Therapeutic Fasting

 

Therapeutic fasting by Yuri Nikolaev

In America, fasting for curative purposes was first used in 1877 by E. Dewey. This specialist was a supporter of long fasting courses. Using this method he treated obesity, many gastrointestinal and other chronic diseases of the internal organs. The concept of therapeutic fasting was populirized by American authors Paul Bragg and Herbert Shelton in early 20^th century. This fashion came to Russia in the 1970s. In Moscow, there had long been a scientific one, which was created by the doctor of medical sciences, psychiatrist Yuri Nikolaev.

“Russia is still a leader in the scientific study of fasting,” says Valery Gurvich (he is a student of the professor Nikolaev). According to him, the best schools operate in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Buryatia, Rostov-on-Don, Tyumen.

Yuri Sergeevich Nikolaev (1905 – 1998)- is the founder of the method of unloading dietary therapy (UDT), also called therapeutic starvation. (Here the word "Unloading" means "fasting") Over 7000 patients cured through fasting since 1972 by Dr. Yuri Nikolaev, director of the fasting clinic of the Moscow Research Institute of Psychiatry and co-author of the famous book in Russian language “Голодание ради здоровья” (“Fasting for Health”). The average duration of a fast was 25 to 30 days.

Yuri Nikolaev, a physician-psychiatrist, began using fasting as a treatment method in the 1950s, while working in a hospital with patients suffering from schizophrenia. Once, contrary to established practice, he did not resort to force-feeding patients who refused to eat, and he found that such refusal of food positively affected the condition of patients. In 1960, Yuri Nikolaev defended his doctoral thesis on the effects of wet fasting on patients with schizophrenia and continued to develop this topic, applying the fasting method to the treatment of other diseases. Thanks to his enthusiasm and the positive results, he managed to interest many therapists in this new medical method and to obtain the support of the USSR Ministry of Health.

In 1960-1990, Russian doctors successfully used fasting to treat a number of diseases: hypertension, coronary heart disease, asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, and diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. The protocols used by doctors were somewhat different, but all of them were based on the method introduced by Yuri Nikolaev. In the Soviet Union, anyone could be cured by this method, simply by coming to an appointment with their therapist. Many patients with bronchial asthma, hypertension, stomach ulcers, diabetes mellitus received not a prescription for pills, but a referral to the nearest UDT clinic. UDT was so successful that it was officially approved by the Russian Ministry of Health as a treatment for mental illness, including schizophrenia, epilepsy, and depression.

Dr. Yuri Nikolayev was first exposed to the practice of fasting in his early childhood. Whenever he or his brother Lev would get sick, their mother treated them with 2-3 days of fasting. Yuri’s mother, Larisa Dmitrievna, opened a vegetarian canteen in Moscow. Her book One Hundred Vegetarian Dishes began with an epigraph from Georg Friedrich Daumer :- “As long as there is a system of killing animals and eating corpses as a common custom, a period of true culture cannot come for mankind.” His father, Sergei Nikolayev, was a polyglot. He wrote, edited, and translated to and from several languages. In 1913, he was very inspired by American author Upton Sinclair’s book The Fasting Cure. There was a frequent exchange of letters between Sergei and the American author. The two communicated in letters. Long story short, these letters together with Sinclair’s book had a profound influence on young Yuri’s personal experience with fasting as well as the implementation of therapeutic fasting in his medical practice.

Dr. Yuri Nikolayev as a psychiatrist (his original profession), using fasting, he successfully treated thousands of patients with mental problems, many of them schizophrenics. Improvement was so remarkable that most of them managed to normally carry on with their lives after therapy. Psychiatrists noted fasting had an impact on mental illness.

Yuri Nikolayev developed a new kind of controlled fasting as a way to help people who were affected with diseases of civilization and overweight teenagers – some of his patients lost up to half their body weight while fasting. His technique is known as “UDT” (Unloading diet therapy). UDT’s core principle is that – starvation rids the body of harmful toxins. Most patients fast for seven days, which is then followed by a seven-day “cooling period” when food intake is slowly reintroduced.

Since your body can survive on energy you’ve previously conserved, Nikolayev’s technique does not require one to be bed-ridden while fasting. In fact, clinics employing UDT offer their patients a free, semi-active routine. Activities include swimming, walking, massages, spa treatment, sauna sessions, chess and attending lectures. So rest assured, you won’t be bored !! UDT was officially recognized by the Russian Health Ministry in 2005.

Dr. Nikolayev cautioned that hunger treatment should be administered only under carefully controlled conditions. The patient and his relatives must approve the procedure and the patient is thoroughly examined before the treatment starts. While therapeutic fasting may be a very powerful tool in the repertoire for optimizing wellbeing, it should be implemented with the most caution possible and under medical supervision.

Food is reintroduced gradually. First, he is given diluted fruit juices, then whole juices and grated fruit mixed with yogurt. These are followed by cooked vegetables and boiled cereals. In the therapeutic fasting of duration 25 to 30 days, nearly on the 32^nd to 37^th day, normal eating is resumed. Yuri Nikolaev said that the hunger treatment gives the entire nervous system and the brain a rest. The body is cleaned of toxins and the tissues and glands renovated.

If the fasting cure is successful, the pathologic disorders of the patient will disappear. Their blood pressure and the glucose levels stabilize at their initial values. The greedy appetite and the increased mood usually last for 2-3 weeks after which they resume to normal.

Unloading dietary therapy (UDT) is a non-specific, i.e., biological, general health-improving, method that mobilizes and increases the body’s defenses, which makes it possible to use it to treat a wide range of diseases, including somatic diseases – cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, painful joints, respiratory organs , skin, allergies, obesity, etc.

The results of curing diseases are amazingly high and surpass the success of all other therapeutic methods. Thousands of patients who have been unsuccessfully treated by pharmacological methods for many years have found health. Therapeutic fasting is  a scientifically grounded approach to therapy based on voluntary refusal to eat for a sufficiently long period of time (at least seven days). Therapeutic fasting today is one of the most effective means of treatment and prevention of a wide range of diseases, brings the body into a stressful state, as a result of which such body’s abilities as regeneration, self-healing and self-purification are activated. Therapeutic fasting is a medical method that allows you not only to lose weight and rejuvenate, but also to get rid of many diseases.

The correct name for fasting that doctors use is unloading diet therapy (UDT). It is the only official fasting method that was approved by the Ministry of Health in 2005, Russia. The name UDT was chosen for a reason. It carries in itself such a meaning – the fasting period, which we call starvation, is inextricably linked with the dietary period of getting out of hunger. Doctors note that the dietary period is even more important and difficult than the period of refusal to eat. During the fasting, the body switches to endogenous nutrition – nutrition at the expense of its own reserves. As a result, a restructuring of metabolic processes occurs and a recovery and purification mode is launched, recovery processes are activated, “diseased” cells die, the end products of metabolism (slags, toxins, drug metabolites, etc.) are excreted from the body.

This is a kind of shake-up of the body: not having received the usual portions of food, it experiences short-term stress, which forces the defense systems to mobilize, and the cells and enzymes to activate. Even for healthy people, regular UDT is the best preventive and anti-aging therapy. To live long and efficiently, we need to be in harmony with the nature of our own organism, and not go against it.

Pathological, premature old age is complicated by diseases. But, even with physiological old age, there are shifts in metabolism and the state of organs and systems of the body. However, by changing the nature of nutrition, it is possible to influence the metabolism, adaptive and compensatory capabilities of the body and thus influence the rate and direction of the aging process. Rational nutrition in old age (gerodietics) is an important factor in the prevention of pathological layers on physiologically regular aging.

More about therapeutic fasting

Mankind consumes more than three million tons of medicines a year. It is difficult to say how much money is spent on this from the meager family budgets. As a result, the greatest harm to health. There is no benefit from drugs - why not? There is -- Paid medicine, pharmacological enterprises, intermediaries. In the USA doctors are one of the richest people -- Profit from sufferings !!! But the patient does great harm to himself for his own money.

The emergence of antibiotics already in the early post-war years and the ever-increasing drug boom in the 1950s and later, due to the really successful development of the chemical-pharmaceutical industry, dulled interest in non-drug methods of treating diseases. It took a while to realize that chemically created drugs are not omnipotent. Moreover, we are increasingly suffering from the consequences of using certain drugs too often. The term “medicinal disease” appeared and gained notoriety. As a result of too wide, sometimes unjustified, the use of certain drugs, in particular antibiotics, directly or indirectly increased the level of sensitization (hypersensitivity) of the population to various kinds (including habitual, household) irritants, with the development of unusual responses close to the disease. In all industrialized countries of the world, the level of allergic diseases has increased. What do caring entrepreneurs do for the sake of the health of citizens! And pharmacies are being built, and fabulous money is allocated for all sorts of projects, and in developed countries, every third advertisement on TV is necessarily some new drug. While life expectancy is increasing in Western countries, cases of diabetes, hypertension, obesity and cancer are increasing, and the consumption of medication has exploded causing side effects.

Tablets and drops have already become a psychological habit with the slightest common cold. Men after forty, if you believe the television commercials, without special medications, you can't even dream of normal potency. Statistics show that many doctors suppress even the mildest diseases with strong drugs. This has spawned a culture of quickly treating symptoms rather than treating the body as a whole. And the habit of taking antibiotics even with a slight increase in temperature contributed to the development of intolerance to these drugs in a huge number of people.

Therapeutic fasting treatment is a saving instinct forgotten by man. Indeed, among wild and domestic animals, starvation during illness is a natural reaction. Animals during most diseases either completely refuse to eat, or eat a little grass. Sometimes they fast until wounds or fractures are healed. In wild animals that are not assisted by a veterinarian, this may be the only chance of recovery.

In our prehistory, for thousands of years we were trained to go through famines and fast in times of intense exercise and spend sedentary times, living in the cave protected from the cold, with which our organism developed both capacities for survival and mechanisms to survive from the reserves without losing muscle or losing it in minimal amounts.

These circumstances logically revives interest in non-pharmacological methods and methods of healing, including undeservedly forgotten ones. The low effectiveness of traditional medicine in the fight against even the simplest diseases, not to mention the "incurable" ones, forces us to look for other approaches to solving the problem.

Western medical science condemned fasting on the grounds that it is necessary for purely religious purposes, but doesn’t provide any benefit to the body. In fact, fasting, no doubt, can restore the health of the patient most quickly. Perhaps the idea of ​​abstaining from food to fight disease is too simple, which is why orthodox physicians view it negatively.

Psychiatrist Yuri Nikolaev (1905-1998) arrived at fasting as a treatment method in the 1950s, when he was working with patients suffering from schizophrenia in a hospital setting. Once, contrary to established practice, he did not resort to forced feeding of patients who were refusing food, and found that the refusal to eat leads to a noticeable positive effect on the disease symptoms. In 1960, Yuri Nikolaev defended his doctoral dissertation at the Institute of Higher Nervous Activity on the topic “Unloading dietary therapy (UDT) for schizophrenia and its physiological justification”. Yuri Nikolaev studied in detail the processes that occur in the human body during abstinence from food. He also developed the first scientifically based method for the use of UDT. Scientific and practical conclusions Yuri Nikolaev outlined in the book "Fasting for health." This book can be called a "fasting textbook". Later, UDT was successfully used by Nikolaev and his students also for the treatment of many somatic diseases that were considered incurable. An article from the “Los Angeles Times”, published on April 3, 1972. An article written by Murray Seeger was called “The Soviet Cure for Everyone :- Eat Nothing for 30 Days” Thus, people of USA came to know about – therapeutic fasting by Yuri Nikolaev.

It was thanks to Yuri Nikolaev efforts in Russia that this method was recognized as official medicine. In 1980, at the initiative of Nikolaev, in the Moscow City Clinical Hospital No. 68, an UDT (Unloading dietary therapy) department for the treatment of somatic patients was opened for the treatment of somatic patients, which has been successfully operating to this day.

Therapeutic starvation, called “Unloading (fasting)-dietary therapy”, consists of two stages. The first is fasting. The patients usually fast for three to five weeks. No food, no medicines, only clean drinking water without restriction. Daily – obligatory walks, warm baths and other cleansing procedures, in particular, enemas. The second stage is restorative dietary nutrition. First, juices from fresh vegetables and fruits, then raw vegetables and grated fruits. Later – a special vinaigrette, kefir, then cereals, nuts, salads … Everything is absolutely without salt to avoid swelling. The recovery diet phase lasts about the same number of days as the fast lasted, sometimes a little more.

In short, Nikolaev's technique boiled down to four main points: daily long walks (5 km) in the fresh air, drinking two liters of clean (boiled, non-carbonated  preferably distilled) water, taking hot baths with washing with a washcloth (for massage) and cleansing the intestines with Esmarch's mug (hanging enema). In addition to water, those starving according to  Nikolaevs’ UDT  are not forbidden to drink decoctions of medicinal herbs such as rosehip tincture.

By the way, Yuri Nikolaev was not a nutritionist, but a psychiatrist, and using therapeutic fasting, he treated patients with various mental disorders (even those with schizophrenia), but then he came to the conclusion that not only psychiatric diseases, but also ailments of the body (grave diseases of civilization). After graduating from the Moscow Medical Institute, Yuri Nikolaev became a psychiatrist. In medical practice, he sought to help a sick person not with medicines, but with the forces of nature.

The natural biological method of UDT, tested over several decades on thousands of patients and giving good results, rightfully becomes the object of serious scientific research and is adopted by practical medicine. Therefore, UDT is the best means of cleansing and healing, when the supply of food from the outside stops and the body switches to internal nutrition at the expense of accumulated reserves. At the same time, all extraction systems work extremely efficiently. After all, about 150 different toxins in the gaseous state are removed only through the lungs.

Fasting treatment is not a specific method for any one disease or group of diseases. This is a general strengthening method that mobilizes the body’s defenses and therefore has a very wide range of indications. For many diseases, if they are not very advanced, UDT can be applied in the form of short-term fasting or fasting days, when patients will receive fruits, vegetables or juices.

Fasting as part of a lifestyle is no doubt a good thing, Yuri Nikolaev says, but he is focused on making it part of the armament of doctors fighting the West’s epidemic of lifestyle diseases that threaten to undermine the healthcare system. He says – there is compelling evidence over decades of how it can lower blood pressure, reduce excess fat and blood glucose, modulate the immune system, increase mood effects and the sleep-regulating neurotransmitter serotonin, and increase protein levels, restore and reduce inflammation.

Pharmaceutical companies in the West are not interested in published data used to establish fasting as part of public health policy in the former Soviet Union and in the present Russia. Yuri Nikolaev quotes the ancient Greek philosopher and healer Hippocrates: “Wisdom is to know everything that nature has done.” This is the basis of the doctrine of therapeutic fasting, presented by Nikolaev.

From the point of view of Yuri Nikolaev, “there is only one “disease” – the result of ignoring or ignorance of the laws of nature, in this case the laws of nutrition and starvation, this single, dialectically interconnected process. This leads to toxicosis or clogging with poisons and toxins of metabolic origin. “In order to fight the disease, first of all, it is necessary to thoroughly cleanse the body. And we are talking not only about cleansing the blood, intestines or other organs (this is now being said no less than about diets for weight loss), but also about cleansing various tissues of the body, which is simply impossible to do by external methods.

Yuri Nikolaev wrote :- “From thousands of years of experience, after numerous experiments and careful clinical study, it became absolutely clear that therapeutic fasting is an exceptional therapeutic tool. It contributes to a radical cleansing, and everything that cleans, heals. Professor Nikolaev warns that fasting should be done under medical supervision. It is important to undergo a preliminary thorough examination of the body.

As you can see, the UDT technique is scientifically proven and is performed in specialized clinics under the supervision of experts. However, there are still several authors’ methods, among which P. Bragg, Galina Shatalova and GP Malakhov’s treatment and fasting systems are the most famous.

There are many cases when, with the help of fasting, diseases that did not respond well to traditional treatment were cured: Cancer Prevention Medical research has shown conclusively that intermittent fasting can significantly lower the level of the hormone IGF-1 in the body. This prevents the development of malignant tumors..

1.      Diseases of the musculoskeletal system, including osteochondrosis of the spine, metabolic dystrophic polyarthritis;
2.  Cardiovascular diseases, including hypertension, initial symptoms of atherosclerosis, vegetative-vascular dystonia;
3.    Diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, such as gastritis, colitis, pancreatitis, biliary dyskinesia;
4.   A number of gynocgical diseases, including chronic adnexitis, infertility;
5.   Allergies, some forms of bronchial asthma, Depressive conditions, especially those associated with constant stress and overload.

A book by Yuri Nikolaev

Nikolaev wrote a book “Fasting for Health” about the benefits of temporary refusal of food processes. Evgeny Nilov and Vladimir Cherkasov became its co-authors. The book talks in detail about the method of fasting, it describes in an accessible way from a scientific point of view all the physiological processes and changes that occur in starving people. Also, the reader finds in it many interesting stories of patients who have undergone therapy.

The first was published in 1973 with a circulation of 200,000 copies and quickly sold out, arousing great interest among both a wide range of readers and physicians. After reading this real ABC of therapeutic fasting, you will change your view of your own body and appreciate the Russian proverb: “Hunger is not an aunt, but a mother.”

The authors develop their own view of hunger and starvation. They note that hunger as a social phenomenon is a great scourge that can lead to exhaustion and death. However, in the hands of people who know and know how to use it, it can become a powerful biological remedy that allows you to save patients from various diseases that cannot be treated with medicines and other means common in medicine.

Meanwhile, at present, there are opponents of this method, denying the possibility of its use for therapy. In addition, not all doctors know how to use the method of dosed fasting for medicinal purposes. The authors show that if the method is mastered, then the result of the treatment will not be exhaustion and death, but the restoration of health and the prolongation of life in seriously ill people.

Many patients with bronchial asthma, hypertension, stomach ulcers, diabetes mellitus received not a prescription for pills, but a referral to the nearest UDT clinic. The results of curing diseases are surprisingly high and surpass the success of all other therapeutic methods.

At all times, people were very afraid of hunger and did everything to avoid it. Hunger in our mind is associated with torment and death, so it is difficult for many to imagine how one can starve voluntarily. However, it is possible !!

Anecdote about Yuri Nikolaev

One evening in March 1952, Efim Smirnov, Stalin’s Minister of Health, heard a knock at his office door. He was intrigued. It’s late, everyone has left except him; he had some last letters to sign. Who can it be?

A doctor from the Moscow hospital named Yuri Nikolaev timidly enters. He didn’t make an appointment.

The Minister was irritated: how dare this stranger appear, late at night and without having announced himself, in front of the man who was the head doctor of the Red Army? Nikolaev profusely apologizes. Nobody in the hospital that employs him wants to listen to him. He begs the Minister to give him five minutes of his time, after which he will leave. The Minister hesitates, falls back into his chair, motions for him to sit down.

Nikolaev told that he came across American books on fasting, including Upton Sinclair’s “The Fasting Cure”, and “got” something. He himself has been fasting for years and is never sick. He began to make patients fast with success, he has just succeeded in completely curing a schizophrenic reputed to be incurable thanks to a one-month fast.

Nikolaev asks for help to develop his research. Curing by fasting would be a major advance, which the Americans stupidly abandoned thirty years ago, under the influence of too powerful pharmaceutical lobbies.

Minister Smirnov reflected. In the military that he is -- in the middle of the Cold War, he will be glad to know if deprivation of food can improve the health of troops? This would be interesting. And if this doctor manages to prove the therapeutic benefits of fasting, it is the prestige of Soviet research that will benefit. He asks to think. The next day, Nikolaev received the news that he was granted a full 25-bed fasting treatment department at a Moscow spa.

This anecdote is told by Thierry de Lestrade in his French language book “Fasting, a new therapy”  published in 2015. A year later, Nikolaev received the support of Marshal Bulganin, Khrushchev’s right arm. It was the consecration and the beginning of an exciting therapeutic epic.

All of these healings provided the basis for his 1973 Russian language book “Fasting for Health”. This book was a bestseller in the Soviet Union. A few months after his release, Brezhnev formalized fasting as a therapeutic method throughout the USSR.

Upton Sinclair was absolutely right except……

“The Fasting Cure”, by Upton Sinclair, published in 1911, a seminal book on therapeutic fasting. Sinclair got interested in fasting as a cure for various illnesses about 1902. Sinclair’s theses were vehemently criticized by the Board of Physicians in the United States as pseudoscience. Another problem with this book is the claim that fasts for up to 40 or 50 days are common and healthy, modern medical advice would suggest that this is far too extreme and very dangerous. “The Fasting Cure” is a reprint of two articles written by Upton Sinclair in 1910 for Cosmopolitan Magazine magazine about his personal experience and championing of fasting as a natural cure-all.

Sinclair believes that fasting cures a lot of illnesses and that the reason some people didn’t experience a cure was because their fast was shorter than 7 days. Sinclair argues that prolonged fasts are a cure for virtually every bodily ailment, including deafness and cancer.

In his opinion, fasting around at least 2 weeks can be the cure for many dietary related illnesses and maladies, and can push the reset button on improper eating habits.

Sinclair wrote,“I believe that when the glad tidings of its miracles have reached the people it will lead to the throwing of 90 per cent of our present materia medica into the wastebasket.” (Page 25 of book “The Fasting Cure”) Upton Sinclair regularly practiced fasting. He further wrote, “I found perfect health, a new meaning of existence, a sense of purity and happiness, something unknown to most human beings !!”

The only wrong thing about Upton Sinclair is the claim that fasts for up to 40 or 50 days are common and healthy. The average duration of therapeutic fasting according to Yuri Nikolaev is – 25 to 30 days and this includes a very strict supervision under the trained medical expert using daily enema cleansing procedures and other necessary procedures.

Due to the discovery of autophagy, modern science is finally starting to understand and embrace the benefits of intermittent and longer term fasting. The 2016 Nobel Prize in Physiology, Medicine went to Japanese biologist Osumi for the study of autophagy. Osumi proved that due to hunger, the body starts the process of self-devouring cellular debris, bacteria and viruses. It receives raw materials for work by destroying old cells, which once again proved the benefits of fasting for humans.

Cleansing enemas and water procedures are necessary in UDT

At present, it is generally accepted to carry out water procedures and cleansing enemas during fasting in order to remove metabolic poisons and prevent autoimmune toxicity with metabolic products absorbed from the intestine. Despite this, many non-Russian authors including Paul Bragg unreasonably rejects this procedure, which according to Yuri Nikolaev -- worsens the results of UDT.

It is necessary to cleanse the intestines with enemas. They facilitate the process of starvation, help to remove toxins and metabolic products from the body. Otherwise, these substances will be absorbed in the intestines and increase the poisoning of the body. In UDT patient should perform daily cleansing procedures during the fasting period using an cleansing enema or perform a “monitor colonic dialysis”. Particular attention should be paid to the fact that skipping even one cleansing procedure can lead to a deterioration in well-being (headache, weakness, and other manifestations of intoxication). In the opinion of experts, “monitor colonic dialysis” is much more effective than cleansing enema, as the patient has virtually no side effects described above.

Carrying out the so-called cleansing procedures from the very beginning of fasting ensure the constant removal of metabolic products (endotoxins, "slags") from the body. Colon cleansing with an enema is one of the main methods that complement therapeutic fasting (UDT). And in order to understand how important this cleansing procedure is during therapeutic fasting, let's analyze the physiological processes that occur in the body during a food break.

During fasting, the main task of the body is to replenish the energy balance. At the initial stage, this occurs due to the breakdown of glucose. When it ends - and this happens within the first 20 hours - the breakdown of fats accumulated in our reserves begins.

During these processes, glucose is broken down into carbon dioxide and water. In addition, many harmful toxic substances are released in the body, which poison the body and lead to the following consequences: nausea, weakness, dizziness, headache, aching muscles.

The purpose of the cleansing enemas -  is to cleanse the intestines from feces, food debris, and toxic substances. Even with short courses of fasting, cleansing enemas are required. Especially with a long course of fasting (25 to 30 days), when the body goes to the stage of splitting the internal reserves of the body, releasing toxic metabolic products into the intestines and blood. Therefore, cleansing enemas are carried out without fail - this is one of the most important success factors for curative fasting (UDT). If you do not do a cleansing enema, then poisoning the body with metabolic products will not allow you to continue the course of therapeutic fasting (UDT).

Before the therapeutic fasting (UDT) procedure, it is necessary to cleanse the intestines and stomach with a laxative and an enema. It is necessary to remove all parasites, otherwise, during starvation, they will feed on internal tissues. It is useful for cleansing the body of slags and toxins. Leaving the stomach and intestines, they are not absorbed into the bloodstream and do not poison the system.

A day before a cleansing enema, a person takes magnesia to remove excess stomach contents. In this first initial stage, a solution of MgSO₄ (magnesium sulfate, otherwise known as Epsom salts) is administered to the patient to induce a complete bowel movement. The bitter aftertaste is usually masked by a sip of juice. For this, lemon water is used.

The day before the start of fasting :- it is necessary to refuse dinner; make an enema with two liters of water to cleanse the intestines. A weekly fasting requires 16 purifications :- daily in the morning and evening and one on the eve and after completion. It is important to remember that the water for the enema should not be from the tap, and the temperature should be at room temperature, because too hot and cold enema can harm the intestines.

The whole essence of a three-week fast is more than simple – an absolute refusal to eat, drink only water. Water should be boiled and not carbonated. It is forbidden to drink juices, teas and any other liquids

The morning (during fasting therapy) starts with an cleansing enema. It is not surprising, but even during the refusal of food, feces continue to form from the decay products of internal resources.

Peristalsis is the automatic wave-like movement of the muscles that line your gastrointestinal tract. Peristalsis moves food through your digestive system, beginning in your throat when you swallow and continuing through your esophagus, stomach and intestines while you digest. Even a 24-hour fasting period decreases peristalsis in all 3 sections of the GI tract; however, motility returns to normal when feeding resume.

In some cases, intermittent fasting of more than 24 hours can totally throw your bowel movements out of whack. Hence, during the UDT therapy, it is necessary to cleanse the intestines in order to avoid stagnation and re-poisoning of the body. An enema requires up to 1.5 liters of warm, pleasant water temperature.

With therapeutic fasting, toxins are removed from the body by all available routes. Toxins are divided into two types: water-soluble and fat-soluble, therefore, the ways they are excreted from the body are different. The kidneys, salivary glands, lungs and gastrointestinal tract secrete water-soluble poisons throughout its length. Fat-soluble toxins are much harder for the body to remove than water-soluble ones; this work is done by the liver through bile and skin.

Fat-soluble toxins are excreted by the liver with bile where? – Into the intestines. This explains the fact that during starvation, black bile is abundantly secreted, despite the absence of food in the duodenum, which is the usual stimulus for the secretion of yellow bile during nutrition.

How it is? An amazing fact is that food is not taken, but a huge amount of black bile is released, which is revealed during washing enemas.

During fasting, black bile is released into the intestines a lot and constantly, which, of course, is not associated with any meals, but with the release of fat-soluble toxins into the intestines from the liver. Bile in starving is of black, like tar, in colour, with a yellowish sheen. If you do not do cleansing enema, then for 21-31 days of fasting in the intestines such a huge amount of black bile accumulates and condenses that when you resume eating, then abundant black bilious stools can be present during the first 2-3 days.

In addition, if cleansing enemas are not used, the reabsorption of fat-soluble toxins from the bile condensed in the intestine cannot be ruled out.

Fasting and gallbladder

Gallbladder — an organ the size of a chicken egg (50 ml), which receives 1.5 liters of bile per day. Purpose of gall bladder — storing, thickening of bile and timely delivery of it to intestines. The function of purification and digestion of the organism depends on the accuracy of its work.

Bile is needed for the assimilation of fats, but together with bile, the liver is freed from toxins and metabolic products. When there is a problem with the excretion of bile, not only digestion but also the whole organism suffers.

One of the most frequent problems of the fasting day is an overfilled gallbladder. With regular consumption of food, the gall bladder works “occasionally when eating food”. If the food does not arrive on time, it overflows and creates problems, therefore, the fasting day must be preceded by a test, also called a blind probe.

When the gallbladder is not emptied, a person experiences a headache, dry mouth, nausea, pain in the right hypochondrium, weakness, palpitations, blood pressure may rise and jaundice may appear. These are signs of intoxication, showing that the products excreted by the liver did not leave the gallbladder and returned to the blood.

Cleansing enemas and colon hydrotherapy

Cleansing enemas are water-based and meant to be held in the rectum for a short time to flush your colon. Once injected, they’re retained for a few minutes until your body rids itself of the fluid, along with loose matter and impacted stool in your bowel.

Colon hydrotherapy is also known as colonic cleansing or irrigation, involves using water to flush waste out of the large intestine. The colon is the large intestine, and it absorbs water and salts from waste material that has traveled through the body.

Yuri. Nikolaev Versus Paul Bragg

Yu.S. Nikolaev fasting system is known as unloading (fasting) dietary therapy (UDT). UDT is based on the Paul Bragg system, but with some nuances. Firstly, contrary to Bragg's requirement, there is no need to constantly lie down during fasting. With immobility, fasting is tolerated worse than with significant motor activity. Nikolaev recommends that his patients walk more, and even ski in winter. Secondly, on the eve of fasting, Nikolaev recommends taking a laxative, such as magnesium sulphate (English bitter salt) in the amount of 1.5-2 tablespoons per glass of water, and using a cleansing enema twice on the days of fasting. Paul Bragg does not believe that you need to take laxatives or do cleansing enemas. Bragg believes that the use of cleansing enemas is unnatural. The opinion of  Professor Yu. Nikolaev on the issue under consideration is the opposite: with constipation, a cleansing enema is indicated in order to avoid intoxication of the body.

At present, it is generally accepted to carry out water procedures and cleansing enemas during fasting in order to remove metabolic poisons and prevent autoimmune toxicity with metabolic products absorbed from the intestine. “Despite this, Paul Bragg unreasonably rejects this procedure, which worsens the results of UDT” says authors of  UDT. Longer fasts already need additional measures for bowel cleansing. Often during fasting, intestinal atony is observed, caused by its insufficient filling. This prevents the elimination of feces, which can lead to waste and toxins being absorbed and entering the bloodstream. To avoid this, cleansing enemas should be given regularly, sometimes laxatives should be used.

The recovery period is very important in UDT. After the 25 to 30 days, the way out of hunger is staged, very gradual, starting with diluted juices and then adding whole vegetable or fruit juices. On the third or fourth day, you can turn on puree from natural vegetables and fruits and slowly move on to dairy and vegetable foods. Near the 35 to 40^th day, normal eating is resumed. Paul Bragg recommends a one-time exit from hunger by eating vegetable fiber from fruits, which is non-physiological.

The ideologists of the traditional method of fasting, such as Bragg, call for complete and continuous abstinence from food for 7-10 days of fasting without limiting the amount of water. Moreover, the water should be distilled – Bragg says, it cleanses the body better. In his book, Bragg mainly recommends relatively short fasts of 24-72 hours and fasts of medium duration (7-10 days). According to Yuri Nikolaev -- from a medical point of view, P. Bragg's system contains many controversial points. The short and medium term fasts recommended by Bragg do not lead to the restructuring of the body for internal nutrition and do not have a greater therapeutic effect, contributing instead to a simple "rest" of the digestive tract. With short fasts, the body does not have time to adjust to endogenous nutrition, there are no those pathophysiological mechanisms that determine the effect of fasting, so the benefits of them are mainly in the rest of the gastrointestinal tract. Fasting of medium duration (7 to 10 days), provided that you “step over” through the crisis, brings a greater effect but, not so great as that of UDT. The average duration of UDT according to Yuri Nikolaev – is 25 to 30 days. With the currently used method of dosed fasting (UDT) for 25-30 days, weight loss is usually 12-15 percent, that is, well below the safe rate.

Paul Bragg gives his recommendations to all people without exception, regardless of the state of health, climatic conditions and differentiation of population groups, without taking into account the indications and contraindications of this method, which can lead to serious consequences for many, especially if children and adolescents follow this method.

About Paul Bragg

Paul Bragg was born in 1881 in Virginia (USA). He was a very weak child, in fact sentenced to death. Heart disease prevented him from playing with his peers. At the age of 12, he also contracted tuberculosis in both lungs. Then his parents took him to Switzerland to the sanatorium of Dr. Rollier, who treated his patients with outdoor exercises and special nutrition. By the age of 16, Bragg was completely healthy. Paul Bragg wrote a best-seller and a very popular book called, “The Miracle of Fasting”. In the book “The Miracle of Fasting”, he tells by his own example how he starved once a week and 4 times a year refused food for 7 days.

Paul Bragg died of a heart attack on December 7, 1976 (at the age of 95) in the emergency room at South Shore Hospital in Miami, Florida, but he did not die of old age. While surfing on a surfboard, he was injured by a giant wave in the surf in Hawaii. It is reported that Paul C. Bragg’s excellent health was seriously damaged in a surfing accident in Hawaii several months prior to his death.

Fasting according to Herbert Shelton

Complete (for 20 days) fasting on water (drink only when you want). During fasting, the body must rest. During fasting, according to the Shelton, you should rest more physically, stay in bed longer, if you have such an opportunity.

Shelton, like Bragg, is against the use of cleansing enemas. He despised laxatives and enemas, because he believed that fasting in itself is an effective means for removing poisons from the body. Shelton himself acted according to an elementary formula :- the duration of fasting is equal to the duration of the exit from it.

Therapeutic fasting according to Otto Buchinger

One of the best-known methods is the classic therapeutic fasting method based on the Buchinger method, which goes back to the German doctor and naturopath Otto Buchinger (1878-1966). The fasting method according to Dr. Buchinger's system has been around for over 100 years. 

Born in 1878 in Darmstadt to a civil servant, he studied medicine, was awarded a doctorate and spent the First World War as a naval doctor until he was thrown off course in 1917 by an infected rheumatism of the joints caused by septicaemia.

His mobility was soon so severely restricted that he was forced to retire from the navy as an invalid due to chronic inflammation of the gallbladder and joints. The personal strain and the powerlessness of conventional Western medicine led him to consider alternative forms of treatment. In 1919, he was referred to Dr. Riedlin in Freiburg, who prescribed therapeutic fasting following traditional methods. Firstly, he subjected himself to a 19-day fast. After two long fasts he regained his full health. 

It was a resounding success, and saved his life, which he devoted from then on to developing and refining a method for a medically sound fasting therapy. He then founded his own clinic in Witzenhausen in 1920. In his book he reports on 15 years of experience with the "royal way of healing" of fasting.

Traditionally, Buchinger fasting is based on daily intake of vegetable broth (¼ litres), fruit or vegetable juices (¼ litres), and honey (30 g) as well as 2-2.5 litres of fluid intake by herbal teas and water  - but no solid food. The intake of buttermilk is allowed for longer fasting periods. Thus, the body receives a minimal amount of calories, vitamins and minerals. Various positive effects are ascribed to this type of therapeutic fasting.

Buchinger fasting is not pure water on an empty stomach with zero calories, it is a gentle and effective fasting method in which the body receives about 250 kcal per day in the form of freshly squeezed fruit juices and vegetable broths. Supplemented as needed, protein in the form of dairy products and micronutrients such as minerals, vitamins and trace elements, as well as plenty of fluids in the form of water or aromatic herbal teas.

The book in German language "Heilfasten" (The fasting cure) published by Otto Buchinger in 1935 attracted a great deal of attention. It was the first systematic description of the physiology of fasting and the diseases that are still listed as indications for fasting today. In 1953, Dr. Otto Buchinger was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit for his pioneering work.

Today, in addition to three Buchinger clinics, there are other specialized fasting clinics and numerous sanatoriums and clinics for naturopathy in German-speaking countries where therapeutic fasting is offered.

Fluid intake is especially important during the fasting period. At least 2.5 liters of still water or unsweetened tea should be drunk daily. This helps in the elimination of metabolic products. With real therapeutic fasting, you only drink water. Many fasting methods prohibit solid food. Often, 250 to 400 calories per day, mostly in the form of beverages, are allowed, rather than the average 1500 to 3000 calories. With other therapeutic fasting variants (e.g. according to Otto Buchinger), juices, vegetable broth and herbal teas are also permitted. Therapeutic fasting also includes intestinal cleansing - because only with an empty intestine, the fasting can be healthy and pleasant. 

At the beginning of the first day of fasting, the “colonic cleansing” takes place. For this, fasters take 30-40 g of Glauber’s salt dissolved in one litre of water, which they should drink within 20 minutes. This process is repeated several times during the fasting period. An enema every two days probably isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but when you consider that almost 80 percent of all diseases arise in the intestine, a colonic cleanse certainly couldn’t do you any harm. You should also know our intestines are almost eight metres long, and that they’re the largest organ in our body after our skin.

It is undisputed that this fasting method can be used both as a preventative health measure and to treat certain diseases. According to Otto Buchinger, the optimal fasting period is 2 to 4 weeks, taking into account each individual’s specific health issues. The Medical Association for Therapeutic Fasting and Nutrition recommends planning a standard duration of 7 to 10 days for a therapeutic fasting cure, plus 1 preparation day, followed by 3 days to normalise eating behaviour.

The healing effect of voluntary fasting is so amazing that Otto Buchinger called it "an operation without a knife." Therefore, even for healthy people, regular fasting is the best prevention and anti-aging therapy.

Dr. Otto Buchinger, who supervised 70,000 fasting patients, said: “Fasting is the most direct path to healing for everyone who is willing to go through it for the restoration and renewal of their body, mind and spirit. Fasting saved my life early in my medical career.”

Dry fasting by Leonid Shchennikov

With dry fasting (refusal not only from food, but also from water), the body quickly gets rid of extra pounds. Not receiving water from the outside, he begins to “extract” it from adipose tissue: breaks down fats, during which H₂O is released. Pioneering studies of the healing properties of dry fasting began in Russia in the 1980s. The dry fasting method was founded by Leonid Shchennikov back in 1989. Until then, the methods of fasting according to Shelton, Bragg, Nikolaev were widely known, and all these methods of fasting were with the use of water. In books on medicine, it was common opinion that fasting without water for more than 3 days is not only useless, but also not safe. The official medicine teaches us that a person can only survive 3 to 5 days without water and food, after which death would be imminent… L.A. Shchennikov became a pioneer and, one might say, a revolutionary in the new direction of fasting without liquid and food.

Leonid Shchennikov died at the age of 87, after a severe accident. Now his daughter, Inga  Shchennikova, continues his work. Leonid Shchennikov is the only person in Russia, and perhaps in the world, who had such a long experience in studying, practicing and working with therapeutic dry fasting. He shared his knowledge with everyone who wanted to find the fastest and most effective way to health and self-knowledge.

For beginners !! The author urge to check the exceptional effectiveness of dry fasting at home !! Take a short break from food and water for 36 hours (total dry fasting) + exit (1-2 days), and then, if desired, 3 days. This is easy to do at home. 

In clinical practice, short-term (up to 3 days) absolute (dry) fasting is used in many cases of somatic pathology complicated by fluid retention in the body. At the same time, one day of dry fasting is as effective as three days of water fasting and we can assume that 3-day absolute (dry) fasting is similar in intensity to 7 to 9 days of complete (“wet”) fasting. 

In 1993, in Naberezhnye Chelny (an industrial city in west-central Russia), the Healing dry fasting method was tested on 38 patients with diagnoses :- lymphogranulomatosis, coronary heart disease, allergies, myalgia, acute leukemia, uterine fibroids, osteochondrosis, lung cancer, obesity according to the described scheme for 11 days.

The patients showed a significant improvement in their general condition, blood pressure stabilized, inflammation disappeared, blood counts returned to normal, the threshold for cold perception decreased, and allergic and other negative reactions disappeared.

The first doctor to be officially recognized for dry fasting method was L.A. Shchennikov. In 1993, Shchennikov was granted a patent for the Method of body rehabilitation, which included a 7 to 11-days dry fast. The purpose of the method is “to cleanse the body of products of incomplete metabolism, restore the body’s immunological status, increasing its resistance to external impacts, eliminating the need for drug treatment, preventing and eliminating disorders in the human body”.

After numerous approbations and examinations, the Committee of the Russian Federation for Patents and Trademarks issued L.A. Shchennikov an Invention Patent No. 2028160 “Method of Rehabilitation of the Body” (hereinafter referred to as the method of dry fasting).

Compared to conventional (wet) fasting:

• more effective bodily cleansing and revitalization

• easier to tolerate, fewer side effects

• fasting period is 3 times shorter (7-9 days vs. 24-30 days)

All leading fasting authors were long livers….

Paul Bragg himself, who was in perfect health until the age of 95 when he suffered grave injury while surfing in California. Upton Sinclair lived upto 90 years of age. Herbert Shelton died at the age of 89 years. Bernard MacFadden – 87 years, Guillaume Guelpa – 80 years, Yuri Nikolaev – 93 years, inventor of dry fasting method Leonid Shchennikov – 87 years, Well-known German fasting expert Otto Buchinger – 88 years….

Medical supervision is a must….

After all, isn’t it a miracle when doctors say: “We can’t help anymore” and the patient feels better or even better after fasting? Or when doctors say: “You are chronically ill; you will have to take medication for the rest of your life” and when the patient then fasts several times and finally no longer needs medication?

If you would like to fast for a chronic illness, it is best to look for a therapeutic fasting doctor. You may then soon be able to write a success story.

Fasting for more than two days without medical supervision is dangerous. Prominent scientist and nutritionist Igor Khoroshilov (widely known for being the first to substantiate the use of dry fasting in clinical practice in 1994), recommends medical supervision for water fasts that last over 3 days. Igor Khoroshilov considers 1½  day (36 hours) to be the optimal period for home dry fasting, but notes that it should not exceed 3 days. A different opinion on this matter is expressed by Dr. Sergei Filonov in his book 20 Questions and Answers about Dry Fasting, which we recently published in English. If there are no concomitant pathologies, then dry fasting at home can last for up to 5 days, he claims. In the opinion of some experts, this disparity in recommendations is due to these doctors’ different approaches to the level of acceptable risk.

Therapeutic fasting doctors have their own fasting experience (self-fasting experiences are even part of the training to become a therapeutic fasting doctor), have worked for at least a year in a therapeutic fasting clinic and are also much better informed about nutritional issues than doctors without the additional qualification “fasting doctor”.

In order to guarantee successful use of fasting and to ensure adherence of all safety and quality standards it is mandatory that all interventions during fasting are guided/accompanied by physicians/therapists trained and certified in fasting therapy. In Germany, fasting is taught in the frame of postgraduate educational curricula since 1978. The self-experience of fasting has been traditionally a part of this education. Since 1986, a nonmedical 'fasting guide' education is offered by some institutions. Since 1996, the Medical Association for Fasting and Nutrition (Ärztegesellschaft für Heilfasten und Ernährung, ÄGHE) grants a certificate of training in fasting therapy for physicians complying with certain criteria. Fasting guides and physicians are encouraged to cooperate with each other. The ÄGHE recommends that a physician with fasting experience should be additionally available for background supervision.

Slags and toxins

“Have you ever felt that something is wrong with your body? It seems that you are not sick, but it seems that your strength is not the same, and your favourite food does not make you happy, and you got everything at work. Why did it all suddenly fall on you? This is your body signalling that too much “slag” and ballast substances have accumulated in the body. Over time, they begin to be deposited on the walls of blood vessels, inside the joints, in the kidneys, in the intestines, in the gallbladder in the form of stones. If so, then it’s time to cleanse the body.

Doctors have an ambiguous attitude to the term “slag” and methods of cleansing the body, and more often negative. In medicine, there is the concept of “toxin” and “intoxication”, as well as “detoxification”, which means the removal of toxins from the body. But the term “slag” is not in any medical textbook.

Slag is a term from the metallurgical industry. It refers to a melt that forms on the surface of a liquid molten metal and is a solid vitreous or stony substances consisting of coke, ash and other secondary products.

It is by this analogy that the concept of slagging of the body is introduced. Slags are harmful substances (toxins) formed in the body as a result of its vital activity. "Slags" are commonly referred to as metabolic products, gradually accumulating both in individual cells of our body and in tissues. These are mainly the end products of protein metabolism - urea, uric acid, creatinine, creatine, ammonium salts, etc., sparingly soluble in water and retained in the body. They accumulate in the internal organs and the body itself is not able to remove them, because it is not adapted to the removal of those products and substances that a person began to use in the last 100 years.

If you believe this definition, you will have to believe that our digestive system is a kind of system of sewer pipes and filters, on the walls of which these very slags are deposited and accumulated. And all this needs to be cleaned and scraped periodically.

But it’s not like that !! If you do not have gastrointestinal diseases, then your intestines are always gently pink from the inside. Its walls are covered with villi, which are completely renewed every three days. In addition, the intestines are constantly undulating, in order to promote the products of vital activity to its logical end. This is due to the smooth muscles located in the abdominal cavity. And just because you don’t feel it doesn’t mean it isn’t happening.

We can only feel and consciously contract the skeletal muscles that are attached to the bones. Smooth muscles are the muscles that are located inside the body and ensure the normal functioning of internal organs. These muscles work without our conscious influence, such as the heart muscle

At the same time, the body itself does not produce any elements harmful to itself. It is not its own enemy. And if something gets from outside, then the excretory system copes with it quite well. For this purpose, it actually exists.

Clogging “slags” occurs for many reasons. One of the most important – it must be emphasized – is overeating, oversaturation with proteins, animal fats, starches. The accumulation of “slags” is also caused by the wrong combination of products, the abuse of spicy, spicy dishes, intoxication with alcohol, tobacco, drugs, medicines, polluted air, insufficient sunlight, etc.

But the most important factor in this case is the preponderance of the energy consumed with food over its consumption (now they talk and write a lot about physical inactivity), as well as over the release of decay products through the lungs, kidneys, skin, and intestines. Soviet Russian scientist A. V. Nagorny in the book “Aging and Life Extension” in the chapter “The Theory of Aging and Death” returns to the ideas of Mechnikov and writes :- “The supporters of the theory of self-poisoning quite rightly noted the constant occurrence of toxic waste products in living organisms and quite rightly indicated, that these substances, these “slags” of life can act poisonously on the cells and tissues of the body.

“Slags” primarily accumulate in the connective tissue, as well as in adipose, bone, in non-working or weakly working muscles, in the intercellular fluid, in the protoplasm of any cell, if the cell is not able to release them due to a lack of energy, or due to too abundant their intake, that is, with excess nutrition. For a normal body, any excess foods are harmful and act like toxins: excess salt, starch, unbalanced protein. For example, there are more than 20 amino acids in our body. If some is more than necessary (at least by 0.3%), it becomes an obstacle in the “assembly” of new proteins, at the stage of synthesis, and its toxicity may appear.

Removal of toxins from the body is possible during a hunger strike, which also helps to rejuvenate the body and get rid of extra pounds. Its implementation, however, should be preceded by a conversation with a doctor and a joint drawing up of an action plan. When the body does not receive a portion of food, it begins to burn stored fat and at the same time remove toxins. The "short" version of the hunger strike lasts 36 hours. Some recommend sticking to it for 3-5 days, and if the body has a large amount of accumulated toxic substances, it should be extended up to 10 days.

In today’s highly toxic environment, an average person by the age of 40 is an internally ill person, who at least one third of his weight consists of toxins, that is, salts of poisons dumped by a wise organism into the inert tissues of his body, mainly into adipose tissues. The human body is an amazing mechanism that protects its most important organs – the brain and heart – from toxins. How? The main way the body gets rid of toxic products – toxins – is to neutralize them in the liver and excretion by the kidneys. Water-soluble poisons are excreted from the body by the kidneys, and fat-soluble poisons with bile (with the substance bilirubin) into the intestines and then out with feces.

Over the years – by the age of forty, the “cemetery” of salts of toxins in fiber and ligaments is already completely filled, and then the process of deposition of salts of toxins passes to the vital organs, in which pathological (painful) changes gradually begin to accumulate. Deposits of toxins in the form of calcium salts in the motor apparatus cause the notorious osteochondrosis.

The first well-known example :- vascular atherosclerosis, which, in principle, has the same degenerative origin as osteochondrosis of the ligaments and joints, but occurs in vital transport vessels, narrowing their lumen and disrupting the blood circulation of vital organs. And this is the reason that cardiovascular diseases of the heart and brain – angina pectoris and stroke, are respectively the first and second causes of death for everyone, including by no means elderly people.

Briefly speaking. Physiologically, the human body is a filter through which a huge amount of food and drink is passed through during life, the quality of which is deteriorating catastrophically in modern times. Therefore, over time, the “filter” of the human body becomes clogged … - and that’s it – the “filter” dies! The same atherosclerosis of the vessels is precisely the clogging of the vessels with gradually accumulating muck that enters the body from food and drink.

Insulin, genetic predisposition and longevity

People with Laron syndrome live in an Ecuadorian village. They do not suffer from cancer, diabetes, and age more slowly. They have a defect in growth hormone receptors. And in this regard – low (0-20 ng / ml) insulin like growth factor (IGF-1) in the blood, which determines their resistance to cancer and diabetes.

Interestingly, Ashkenazi Jewish centenarians have a defect in IGF-1 receptors. This is not the same as in people with Laron syndrome. But this partially reduces the effect of IGF-1 on the body. And as a result, they live longer than ordinary people.

The Growth Hormone/IGF-1 signaling pathway, which has been associated with longevity in animals, is also associated with longevity in humans.

Fasting critisism……

The error comes with the notion that, in the process of prolonged starvation, cells are cleansed of toxins (slags). It’s a delusion. The belief that "slag" is dissolved and disposed off in the body when fasting is simply wrong. Since the intestinal mucosa is constantly renewed, nothing is deposited there, and unusable substances are constantly excreted via the kidneys or intestines. The human body never accumulates metabolic products, i.e. waste products, in the cells, they immediately pass into the blood and are removed by the cells of the liver or kidneys.

What a therapeutic fasting expert calls "detoxification" is scientifically dubious :- Slags are supposedly metabolic waste products that are deposited in the body and can cause diseases. Experts point out that end products of metabolism are continuously excreted through the kidneys, intestines, lungs and skin. At same time, an amazing constancy of the internal environment of the body is maintained, the systems responsible for this process have a large margin of safety. As a result, even significant deviations in nutrition do not lead to noticeable changes in the chemical composition of the cell. Therefore, fasting does not cleanse the body of toxins for the simple reason that they do not exist.

Recently, in 2016, Japanese scientist Yoshinori Ohsumi received the Nobel Prize for his work on autophagy in cancer cell culture. Many interpret it in favor of fasting. But in fact, his work has nothing to do with this.

Views are gaining numerous articles that intermittent fasting starts the process of “self-processing” and cell renewal in the human body, that is, the very autophagy, and as a result, the body heals, rejuvenates and recovers from a number of serious diseases.

But… there is no scientific evidence to link fasting and autophagy. And the articles are nothing more than a manipulation and marketing ploy by those who sell information, drugs, medical services, etc. Yoshinori Ohsumi  studied autophagy using yeast as an example, and has done some tests on mice. Scientists are trying to find out whether autophagy contributes to the increase in the lifespan of the whole organism. It has been proven that suppressed autophagy leads to premature aging , but so far such data have only been obtained in experiments on mice and nematodes (a millimeter long worms).

People did not participate in his research. Yes, autophagy processes also take place in the cells of the human body, but according to different principles. And the Nobel laureate has nothing to do with the method of intermittent fasting – the scientist confirmed this at a lecture in Moscow on January 17, 2020. However, the idea to link hunger and autophagy did not come out of nowhere. During the research, it was found that with an artificially created nutrient deficiency, the cell processes some of its components. As a result, universal particles are formed, which are further used for construction and nutrition.

Thanks to this mechanism, the cell continues to live under stress. The level of this stress is important: too much will lead to premature aging of cells and the body. In this regard, the concept of “cellular starvation” is used in the work – and it is in no way connected with human starvation. So everything else is just manipulation.

There is another myth – “you starve and get better.” The fact that the gene responsible for autophagy is able to inhibit the formation of tumours was announced by American scientists in 1999. These and other data suggest that the process of autophagy does have the potential to fight such serious diseases as cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s. Such studies are underway. Their main task is to understand how to manage the process of autophagy in order to direct it to cure, and not to the death of the body, since its stimulation can have both beneficial and detrimental effects. And right now, the link between the benefits of autophagy and fasting has not been determined.

What the proponents of fasting say??

Since primeval times, the human metabolism has been adjusted to fasting periods: In phases of abundance, our ancestors feasted uninhibitedly, in phases of deficiency the stomach remained empty for a few hours or days. Our body survives longer periods of hunger by storing energy reserves in various organs and tissues (including as fat deposits) and mobilizing them again when needed. After a long period without eating, it begins to release substances that activate fat breakdown. There are healing biochemical changes in the body, such as improved sugar and fat metabolism.

For evolutionary reasons, the human body (thanks to its hormonal flows) is able to adapt optimally to the absence of food. The same cannot be said for overeating , as a result of which you can get sick of the so-called diseases of well-being ( obesity , dyslipidemia , type 2 diabetes mellitus , hypertension , etc.).

In many diseases, seemingly unrelated to nutrition, a change in the dietary habits allows, if not to achieve noticeable improvements, then at least slow down the progression and even delay the onset of the disease itself in a healthy person. Changing the dietary habits is itself is a method of treatment and metabolic prevention and treatment of the most common grave human diseases such as atherosclerosis, diabetes, cancer, osteoporosis and other widespread diseases.

It has been proven that the use of intermittent fasting enhances the body’s defenses, promotes faster healing of wounds, increases the bactericidal activity of the body, and ultimately has a beneficial effect on the treatment of many somatic diseases. To date, the positive results of the use of fasting for recovery have been statistically confirmed in thousands of patients.

Since the second half of the last century, this method has been confirmed by a whole range of promising scientific studies that have established changes, occurring in the body when it is used and the duration of fasting that is safe for the human body. The popularity of dosed fasting provoked the appearance on the shelves of bookstores of a huge number of popular publications containing recommendations for improving a person using this method, which does not require large financial costs. Fasting for more than two days should be carried out under the supervision of a physician and provided with emergency medical care.

A huge number of chronic diseases were cured or at least blocked by the process of fasting. This classic path helps to cope with the majority of chronic or recurrent diseases, in most cases leading to a complete or partial recovery.

Therapeutic fasting has an anti-inflammatory effect, and regenerates the body, and its action can be compared with the “reset” mode, for example, like a computer.

In addition, fasting helps prevent heart disease and diabetes, and it also leads to an updated body’s susceptibility to insulin components, which is often lost in metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes, since the development of these diseases is usually associated with insulin resistance. People with type 2 diabetes also benefit from this, as their bodies react more sensitively to the supply of insulin.

Regarding the mechanisms of starvation, many authors agree that during starvation the body is in unusual conditions of the “need” mode and the internal healing forces of the body use their own protein depot to maintain normal metabolism, utilizing, first of all, pathological formations. When restructuring to endogenous nutrition, the body spends accumulated reserves to maintain its conditions, removes toxins, which is the main positive effect of intermittent fasting.

The spread of fasting as a therapy

The theoretical studies carried out have shown that the first quarter of the 20^th century is considered the beginning of the greatest spread of health fasting, when many expert doctors in the European continent began to widely use natural methods of healing and treatment, in particularly fasting. Between 1900 and 1914, following books were published :- American doctor E. Dewey :- “Therapeutic fasting”, American writer U. Sinclair :- “Treatment by fasting”,  German researcher F. Segesser :- “Therapeutic starvation”. The latter was essentially the first clinical monograph on this issue.

In the second half of the last century, the effectiveness of fasting as a method of healing and treatment was confirmed by the results of a number of experimental studies both in the European countries and abroad.

FMD diets

The Fasting Mimicking Diet (FMD for short, not to be confused with the Fast Metabolism Diet) is the brainchild of Dr. Valter Longo, an Italian-American Biologist and gerontologist.

The newest form of fasting, known as the Fasting Mimicking Diet (FMD), is now frequently discussed by experts. It is an approach to fasting that effectively tricks your body into thinking it is fasting while allowing some food intake.

The fasting mimicking diet (FMD) differs from conventional prolonged fasting in that it allows you to continue to eat small, calorie-restricted meals with mostly plant-based ingredients including olives, vegetables, fruit, nuts, seeds and herbal teas, with less than half of the average daily food intake of a 2000 kcal diet.

The new improved method of therapeutic intermittent fasting for the rejuvenation of people

Russian researcher Stanislav Tsivinsky improved the method of UDT (Unloading diet therapy) He applied for patent for this invention in March 1992 and obtained patent in October 1995 in Russia. The invention relates to methods of therapeutic fasting. It allows you to improve the appearance, well-being and health of people, helps to increase the average life expectancy. The invention can be used by individuals at home without the use of any equipment, but can also be used in hospitals. The invention is based on the use of intermittent fasting with the use of a certain set of trace elements.

There exists a known way to prolong the life of animals by using a diet restricted in calories (20-60%) compared with the norm. If such incomplete starvation is carried out after the animals reach puberty, then the average life expectancy with continuous fasting increases by 10-12% and the animals look younger than their peers receiving normal nutrition.

This calorie restriction diet method is very unpleasant for humans :- a person cannot continuously starve all his life, since this will make his life unbearable, he must lead an active working life, which can become impossible with limited nutrition. An additional disadvantage of this method is a relatively weak effect: life expectancy increases by only 10-12%.

There is also known a way to prolong the life of animals by using a diet limited in protein content by 50-75% compared to the norm. When animals were fed this diet after puberty, life expectancy increased by approximately 10% on average. The effect was almost the same as when using a calorie-restricted diet. Animals fed a reduced protein diet looked younger than animals of the same age but fed a normal diet.

This protein restriction diet method is difficult to use for a person who must lead an active working life in society :- a person will feel constant weakness. In addition, the effect achieved is small.

The closest in essence and the achieved result is the method of periodic complete starvation (therapeutic fasting), in which usually only water and even distilled water are taken from seven to ten days. Such fasting is periodically carried out approximately every 3 months.

The disadvantage of this therapeutic fasting method is that during fasting a person must lead a passive lifestyle and observe bed rest. In this case, fasting, as a rule, should be carried out under the supervision of a physician. In addition, although there is a rejuvenation process, but this effect is short-lived.

But, the method proposed by  Stanislav  Tsivinsky makes it possible not only to make a person look younger, but to improve his health and thus stimulate longevity. The aim of the Stanislav  Tsivinsky’s invention is to create an effective method in which the process of healing and rejuvenation of a person through dosed starvation (intermittent fasting) is possible with his active labor and social activities. The use of this method will postpone old age by 15-20 years or more. This is achieved by intermittent fasting by feeding only sugar (glucose or sucrose, approximately 100 g per day per person) and water, and the duration of fasting and the frequency depend on the age of the person: 3 days every month at the age of 18-38 years, 7-15 days every 2-3 months at the age of 38-50 years, 15-25 days every 2-3 months over the age of 50.

The method differs in that to increase the effectiveness of fasting as an additional means, once a day a person takes orally (drinks) a 15-20 ml aqueous solution of salts of microelements containing ( in μg/g) :- copper 500-700 in the form of copper chloride, zinc 2500-3000 as zinc chloride, cobalt 1000-1100 as cobalt chloride, manganese 400-600 as manganese chloride, silicon 25000-30000 as sodium silicate or potassium silicate, indium 10-20 in the form of indium chloride, chromium 0.05-0.1 in the form of chromium chloride. The method differs in that a 15-20 ml aqueous solution of microelements is taken in the intervals between fastings, 1-2 times a week.

Instead of these salts, trace elements can also be introduced into an aqueous solution with the help of other highly soluble and non-toxic chemical compounds, for example, in the form of sulfates of the corresponding metals.

The essence of the proposed method is as follows. During fasting, in which a person receives only sugar and water, the concentration of sugar in the blood is maintained the same as during a normal diet. This provides a person with good health and normal or even increased performance and endurance. At the same time, the lack of protein in the diet leads to the gradual destruction of defective body cells that accumulate in the body with age and in this way largely determine the aging process. The absence of fat in the diet helps to get rid of obesity and improve blood vessels. Therefore, as a result of such starvation, the human body is cleansed of pathogenic formations and toxic metabolic products, heals and rejuvenates.

Trace elements in the human body play a huge role, contributing to numerous enzymatic reactions that determine all vital processes in the human body. The introduction of the most important trace elements contributes to the existing processes in the body to eliminate defective cells, making them more effective during fasting. These elements also stimulate the formation of new full-fledged cells after starvation, which causes the rejuvenation of the body. Therefore, although fasting is the main way to rejuvenate and improve the body, to achieve some rejuvenation, you can take a solution of trace elements without fasting. The proposed method is applicable for people who have no contraindications for fasting and taking these trace elements.

The method is carried out as follows….

Initially, a person must be imbued with the conviction that the process of healing and rejuvenation is necessary for him and that he is ready to endure physical and psychological inconvenience due to unusual nutrition during fasting. Then, without any preparation, they begin fasting, which can be started at any time of the day. During fasting, they drink as much water as they want, take sugar evenly throughout the day, approximately 100 g of sucrose or glucose, and drink a 15-20 ml aqueous solution of trace elements per day, in one dose at any time of the day. The duration of fasting and the intervals between fastings depend on the age of the person. Fasting for 3-6 days -- can be carried out by anyone who does not have this experience. Prolonged fasting of 15-25 days -- can be carried out only after a person has learned to fast for 3-7 days. During short-term fasting, a person may not take an aqueous solution of these trace elements. With prolonged fasting for 15-25 days, an aqueous solution of microelements must be taken, as this improves well-being and performance. An important property of an aqueous solution of trace elements is that it significantly stimulates the retention of calcium in the body and the absorption of calcium.

During fasting, you should not tell others about your condition, as a person will immediately be subjected to psychological pressure under various pretexts to stop this fasting. During fasting, outwardly a person looks good and younger. Therefore, it cannot be assumed from his appearance that he actually does not eat anything for many days. As for family members, they must be convinced of the need for treatment.must be taken, as this improves well-being and performance. An important property of an aqueous solution of trace elements is that it significantly stimulates the retention of calcium in the body and the absorption of calcium.

During fasting, you should not tell others about your condition, as a person will immediately be subjected to psychological pressure under various pretexts to stop this fasting. During fasting, outwardly a person looks good and younger. Therefore, it cannot be assumed from his appearance that he actually does not eat anything for many days. As for family members, they must be convinced of the need for treatment. During the fasting described above, a person in all other respects can lead his usual lifestyle: work fruitfully, do light gymnastics (including yoga, gymnastics), go to theaters, cinema, and have sex.

After the end of fasting for 7-10 days, you should eat mainly food with a low content of proteins and fats, i.e. avoid eggs, meat, fish, cheese, cottage cheese, foods high in protein and fatty foods: lard, sour cream, butter. At this time, you need to eat vegetables, fruits, bread and cereals from various cereals.

After 7-10 days, a person can return to the diet to which he is accustomed, but at the same time, you should not consume large amounts of fatty and protein foods.

Both during fasting and after it, a person is rejuvenated, which is manifested in a change in his appearance. The facial features become thinner and therefore the person looks more beautiful, the complexion improves, the sagging of the cheeks on the face disappears, the skin becomes more elastic and wrinkles are partially smoothed out. The eyes acquire the brilliance characteristic of young people.  Hair growth improves, the loss of which can completely stop.

There is a general improvement of the human body, the work of the gastrointestinal tract improves, in particular, gastritis is weakened or completely occurs, pain in the liver associated with overeating disappears, the heart works better, sexual potency increases in men. As a result of general recovery and rejuvenation, a person has a strong desire for daily active and creative activity. Loss of craving for tobacco and alcohol is observed.

If a person fasts regularly, then he looks much younger and more energetic than his peers, but if he then stops fasting, then after 1-2 years he acquires the appearance of his peers.

The described method of rejuvenation by fasting and with the help of an aqueous solution of trace elements was tested on various volunteers for 28 years and in all cases a significant positive effect was achieved.

Examples of the implementation of the invention by Stanislav Tsivinsky

Patient A, 18 years old girl, looked outwardly much older. As a result of the first 3-day fasting, she acquired the appearance of an 18-year-old girl, significantly improved her complexion. Later, for several years, through periodic fasting, this girl maintained her appearance.

Patient B, woman aged 38, for 4 years conducted intermittent fasting for 3 days, every 30 days. Both during fasting and in the intervals between fasts, the woman took an aqueous solution of microelements (15-20 ml every day during fasting and 1-2 times a week between fasts). As a result, the woman acquired the appearance of 26-27 years old. Due to family circumstances, over time, she stopped treatment and after 2 years her health and appearance corresponded to the age of a 40-year-old woman.

The advantage of the proposed method of rejuvenation and healing of a person in comparison with the prototype is the simplicity of its implementation with high efficiency. If there are no contraindications, then this type of fasting can be carried out at home without the help of a doctor and at the same time lead an active life.

The Velvet fasting method by Dr. Alfred Ziganshin

Not every person is ready to completely entrust their health to modern medicine and treat diseases with medication. In order to improve well-being and improve health, there are more sparing methods for the body, for example, fasting for medicinal purposes. The process of fasting helps to cleanse the body of toxins and restore the health of the whole body.

The method of popular “velvet” fasting was developed by an authoritative physician from Tatarstan (a republic in Russia) Professor Dr. Alfred Ziganshin.

“Velvet” – such a beautiful name of the technique reflects its main essence :- fasting is soft, like “velvet”. This means that, it is short-term, involves the use of water and small indulgences (certain foods and drinks are allowed on certain days). In addition, the program does not include such aggressive and unpleasant procedures as, for example, frequent cleansing enemas or gastric lavages.

When Ziganshin finalized his system, he assumed that his patients would be predominantly elderly people. The center was gerontological, the technique was soft, the result was for rejuvenation, recovery and return of vitality to everyone who is already over 50-60. However, he soon realized that all this works on people of absolutely any age, and began to accept everyone.

The professor developed a system of natural healing for people with a number of diseases, and years of research have shown that this technique does not harm health, but, on the contrary, restores well-being. The sparing fasting method is actively used in the gerontological rehabilitation dispensary “Nadezhda” (HOPE – in Russian), founded by the professor, located in the outback of the Tatarstan republic.

Many doctors and patients are distrustful of the fasting method, as they are sure that the method of fasting is quite tough, however, Doctor Ziganshin believes that the local treatment of a disease is an ineffective method and the body must be restored completely, and not fragmentarily, touching on its individual organs. And the main “weapon” in such treatment is a healthy lifestyle and proper nutritional habits.

The doctor was helped to choose this direction by observing patients In the hospital of the Tatar outback, where, after receiving a diploma from the medical institute, he worked as the head physician. The medical staff did not stay there much, and the professor, in order to really help people, began to delve more seriously into the nature of various diseases. So, observing patients, the doctor saw that, for a certain category of people, refusal to food helps in the treatment. The professor assessed this effect on himself when he was a 1^st year student and was recuperating after a severe head injury.

A so-called”Velvet” fasting – the method of Dr. A.A. Ziganshin is very popular with patients because it cures a number of diseases and reduces the risk of many. Alfred Ziganshin explains to each patient :- as a result of overeating, toxins are formed in the body that interfere with its normal functioning.

Ziganshin came up with an original method :- to feed a body weakened by fasting, but very little. One that, on the one hand, will provide it with vitamins and micronutrients, facilitating fasting, and on the other hand, it will not prevent the body from being on endogenous nutrition and developing the therapeutic effect of fasting.

The Ziganshin method is the improvement of “Unloading dietary therapy”(UDT) by Yuri Nikolaev. The main difference between the velvet method of fasting and the UDT fasting, is that, it does not involve a complete rejection of food. In addition, no cleansing enemas are required to wash the intestines. The main advantage of fasting according to Ziganshin is that, eating dried apricots do not allow the processes of peristalsis to completely stop, and thus, starving people do not need to resort to cleansing enemas or gastric lavages, which are daily necessary with traditional fasting methods such as UDT. Therefore, fasting according to Ziganshin is called “velvet”.

Ziganshin is an opponent of frequent cleansing enemas (say, a weekly starvation requires 16 purification: daily in the morning and evening and one on the eve and after completion). This method is used by both young and old people to treat chronic diseases. The first results appear after 2-3 weeks of fasting.

Ziganshin developed his own method of “Velvet” fasting in 1961, while still in the first year of medical school which is now used worldwide. In 1961, when Alfred was still in his first year at the institute, during a sports training, a throwing disc hit him in the head. It was not medications that helped to cope with the headaches that arose after that, but a short course of fasting. The period of rehabilitation after the fracture gave impetus to the development of this system. Over the years of his medical practice, Ziganshin was convinced again and again that temporary abstinence from food is only good for a person, and came to the conclusion that, it is necessary to treat not individual organs, but the whole body, and proper nutrition should become the main cure for diseases, but periodically – starvation. The development of the methodology was completed when the professor was already working as the head physician in the remote village of Shemordana. Then he refined his method, making it popular all over the world.

Ziganshin's method was original”y developed for the elderly, but it is suitable for absolutely everyone. The main goal of the technique is to reduce the load when the acid-base balance shifts towards an increase in acidity due to the systematic use of additives and to reduce the consequences of such an imbalance. This makes it possible to count on a healing result without giving up endogenous nourishment.

There is a clear pattern :- “Overweight people die earlier” – says Dr. Ziganshin. – Because the more toxins in the body, the faster we age. But this does not mean that it is only necessary to periodically cleanse your body completely. Due to overeating, alcohol consumption, smoking, everyone has toxins. As a result, self-poisoning of the body occurs, chronic diseases “get younger”, people live much less than the time allotted to them by nature. Why are we used to considering 70-80 years as the limiting age, and the ancient Greeks said that dying at 70 is almost the same as dying in the cradle… When I developed my method, I focused primarily on elderly and disease-burdened people who it is difficult to endure “pure” starvation.

According to my system, the body receives the vitamins, macro- and microelements it needs, but at the same time, for the most part – it is still on the “internal”(endogenic) nutrition. I do not approve of cleansing enemas, which, together with toxins, wash out the beneficial microflora from the intestines. The disadvantage of pure fasting using frequent cleansing enemas is that after it – it is very difficult to enter a normal mode. I tried to avoid this :- during the “velvet” fasting, the digestive system does not stop working, and it is much easier to get out of it.

Those who dare to try the method of “velvet” fasting on themselves, we consider it necessary to warn that official medicine is very skeptical about fasting as a means of treating diseases. Doctors warn that fasting, especially at home, is fraught with the most serious consequences and can lead to a hospital bed. True, at the same time, none of the representatives of official medicine has yet dared to call Alfred Ziganshin a charlatan.

Moreover, he has the title of Honoured Doctor of the Republic of Tatarstan and is a laureate of the World Health Organization award for his personal contribution to the development of medicine. And Ziganshin’s patients, in addition to ordinary people, are such well-known personalities as TV presenter Nikolai Drozdov and MD, professor and former chief space doctor of the USSR Ivan Neumyvakin.

Due to the fact that the fasting proposed by Ziganshin does not imply a complete refusal to eat and does not use cleansing enemas, this method of influencing the body is suitable for almost everyone.

There is no age limit, as the experience of using the Ziganshin fasting technique and user reviews shows, elderly people successfully heal themselves with this technique. Health fasting lasts three weeks, twenty-one days. One of the most important moments of fasting is the correct approach to cleansing. If an attack from cleansing measures is intensively and without preparation directed at a slagged organism, the streams of dissolved slags will simply gush and cause a poisonous attack. This will provoke the strongest intoxication of the body. The Ziganshin technique is aimed at gradual and gentle cleansing. The presence of chronic diseases is not a contraindication for this technique.

This “hungry velvet” according to the procedure of Doctor Ziganshin – The resulting acid-base balance to normal (pH 7.2-7.4), which in all diseases and decreases with increasing age, as a result the body becomes more acidic, which is at the root of every disease, including cancer.

Modern nutritionists consider fasting not only as an effective way to lose those annoying pounds, but also as a cure for diseases associated with metabolism. Therefore, people can not only be guaranteed to lose excess weight, but also significantly healed of grave chronic diseases of civilization. Official medicine, as you know, has succeeded in the role of an ambulance – in acute cases, it saves patients relatively successfully. But, it succumbs to chronic ailments of civilization. Dr. Ziganshin swung his hand at hypertension, rheumatoid arthritis, atherosclerosis, osteochondrosis, peptic ulcer, cataracts, various neuroses and other medical integrals that are believed to be unreachable.

The method of treating various patients with Ziganshin, at first glance, is the same (the nuances vary depending on the diagnosis and individuality) – a low-calorie diet combined with elements of therapeutic starvation (UDT). – A hybrid of low calorie diet and fasting. For some, at first, this causes distrust, the words are sarcastically pronounced about the panacea. So, they say, it doesn’t happen :- with one shot – kill two dozen birds with one stone, that is, with one method – cure a long list of diseases.

An elderly couple from Israel left a note in the guest book: “We came to Ziganshin clinic with a suitcase of drugs and without much hope. After all, we have accessed all the best clinics in Israel and treatment there only temporarily improved condition. There is currently no cure for psoriasis, but some people use Dead Sea salt to reduce symptoms But, even the Dead Sea salt did not cure psoriasis…”. The couple praised Ziganshin and they left Ziganshin clinic without psoriasis and other diseases. (however, skin diseases are listed as contraindications for velvet fasting).

The idea of ​​the method belongs to Dr. Ziganshin. He suggests alternating 2 days of complete starvation with 2 days of apricots. This method uses dried apricots or apricots. This is a mild fast, not dangerous even for the elderly, it is not a coincidence that it is called “velvet starvation”.

Fasting according to the Ziganshin method is carried out as follows :- The velvet fasting technique includes three main steps, which will be described in detail below.

Preparation stage

Proper preparation of the body for the fasting process is the key point of the technique. The process begins a week before the main stage. During this period, it is necessary to abandon alcohol, canned food, high-calorie foods and fast food.

You need to switch to a well-thought-out diet, and ideally a vegetarian one. This approach will prepare the liver and other internal organs for new conditions without stress for the whole organism.

The main stage is directly the – Fasting…..

The main stage of this diet is divided into 2 weeks. You should eat in moderate doses, according to the scheme below:

1^st day – 5-7 pieces of dried apricots are brewed with boiling water, and the drink is drunk after a few minutes. Dried fruits are brewed repeatedly several times.

As a dinner menu, in the evening, soaked and swollen apricots should be eaten. In addition to the infusion, you need to drink 2.5-3 liters per day clean water. During the first day, you can eat 1 teaspoon seaweed powder and 1 clove of garlic. (Finely grated kelp (seaweed) will provide the body with trace elements (use no more than 1 teaspoon per day), and a garlic clove (divided into small pieces) will help the body kill parasites, bacteria and inflammation.

Apricot infusion is rich in potassium, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus. Garlic has an antimicrobial and anti-pollution effect. There are a lot of trace elements in the seaweed. Apricot and orange strips are an excellent bowel cleanser.)

On the 2^nd day, To the above 1^st day menu, Dr. Ziganshin allows you to add one small orange. Eat citrus should be one slice at a time, with an interval of 60 minutes i.e. must be eaten gradually throughout the day.

On the third and fourth days, only water is allowed – 2.5-3 liters.

From the 5^th to the 14^th day, the cycle must be repeated. It is also important to observe the drinking regime for the duration of the entire diet. Clean, non-carbonated, preferably boiled water should be consumed daily (up to 2-3 liters).

At the end of the second week of cooked vegetables and cereals are introduced into the menu. Because the work of the intestines, after at the end of fasting (after third week) is easy.

Starting from the third week, the exit from the hunger strike begins. For the prevention of constipation, you can use a solution of magnesia every other day – patients drink it three times a day, three tablespoons each. In addition to this, herbal preparations are taken daily. In the morning it is recommended to drink a complex of marshmallow, elderberry, buckthorn, bay leaf and milk sugar. In the evening – from senna, fennel, mint, chaga and the same milk sugar.

Getting out of the diet (The exit stage)

Getting out of fasting is a process no less important than fasting itself. An important principle is the ability of a person to control his desires and appetite. It is psychologically difficult for many to give up the usual delicious food and switch to a balanced menu and a healthy lifestyle.

Third week- exit from starvation. The last week of the course is aimed at a soft and painless exit from the diet for the body.

Purely hungry days are excluded, the same 5-7 apricots and an orange are consumed daily. From the middle of the week, liquid porridge and mashed boiled vegetables are added to them.

Starvation according to Ziganshin involves cleansing the entire body. Herbal mixtures are drunk twice a day. In the morning, it is recommended to take a mixture of bay leaf, buckthorn, elderberry and marshmallow. In the evening, the mixture contains senna, fennel, mint and chaga. These components are inexpensive, effective, have practically no contraindications. All this will relieve constipation that haunts every second person. After all, unreleased feces cause the reproduction of pathogenic bacteria, the decomposition of poisons, and intoxication of the body. According to the conclusion of Dr. Ziganshin, excretion of feces in toilet once a day is constipation, since a person must visit the toilet as many times as he has eaten. An opponent of cleansing enema, the doctor insists on a natural cleansing of the intestines with the help of herbal preparations.

As already mentioned, this is only a preliminary, indicative scheme. Ziganshin himself modifies it for each individual patient. Someone spends only 5 days in his center, someone – 7, some – a full 2-week course. Even fasting itself, he recommends different things to everyone: there are those who sit on apricot water for 14 days. So here everything is very individual and requires expert advice. Therapeutic “Velvet” fasting can last any period :- Someone can withstand the entire course, and someone can last a couple of days. In this technique, everything is individual and depends on the person’s readiness for food restrictions.

An Important principle is the ability of a person to control his desires and appetite. It is psychologically difficult for many to give up the usual delicious food. Three weeks is necessary for the body to cleanse itself of stagnant feces, poison and toxins. If you do not get meat products and eggs, but eat viscous cereals, vegetables and unsweetened fruits, the process of cleansing the body will be faster. Preference is given to fruits rich in vitamin C and apricots (dried apricots). Just five apricots a day is enough to maintain the heart muscle and maintain the normal functioning of the intestinal muscles.

Professor Ziganshin’s technique is absolutely harmless, however, an important condition is the observance of all the doctor’s recommendations, without retreating or deviating from the method developed over the years and based on scientific research.

Therapeutic “Velvet” fasting method helps absolutely everyone and is a preventive procedure against diseases. If you use the method from a young age, in old age a person will be much healthier and live longer. Home treatment allows you to cleanse the body of unnecessary toxic substances and toxins. In sanatorium conditions, this effect is enhanced by acupuncture, massage, reflexology, walks and herbal medicine.

Binge eating

Professor Ziganshin believes that the cause of all ailments is excessive food intake. From gluttony and overeating, a person can become seriously ill, even death is not ruled out. Excess weight indicates that the body is too slagged. Vessels become clogged with accumulations of harmful cholesterol, lose their elasticity and cease to cope with the main tasks. As a result, by the age of 60 a person becomes a weak, worthless old man, and often does not live up to this age at all. Deposits of salts, wastes, and toxins (slags) in the body affect the overall state of your health. You start suffering from pains, lack of motivation, insomnia and excessive weight.

The key point in the Ziganshin method is to cleanse the body of toxins and other toxins, which takes three weeks. Refusal of animal protein and its replacement in the diet with viscous cereals, unsweetened fruits and vegetables will help speed up the process. It is better to give preference to foods rich in vitamin C (lemon, strawberries, etc.), as well as apricots (no more than 5 pieces per day).

No need to increase physical activity for gaining health…..

At the beginning of the 20^th century, a doctor from Austria-Hungary gained European fame by opening an elite clinic for those who want to lose weight in Chernivtsi, Ukraine. Moneybags from all over the continent came to him and got the opportunity in the clinic to participate in the work of laying cobblestones on the pavement. The smart doctor succeeded twice :- both the patients noticeably lost weight (which is important, their wallets too), and the city elected him an honorary citizen in gratitude for the road from the railway station to the clinic center, paved by his patients.

Doctor Ziganshin laughed merrily at this story. Unlike the Chernivtsi doctor, as well as the Soviet Russian surgeon Nikolai Amosov, Russian nutrition expert Galina Shatalova and other prominent supporters of increased physical activity, Doctor Ziganshin does not at all encourage patients to run, do push-ups and pump the press. Unfortunately, physical activity as the basis for losing weight and preserving health – is the main principle of most doctors developing in this direction. On the contrary, Dr. Ziganshin calls for moderation and caution :- walk along the surrounding ravines and copses, collect mushrooms in a spruce forest and mint along the stream… Along with his Velvet fasting therapy, he puts nature therapy above athleticism. That there is the pure balm for lazybones.

Ziganshin is not the first to promote fasting as a means of getting rid of many diseases. However, his body cleansing system is unique. As a result of many years of experience, through trial and error, Dr. Ziganshin developed a method of “velvet” fasting, which does not involve a complete rejection of food and exhausting cleansing enemas. The doctor began his experiments, of course, with himself.

Dr. Ziganshin said, -- “According to my system, the body receives the vitamins, macro- and microelements it needs, but at the same time, for the most part, he is still on the “internal” nutrition. I do not approve and support cleansing enemas, which, together with toxins, wash out the beneficial microflora from the intestines. The disadvantage of pure fasting using frequent enemas is that after it – it is very difficult to enter a normal mode. I tried to avoid this: during the “velvet” fasting, the digestive system does not stop working, and it is much easier to get out of it.”

Much more difficult is the question of which is better: velvet fasting or intermittent fasting. They are similar: short-term, useful, quite easily tolerated, the process of autophagy has time to start in both cases. The only difference is in the timing. Ziganshin creates more favourable conditions for total cleansing :- a change in the acid-base balance + enough time for the body to remove as many harmful substances as possible.

(Autophagy – From the Latin word that means “self-eating,” autophagy is a natural process that involves breaking down unneeded or damaged components within a cell and reusing them as the building blocks for cellular repair or the formation of new cells)

Encouraging results have been achieved due to an integrated approach to improving the body: atherosclerosis recedes, pressure normalizes, memory, hearing, vision (i.e., the functional state of the body) improve accordingly; salts (slags) are absorbed and excreted from the body; mineral metabolism is normalized – before the eyes, the phenomena of osteochondrosis, arthrosis-arthritis decrease or disappear.

Indications: prevention of diseases, including those with aggravated non-consequence – early myocardial infarction, stroke, atherosclerosis, hypertension, cataracts, osteochondrosis, metabolic polyarthritis (salt deposition), rheumatoid arthritis, obesity, oncology, prevention of Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s;

Rehabilitation: artherosclerosis, atherosclerotic hypertension, stage I-II hypertension, coronary heart disease, obliterating endarteritis (atherosclerosis of the vessels of the lower extremities), neurosis, osteochondrosis, polyarthritis, cataracts in the initial stage, obesity, functional disorders in the genital area (restoration of the monthly cycle – early menopause in women, premature ejaculation, impotence in men).