Therapeutic fasting: rules, benefits and harm

For many years there has been debate about whether therapeutic fasting is beneficial for our body or whether it only brings harm. At this time, experts have not been able to express a common opinion. Therefore, let's look at the issue of fasting from different positions.

Benefits of fasting

Therapeutic fasting as a method of healing was invented by Paul Bragg. He considered this method the only true way to remove toxins and other impurities from the human body. He believed that the body “knows better” how to cure itself.

So, let's note the positive aspects of fasting:

• During fasting, our gastrointestinal tract rests. If fasting lasts a day, then at this time the gastrointestinal tract does not work, which means it can direct energy to its restoration. During this time, no global changes will occur in the body, but you will be able to get maximum benefits for the gastrointestinal tract.
• During fasting, the body heals faster. The energy spent on digesting food is now used to restore the body. At this time, a large number of anti-inflammatory and immunoregulatory hormones are produced. At the same time, all the wounds of starving people heal faster.
• Fasting can cure certain diseases. In world practice, there have been cases when starving people were actually healed from diseases of the heart and blood vessels, kidneys, stomach, bones and liver. Fasting helps with diabetes nervous diseases, hormonal imbalances and allergies. There were cases when fasting even cured cancer.

The dangers of fasting

Opponents of fasting are of the opinion that as a result of hunger, a person has an additional need for insulin, and its deficiency leads to incomplete breakdown of fats and the formation of substances that do not cleanse the body, but rather poison it. Scientists are confident that only daily fasting can be harmless to humans.

The harms of fasting, according to experts, are as follows:

• Lack of food leads to the breakdown of proteins, not fats. This leads to a decrease in muscle strength, skin laxity and the appearance of wrinkles.
• The immune system is greatly weakened, the body is left with virtually no protection against infection and bacteria.
• Fasting causes a decrease in hemoglobin and, as a result, a decrease in the number of red blood cells that supply the body cells with oxygen. A person becomes unwell, concentration decreases, and he begins to get tired quickly.
• Does not enter the body vitamins and microelements. This leads to a deterioration in the quality of hair and nails, loss of strength occurs, and general tone decreases.
• For the purpose of losing weight, fasting is also not very effective. It provokes a slowdown in metabolism in order to save energy. This leads to the fact that when you come out of fasting, all the lost kilograms usually return, and new fat deposits are also added.

How to fast properly

In order for fasting to bring only benefits to the body, it is necessary to enter it correctly. There are two ways to do this.

In the first case, you don’t eat anything in the morning. In this case, bowel cleansing should occur naturally. But in this case, it may happen that the body begins to produce substances that begin to poison the body. At the same time, the transition to internal reserves is slowing down. This method can be used by people who have been fasting for a long time.

If you are going to fast for the first time, then use a different method. In this case, in the morning you need to do several enemas to cleanse the intestines or take a laxative. This leads to a rapid transition to internal resources and a severance of the food connection.

While fasting, try to lie in bed more. This will allow you to focus your energy on removing toxins from the body and internal cleansing. You can only go out into the fresh air if you feel a powerful energy flow. Otherwise the effect may be undesirable.

In order not to break down during fasting, spend the first days in bed and preferably sleep altogether. This will keep your brain from thinking about food and prevent you from getting overwhelmed.

The first fasting sessions should be carried out at home, if possible, isolated from everyone, so that there is no temptation to break. But if you have already “got into a rut,” then there is no point in hiding behind ten locks. In the future, you will be able to control all processes and develop a regime for yourself in which from the outside it will seem that you are not starving at all.

Therapeutic fasting at home

You need to enter therapeutic fasting gradually, especially if you carry out the process yourself. After a cleansing enema, gradually switch yourself to diet food. You will only be able to eat products of plant origin. Start your fast with one day without food at all. Then gradually increase the duration of the fast.

You can fast in this mode for about a month, then you should switch to eating in a dietary mode to restore the body. Such fasting will effectively eliminate all the consequences of overeating and launch the processes responsible for cleansing the body.

People who have many kilograms of excess weight may feel nauseous during fasting, vomiting, abnormal heart rhythm, and dizziness. Such phenomena occur due to the fact that toxins leave the body very quickly through the blood.

It is necessary to undergo ten courses of fasting, during which refusal to eat must be alternated with a restorative diet. After six courses of fasting, take a break for several months to recover.

At home, daily fasting is usually carried out. The time it takes place is from one breakfast to the next. During this period, you can only drink distilled water, and any food is excluded. If it’s very difficult, you can add a teaspoon of honey or a little lemon juice to a glass of water. This is necessary to facilitate the removal of harmful substances from the body through the kidneys. After all, both honey and lemon juice act as solvents for harmful substances.

Very persistent and experienced people can conduct three-day fasting sessions at home, or even week-long ones. However, be sure to consult your doctor before fasting. When fasting, it is not necessary to tell others about your decision. It may happen that they do not share your point of view. And now you don’t need additional incentives to stop fasting.

To properly complete fasting and consolidate the results, exiting this process is important. On the first day after fasting, eat exclusively plant foods in very small portions 5-6 times a day. Avoid salt and fats. Your diet should be dominated by vegetables with a lot of fiber.

The next day, you can eat a small amount of oatmeal or buckwheat without milk or salt. Supplement it with vegetables or fruits, vegetable juices. On the third day, allow yourself a teaspoon of any vegetable oil, a piece of stale bread and a small spoon of honey. In the following days, you can add fermented milk products, and then move on to your normal diet.

Therapeutic fasting: reviews

Quite a lot of people have already used therapeutic fasting. It is safe to say that the result here depends entirely on your initial state of health, willpower and fasting goals. Many people note a positive effect. But there are also those who are not happy with the results of fasting.