Bregg's Therapeutic Fasting

The idea of therapeutic fasting, which originated in ancient times, gradually penetrated into various corners of our planet. Thus, in the USA, this idea was imbued by the American figure, naturopath, showman and generally very positive person Paul Bragg.

Even despite the confusion in the years of birth (according to documents, he was born in 1895, although Paul himself claimed that it happened 14 years earlier), it can be said that Bragg lived a decent life. He died at the age of 81 from a heart attack caused by prolonged asphyxia during a surfing accident and an incorrect approach to treatment. The very fact that a person in his old age is engaged in surfing speaks of his good health, which not every young man can boast of. Moreover, after the autopsy of Bragg's body, doctors were quite surprised by the state of his internal organs, which resembled the organs of a young guy.

What was the reason for such an amazing preservation of Paul Bragg's body? The most likely answer would be his lifestyle. Bragg believed that human health is determined by the following 9 factors, named by him by doctors:

• sunlight,
• clean, fresh air,
• clean water,
• healthy eating (its basis is raw vegetables and fruits, which should make up at least 60% of a person’s entire diet),
• fasting, which Bragg considered a cleansing procedure that helps restore health without medication.
• physical activity,
• proper rest (necessarily after physical or mental activity),
• posture (the health of other organs largely depends on the condition of the spine, but correct posture is achieved through proper nutrition and taking care of your body),
• human intelligence that helps overcome bad habits.

As we can see, Paul Bragg classifies fasting as an important factor that ensures health and longevity for a person, which only confirms the healing power of fasting. True, his approach to healing the body in this way is somewhat different from the idea of RDT of the Russian doctor Yu.S. Nikolaev.

The system of therapeutic fasting by Paul Bragg provides for shorter periods of fasting (no more than 10 days). According to his theory of health-improving and preventive fasting, prolonged fasting can harm a person and even lead to death, which explains Bragg's negative attitude to 21-day and longer fasting courses according to Yu.S. Nikolaev.

Bragg himself practiced weekly 1-1.5-day fasts and fasted for a week once every three months. He was more lenient about the requirement of fasting in a hospital setting, although he did not deny that during prolonged fasting, monitoring the patient's condition is of great value. In particular, studying the composition of urine several times a day to assess the functionality of the kidneys. If too many toxins are excreted from the body, this contributes to kidney overload. In this case, it is better to interrupt fasting and return to it after some time.

Bragg pays special attention to preparation for fasting. He recommends starting with short fasts (no more than 36 hours) once a week. If you want to fast longer (3-4 days), you will need to prepare yourself for this for several months by skipping breakfast or eating only fresh fruit in the morning.

Bragg advises resorting to a 7-day fast only when the body has become accustomed to weekly fasts after several months. And therapeutic fasting for 10 days, according to him, can only be tried when a person has resorted to 1.5-7 day courses for a certain period of time. That is, we are talking about gradual long-term accustoming of the body and special preparation for cleansing with the help of healthy nutrition.

Bragg did not deny the possibility of conducting longer fasting courses of 2-3-4-5 weeks. But this requires longer preparation. For example, fasting for 2 weeks is possible only when a person has completed 3 courses of 10-day fasts, provided that the interval between them was 3 weeks. It turns out that a person will be able to come to 4-5-week fasting only after a couple of years of consistent preparation.

Paul Bragg was a fan of wet fasting, but he advised replacing regular water with distilled water, drinking it in large quantities. Bragg believed that the more water a person drinks, the faster his body is cleansed, which can be seen by storing and comparing the collected urine (by the sediment formed in it).

Bragg believed that therapeutic fasting for 1 day (24 hours) should be done weekly. This is available to everyone. If desired, it can be started in the morning or in the evening (for example, from 8 p.m. one day to 8 p.m. the next). But if difficulties arise, then honey (1/3 teaspoon per glass of water) or citric acid (1 teaspoon per glass of water) can be dissolved in distilled drinking water, which will only help dissolve toxins and mucus, which the naturopath considered the main enemies of health, and will facilitate their passage through the kidneys.

As for the positive attitude towards fasting for health, Bragg assigned a decisive role to the internal attitude (self-hypnosis), which, in his opinion, affects the subconscious and the body of a person bypassing consciousness. At the same time, it is important to regularly repeat words that strengthen confidence in the benefits of fasting and in a person's ability to control the process, instill confidence that cleansing through fasting gives happiness and makes a person closer to nature, etc. All this helps the patient to more easily endure the hardships of fasting.

P. Bragg believed that, despite the short period of fasting, the exit from it should be scientifically substantiated, as well as the fasting itself. The first dish on the table after a day of fasting should be a vegetable salad of fresh carrots and cabbage, without salt (lemon or orange juice is allowed as a seasoning). This dish starts the work of the gastrointestinal tract, after which you can eat baked or boiled vegetables (no meat, dairy products, nuts, seeds). The second meal can also consist of foods prohibited for the first meal, but the portion should be small.

If a one-day fast according to Bragg did not require a person to limit their activity, then a 3-day fast should be combined with complete rest and relaxation from everything distracting (TV, reading, talking on the phone, etc.). In addition, the naturopath considered secrecy and non-disclosure of one's decision to fast to be an important point in maintaining the fasting person's mood. A negative attitude towards the fasting treatment method on the part of others greatly undermines a person's confidence in their decision and their abilities.

Bragg has a unique attitude to cleansing procedures. He believes that all the bad things should leave the body in a natural way. Acts of urination or defecation should not be forced. Bragg is against any kind of enemas and laxatives. He believes that proper (natural, balanced in volume and consistency) nutrition in the subsequent period will help restore normal bowel function. During fasting, there is no need to think about bowel function and possible negative consequences.

Therapeutic water fasting for 7 days or more according to Bragg follows the same principle: rest, the opportunity to rest when feeling weak or tired, long sleep, unlimited water at any time of the day. But the exit from fasting has its own characteristics. The first meal should be taken on the last day of fasting at 5 pm. The recommended dish is peeled tomatoes (4-5 pieces), blanched in boiling water for 1-2 seconds. It should be eaten cooled when appetite appears.

In the following days, the diet is based on fresh and heat-treated vegetables and fruits, and the first course must be made from raw products. In the first 3 days, wheat toasts and sprouted wheat grains are also allowed.

By the way, therapeutic fasting according to Zhdanov is nothing more than the consistent application of Paul Bragg's method, promoted in our country. Vladimir Georgievich Zhdanov is a public figure and promoter of non-traditional methods of treating alcohol and tobacco addiction, as well as restoring vision. In his opinion, Paul Bragg's method is precisely the non-drug treatment that helps to cope with both the above-mentioned disorders and many serious diseases.

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