fasting, in order to lose weight or for general health. Absolute contraindications are:
- severe heart disease;
- active tuberculosis;
- severe blood diseases;
- malignant tumors;
- diabetes mellitus type I;
- bronchiectasis;
- thyrotoxicosis;
- thrombophlebitis;
- body weight deficiency;
- post-infarction period;
- pregnancy and lactation period.
There are also relative contraindications to water fasting. This:
- diabetes mellitus type II;
- gout;
- cholelithiasis;
- hypotension;
- peptic ulcer;
- chronic venous insufficiency;
- childhood or old age;
- febrile conditions.
Positive and negative reviews about fasting
The benefits of water fasting have been known to people since ancient times. The mechanisms of this method have long been studied by doctors, and vast experience has been accumulated in using hunger to get rid of many diseases and to normalize body weight. On the Internet you can read many reviews from people who have tried the full power of healing fasting and were satisfied with the results.
But, unfortunately, there is not only positive reviews about fasting, but also negative. They are mainly expressed by people who have made some mistakes, for example, breaking fast was done incorrectly, which led to health problems. Before trying the method on yourself, it is recommended to better study the theory - this will help you avoid most common mistakes.
Intermittent or intermittent fasting is a simple but forgotten secret to health. It was often and widely practiced in the past, but with the development and popularization of the food industry, eating has become almost continuous. Our ancestors did not know what four meals a day were; they did not drink coffee and tea with sweets and cookies. They worked hard from early morning until evening, eating 1-2 times a day. For them this was the norm. Without knowing it, they adhered to periodic fasting, thanks to which they strengthened their health and extended their lives. What else is its benefit? This will be discussed in this article.
What is periodic (intermittent) fasting
Intermittent fasting is all about harmony. After all, it is known that a healthy and happy life is a balance in everything. Therefore, this simple rule should be followed in your diet. In this case, hunger should not exceed satiety, and satiety should not exceed hunger.
As a rule, most people start their day with a meal, and continue this process throughout the day, ending only just before going to bed. Since they sleep for about 8 hours, it turns out that their body is constantly in a state of digesting food. This leads to disruption of energy exchange processes. This is why you constantly want to eat, have something to snack on, and are haunted by a feeling of fatigue. In reality, people have fed themselves to such an extent that they do not know what it is like to be energetic.
Intermittent fasting is a conscious limitation of the time you eat in order to help your body cleanse and improve its health, as well as increase its energy intensity and gain vigor. In other words, a person eats at a certain time, then completely refuses to eat for several hours. This method of fasting is perfect for people who find it difficult for one reason or another to organize long periods of fasting.
Health Benefits of Intermittent Fasting
- strengthening the immune system,
- prevention of cancer,
- treatment of various diseases,
- increase in growth hormone levels,
- cleansing the body of toxins, mucus and waste,
- normalization of metabolism,
- weight loss,
- improved mood and well-being,
- increased energy, increased vigor,
- improvement of the condition of skin, hair and nails,
- getting rid of skin rashes,
- increased brain activity.
Cleansing the body
As mentioned above, most modern people eat a lot. Their diet consists of several meals. As a result of this, their body is in a constant process of digesting and assimilating food. Intermittent fasting allows him to switch to self-cleansing.
It is very interesting that all mammals periodically starve. It is impossible to find an animal in nature that eats without interruption. It has long been noted that pets suffer from human diseases and have a short life span. After all, the more it eats, the less it lives. This “rule” also applies to humans.
Losing excess weight
As you might guess, the removal of toxins also leads to the loss of excess body weight. In a clean body, metabolic processes are established, metabolism improves, and therefore maintaining a figure in good shape is much easier.
Purity of consciousness and increased concentration
Due to the consumption of excessively large amounts of food, which is also of poor quality, not only the digestive, respiratory and circulatory system. Toxins also accumulate in the brain, which negatively affect its convective function and human consciousness.
Intermittent fasting also leads to its cleansing. Please note that people adhering to healthy diet and periodic refusal of food, are more aware, they have good concentration and memory.
Energy Boost
It has already been said above that what more people eats, the more he wants to sleep. This is due to the fact that all the energy is spent on digesting food.
Intermittent fasting releases it, and a person gains additional strength, enthusiasm, and a great mood.
Increased growth hormone levels
Fasting increases the secretion of growth hormone (somatotropin) several times. But he is responsible for joint health, cell restoration, skin condition, muscle growth, strength indicators, etc.
Treatment of diseases
Intermittent fasting has been proven to help slow the growth of cancer cells and even prevent their appearance.
In addition, temporary refusal of food cures type 2 diabetes, increases life expectancy, triggers cell restoration and cleansing of the intercellular space, and reduces oxidative and inflammatory processes in the body.
Intermittent fasting plans
A popular way of fasting is to refuse food for a short time (less than 24 hours). The two most effective schemes were identified:
Intermittent fasting 16 to 8
You fast for 16 hours a day and eat during an 8-hour window. For example, breakfast at 10 o'clock morning, and the last meal at 18 h;
Intermittent fasting 20 by 4
Hunger for 20 h, and meal time - 4 hours. This is a more advanced method for people who know how to listen to their body.
It is important to take into account that on such days you need to eat healthy food, mainly plant foods. Smoothies and salads will enhance the effect of cleansing and healing the body. By eating fast food, for example, you will only aggravate the harmful processes occurring in it. Subsequently, blame it on the practice of intermittent fasting.
In the modern world, it has become very difficult for people to believe that fasting gives more strength and energy than nutrition. If you try one of the intermittent fasting regimens, you will experience the benefits for yourself.
Interval, cyclic fasting for weight loss, health and longevity
There is probably not a single adult on the planet who does not know that you need to eat right, not overeat and not get carried away with foods with excess preservatives, dyes and stabilizers.
Fried and fatty foods are also harmful. People who have experienced all the “charm” of the consequences of such abuses are often carried away dietary nutrition in one form or another.
Really, giving up many familiar foods leads to improved well-being and even the treatment of certain diseases. Having felt a similar effect, many want to strengthen it, speed up the “cleansing” of the body. This is exactly what the developers of therapeutic fasting methods are counting on.
The principle of fasting, what are the benefits for the body
According to adherents of fasting, breaks in nutrition help the body get rid of harmful substances that enter the body with various foods. Nutrients from foods are used for energy, growth and renewal of the body. By extracting all the benefits from the products entering the digestive tract, our body gets rid of excess, waste and toxins, eliminating them accordingly.
But not all foods are equally useful - some are difficult or even impossible for the body to get rid of - more and more harmful substances come with food, which remain in us for a long time. Fasting of varying durations pauses these processes, and the body can concentrate on eliminating existing troubles.
Adherents of the theory, despite the benefits and harms of fasting, lead The following facts are provided as evidence:
Religious fasts, asceticism, when believers refuse food completely, but feel good;
Starvation of animals during illness.
After refusing food, the search for alternative ways to replenish energy begins, and the body uses existing reserves, starting with carbohydrates and ending with fats. Allegedly, lifeless cells are removed first, followed by weakened and incapable of existence. As a result the body cleanses itself, leaving yourself only healthy, full-fledged cells.
Avicenna, Plutarch, and many ancient healers argued about the benefits of therapeutic fasting, but people have been starving for about a century according to the Paul Bragg method. The author of the best-selling book “The Miracle of Fasting” called refusal to eat “Doctor Fasting,” and the book itself was accepted by the masses as a guide to action. Bragg, in addition to fasting, promoted cleansing with vinegar and many other techniques, which both official and alternative medicine are skeptical about to this day.
According to Bragg, the body will benefit from daily fasting once a week, and he advised fasting once a quarter for a week to ten days. At this time you need to limit physical activity , but go for walks regularly.
To a healthy body To cleanse or lose a little weight, it is enough to fast for ten days. Therapeutic fasting is practiced for a duration of 21 days, and in advanced stages of obesity, skin problems, hypertension and other diseases, after studying the benefits and harms of fasting, with the support of doctors, you can begin to abstain from food for 30 days or more.
Types of fasting
The basic principle of fasting is complete abstinence from food. Some methods suggest not even drinking water:
absolute(dry) fasting lasts a maximum of two days, and prohibits eating and drinking (even water), not doing water procedures except for mouth rinsing;
combined lasts no longer than a week, with days alternating - two with water, two without water. Recently considered the most effective;
complete(wet) – you can drink water throughout the entire period of the day – at least a liter of clean water, maximum term complete fasting – 40 days.
Before fasting need to go through the preparation stage. Protein (except fish), fatty and flour foods are strictly prohibited the day before the start of fasting. From the fact How you enter into fasting depends on the success of the undertaking as a whole. During the week before fasting, you should eat only fruits and vegetables. Refusal of food involves drinking plenty of clean water (if you have not chosen absolute fasting). No juice, no milk, no tea - you can only drink water (ideally distilled) during fasting.
In the evening before the first day of fasting, you need to take laxatives or cleanse the intestines using an enema.
How therapeutic fasting is beneficial, the opinion of doctors
Mostly adherents talk about the benefits of cleansing and restoring the body during long (more than three days) fasting. But there are many “buts” in such a statement.
The benefits and harms of fasting directly depend on the reason, method of fasting, and the correctness of all stages. Therapeutic fasting for the purpose of recovery is called by official medicine “RDT” (fasting-dietary therapy). Before confidently recommending this treatment to patients, doctors tested its methods on thousands of patients over several decades.
Science has proven the benefits of short-term abstinence from food.(not water!) at bronchial asthma, autoimmune diseases, metabolic disorders, neuropsychiatric, cardiovascular pathologies, to regulate hormonal levels, and in many other cases.
Before complete exhaustion, the body only needs to lose about 45% of its initial weight, while organs and tissues undergo irreversible (degenerative) changes. If the weight loss from the initial (normal or overweight) weight during complete fasting was no more than 20%, then in most cases there will be no significant harm.
With RDT prescribed by a doctor and under his strict supervision, therapeutic fasting for a month leads to weight loss of no more than 15%, which is even useful for many patients. To every patient need an individual approach– complete short-term fasting is not suitable for everyone; doctors often prescribe additional juices, fruit or vegetable fasting days.
There will be no health benefits of fasting if you do not remove waste products from the body.
Regular water treatments (contrast showers and hot baths, swimming pool),
Gymnastics and exercise therapy,
Sunbathing and abundance fresh air,
Psychotherapy courses.
All healing techniques RDTs are carried out after a full examination and under the supervision of qualified doctors.
End of fasting, “exit”
During prolonged fasting, the digestive tract “forgets” what to do with the food that reaches it. A lack of enzymes, glandular secretion and weak peristalsis leads to serious complications if, after a long fast, a person begins to eat large portions, often not very well. healthy products.
They “recover” from fasting in no less than half the time that the fasting “recovery” itself lasted. Stop fasting by drinking small amounts of vegetable and fruit juices, and after a couple of “juice” days, they begin to add boiled and steamed vegetables and fruits. After a week, you can eat protein foods - poultry or fish. Bragg recommended eating meat no more than once a week. Starchy, floury and sweet foods are strictly prohibited; salt is also unacceptable.
At first, you need to eat by the hour, observing intervals. The basis of nutrition in the process of breaking from fasting is dairy and plant foods, and meals should be fractional. Be sure to supplement your food with plenty of fluids.
What is the “catch” and harm of fasting?
Daily fasting really won’t do any harm (if there is sufficient fluid supply), but if you don’t eat for longer, then after a couple of days the first signs of acidosis appear. During the period of acidotic crisis on days 7-10, the amount of uric acid in the blood sharply increases, which subsequently often leads to the formation of kidney stones. The hungry person has a hard time during this period.
Acidosis may be accompanied by:
Gray coating on the tongue;
Nausea;
Changes in the color and odor of urine;
Headache;
Discomfort in the abdomen;
Irritability;
Insomnia;
Unpleasant odor of acetone from the mouth.
At this time, weight loss is up to one and a half kilograms per day, but the weight “loses” not as fat, but as liquid, and glycogen reserves are lost.
After a crisis, metabolic processes slow down, breathing and pulse become less frequent. One of the main requirements of fasting is to constantly maintain heat; under no circumstances should hypothermia be allowed.
The cessation of an acidotic crisis in people usually leads to a turning point and not only do you no longer feel like eating, but food begins to cause disgust.
Further fasting leads to a lack of glucose for brain function and the production of red blood cells, and its synthesis begins from all sources available to the body - first protein, and then fat tissue, and vital organs. Each day of fasting is accompanied by the breakdown of 300 grams of the body’s own protein reserves.
Even short-term refusals to eat lead to a lack of vitamins and minerals for the full functioning of the body, and they are restored only after a couple of months.
Fasting for weight loss: benefit or harm
Recently, a method of losing weight by fasting on water has come into fashion, popularly called “7 kilograms in 7 days”. The technique involves complete abstinence from food, but with plenty of drinking.
Indeed, weight loss in this mode occurs very quickly, up to 2 kilograms per day. But the benefits of fasting here are questionable. When treating obesity, a qualified physician will never prescribe long-term abstinence from food. Even with the correct exit from such a restriction and with a low energy value of the diet in the future, a person restores his original body weight very quickly, usually even exceeding the starting mark.
Confirmation is the fasting of athletes for an urgent transition to increased weight category. Fasting stimulates speed dial weight.
Even one day of complete uncontrolled refusal of food can cause great harm if:
Cardiac arrhythmias;
Diabetes mellitus;
Gastric and duodenal ulcers;
Pregnancy and lactation;
Active mental and physical activity;
Hypertension;
After undergoing surgery or serious illness;
Cirrhosis;
Kidney stones;
Oncological diseases;
Active pulmonary tuberculosis;
Nervous and mental pathologies.
To lose weight, it is effective to use short courses of RDT and a therapeutic rational diet.
People who have been in fierce competition with each other for years overweight, try different methods of losing weight. Many people find it easier to go on a strict diet; some prefer proper nutrition, and there are those who decide to go hungry, but do not always do it competently. What should be the correct fasting for weight loss? Let's find out the main points.
How to fast properly to lose weight
There is not a single method of losing weight based on dietary restrictions that would not have contraindications. Our vital activity and well-being are determined by food, because food is a kind of fuel for a well-coordinated mechanism called the “human body”. Not eating at all and feeling great, while losing weight qualitatively, sounds like a fiction, but if you approach the fasting process wisely and organize it correctly, this fiction can come true.
Fasting for weight loss should not be torture or life-threatening. First of all, you need to tune in, start with short intervals. The first time, you should not abstain from food for more than 24 hours. When the body gets used to temporarily doing without nutrients, you can increase the fasting period to three days, then take a seven-day course or fast for a couple of weeks. Each course of fasting, regardless of duration, must be started with the correct input and completed the right way out out of the system to avoid various health problems.
How much can you lose by fasting in a week?
Losing weight by fasting helps to quickly and effectively remove weight from the body in the form of extra pounds subcutaneous fat. The amount of such cargo that can be dropped using this technique cannot be determined in general figures - it all depends on the individual characteristics of each person. In any case, the weight will go away - first rapidly, then more slowly. A one-day course can make you two and a half kilograms lighter, but this does not mean that if you fast for a week, you can lose 14 kg - in subsequent days fat is not burned as intensively as in the first.
How to fast properly to cleanse the body
Fasting as a technique involves completely cleansing the body of accumulated food waste. The body's systems do not stop functioning even with an absolute refusal of food, gradually processing and removing the remaining nutrients from the intestines, at the same time ridding it of waste, toxins, and harmful microorganisms. Proper fasting To cleanse the body, it must be organized regularly. The miraculous salad “Broom” will be useful for such cleaning.
Therapeutic fasting on water
Recently, it has been popular to fast on water alone. It is effective and quick way cleanse your body. Health fasting prohibits you from eating any food during the cleanse. Pure water is the only acceptable product. Daily norm– 100 ml per kilogram of weight. With the help of water, you will have to learn to tame your appetite in the first stages of abstaining from food - drink every time you want to eat, deceiving the body a little for its own good. If severe symptoms of malnutrition or weakness appear, you can add a drop of honey to the water.
How to start fasting
Common mistake Those who want to lose weight on a hunger strike - a sharp refusal to eat or an irrational exit from the system. The result is an unsatisfactory result and loss of confidence in the effectiveness of this technique. Before starting any type of fasting, regardless of hourly restrictions, preliminary preparation must be carried out in order to neutralize the stress of the body resulting from refusal to eat. A smooth transition into fasting will help you not to break down from malnutrition.
Preparing for water fasting excludes animal proteins, baked goods, and sweets from meals on the eve of the selected period of food abstinence. On the day before starting a hunger strike, you need to eat moderately, leaning on plant foods. To get into the system sooner and get better and faster results, you can do a salt water enema at night for maximum bowel cleansing.
Dry fasting is also practiced, when not only food, but also liquid is prohibited. During a dry fast, you should not drink or allow your body to come into contact with water. This is a very complex and harsh technique - the body’s water reserves are critically depleted, and if the rules are not followed, dehydration begins. Such cleansing at home can cost your life, so it should only be done in a specialized center, where you will be provided with optimal preparation, a competent exit, and medical support for healing fasting.
How to break fasting
To consolidate the result obtained without severely injuring the digestive system, the exit from fasting should be as gentle as possible. The duration of the exit should be equated to the period of the hunger strike, or at least half. If you plan not to eat for a day, two or three, this is not too critical for the stomach - digestive system will be able to restore its functions and establish normal operation in a day or two. During this period, the basis of the menu should be vegetable and cereal dishes.
Breaking out of long-term fasting
If you're aiming for a long-term fast, breaking it can be difficult. At the first stage of ending a long fast, you are allowed to drink a liter of vegetable or fruit juice, diluted equally with water. Moreover, it is better to take fruits with a minimum acid content. In the following days, you should limit yourself to dishes made from fresh vegetables or vegetable broths, gradually adding other vegetables and grains to your daily diet. Products rich in animal proteins can be included in the usual menu only a couple of weeks after breaking a long fast.
How many days can you fast
Many people are concerned about the question: how long can you fast on water? The answer will depend on the reason for your decision to fast. If you just need to cleanse your body, one or two days is enough. In order to lose weight, you can fast for 5-7 days or go on weekly short hunger strikes - for beginners, this alternation of satiety and hunger is more acceptable. Long-term fasting lasting several weeks or even months is recommended to be carried out exclusively under medical supervision.
The benefits and harms of fasting
Many authors of works on fasting present this method of losing weight and cleansing the body as a panacea for most diseases. The essence of the theory is that the body directs all its energy reserves to fight the disease, and not to digest food products, because there is simply nothing to digest. Long-term abstinence from food can indeed force the body to overcome the symptoms of the disease, but it is unlikely to be able to completely get rid of its manifestations. So what does fasting bring more - benefit or harm?
The benefits of fasting for the body
Whether fasting is beneficial for different organisms and for different diseases is still an open question. There are benefits from short-term fasting - thanks to a reasonable refusal to eat, the body is completely cleansed, which entails not only weight loss, but also the improvement of the vital systems of the body, cleansing the skin, getting rid of depression, chronic fatigue, renewal, and even rejuvenation of the body. Such results become a reality with a competent approach to abstaining from food, ideally after receiving personal recommendations from an experienced nutritionist.
The harm of fasting to the body
The main harm of fasting to health is the unpleasant side effects that always occur in a person after a complete refusal to eat. These are headaches, painful dizziness, which can be accompanied by nausea, pressure changes, heart failure, a critical decrease in blood sugar, which results in the appearance of ketone bodies, which provoke severe intoxication. Not every body can overcome such ailments on its own, so the process of fasting must be approached thoughtfully, and better yet, under medical supervision.
Video: how to fast for health
