Dry therapeutic fasting: the essence of the methodology, how to exit correctly?

The concept of "dry fasting" means an absolute refusal of food and water for a certain period (usually it lasts from one to several days) for the purpose of losing weight, improving health, and increasing immunity. This method is not scientific, but is alternative and is based on the assertion that during its implementation, the body is cleansed of toxins and mechanisms are launched that lead to healing, loss of excess weight, restoration of metabolic processes and energy. The authors of the methods and their followers are convinced of the correctness of the approach by the existence of fasts inherent in various religions, cultures and traditions, and their own experience.

The main principle of dry therapeutic fasting is a complete refusal not only from food, but also from any liquid. The procedure is preceded by a preparation stage. Depending on the method of implementation, it is divided into soft and hard. The first provides for a ban on anything getting into the stomach, the second - a complete absence of contact with water: you cannot wash, brush your teeth, take a shower or bath, wash your hands. During the period of dry therapeutic fasting, you need to provide access to fresh air, walk outside, ventilate the room. Beginners are advised to limit fasting to one day. It is advisable to start and finish it at the same time.

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Indications

The dry fasting method has a fairly wide range of applications. The following diseases are indications for its use:

• pancreatitis is an inflammation of the pancreas, accompanied by intense pain and requiring hospital treatment. Along with the use of antispasmodics and painkillers, official medicine resorts to treatment with fasting, thereby disconnecting the organ from participation in digestion for 2-3 days, which makes it possible, together with a state of rest and cold on the projection of the pancreas, to relieve inflammation and restore its functions;
• prostatitis - urologists do not confirm the possibility of completely curing the disease, but they admit some therapeutic effect of the method. They explain it by the positive effect on metabolic processes, the genitourinary system, stabilization of hormonal levels, acceleration of the synthesis of growth hormone, which is involved in the regeneration of prostate tissue;
• arthritis is a collective name for any damage to a joint or joints (polyarthritis). Experience with dry fasting has shown its effectiveness in rheumatoid arthritis, a joint disease that causes severe pain and swelling during periods of exacerbation. Removing toxins, waste, and infection from the body helps to cope with pain, relieve inflammation, and reduce joint deformation;
• hepatitis - there are many methods of liver cleansing, including dry fasting, which starts the process of removing various "garbage" from the organ. But is such treatment appropriate in the case of hepatitis? There is evidence that it helped to get rid of acute hepatitis A, but this virus is destroyed by the body's own immune system in any case. As for hepatitis B and C, their chronic course increases the viral load on the organ and can lead to cirrhosis and carcinoma. The death of liver cells is indicated by the level of transaminases in the blood (AST, ALT). Tests show that increasing the time between meals only increases these indicators. Therefore, with such a diagnosis, it is better not to resort to radical methods;
• angina pectoris is a heart disease that occurs due to insufficient oxygen supply to the myocardium as a result of its insufficient blood supply, provoked by vascular atherosclerosis. The pathology is expressed by pain in the sternum after stress, emotional and physical overexertion, excessive alcohol, overeating. The latter fact indicates the dependence of angina on stomach congestion, since more heart contractions are required to pump blood than when hungry. Dry fasting makes it possible to improve coronary circulation, reduce tension in the heart muscle, and give impetus to its self-healing processes;
• hypothyroidism is a disease of the thyroid gland associated with a decrease in its function, which is responsible for metabolism, control of all important systems: nervous, musculoskeletal, reproductive, immune, digestive. Insufficient production of hormones reduces performance, gives excess weight, brings problems with the reproductive system to women, disrupts the menstrual cycle, leads to infertility, becomes the cause of bad mood and depression. To increase the level of thyroid hormones, patients have to use hormone replacement therapy throughout their lives. There is an opinion that dry fasting helps to restore the endocrine system, since transport albumins (proteins) disintegrate, releasing many hormones, which makes it possible to compensate for their deficiency. Experts are categorically against this method due to the fact that it will disrupt metabolism, lead to vitamin and mineral deficiency;
• psoriasis is an unpleasant chronic skin disease that cannot be cured, but only its outbreaks can be suppressed. Science does not stand still and recently new medicinal forms of combating it have appeared, and among the non-traditional methods is dry fasting. Removing the load on the digestive organs, removing waste products from the body, protective mechanisms are mobilized, damaged cells of the dermis stop dividing, the skin is cleared;
• colds and flu - the effectiveness of fasting for these diseases is very high. The first signs of an acute disease: weakness, lack of appetite, fever indicate the mobilization of the body to restore its previous state. Refusal to eat will release vital resources to fight pathogens that cannot multiply in an environment of water deficiency. It is recommended to start fasting literally from the initial stages of illness, then the duration of the disease will be significantly reduced;
• cancer - the use of dry fasting against cancer is based on autolysis or self-digestion - the dissolution of one's own cells and tissues under the influence of one's own hydrolytic enzymes. They break down the cells of scars, seals, fibrous formations, tumors, using them as energy nutrition. Thus, neoplasms are reduced, with the exception of bone, maxillofacial and advanced ones;
• cellulite - is a stagnant phenomenon of adipose tissue, as a result of which its cells are grouped into nodes, provoking the growth of connective tissue (fibrosis). A clear evidence of this is the orange peel effect, which not only spoils the aesthetic appearance, but also disrupts the normal circulation of blood and lymph, leading to pathological processes. Dry fasting is accompanied by the expenditure of one's own fats, and since they are 90% water, this is an effective and harmless method in the fight against cellulite;
• bronchitis is an inflammation involving the epithelial cells of the bronchial mucosa. It has a swollen, reddened appearance, often with mucous or purulent exudate, causing coughing. Microbes and viruses can only reproduce in an aqueous environment, so dry fasting for bronchitis worsens the conditions for the spread of microorganisms, healthy cells become competitors of patients in obtaining water from internal reserves and win. In addition, the concentration of biologically active substances, immunoglobulins and interferon increases - the trigger tools in the recovery of the body;
• type 2 diabetes - when we discussed hypothyroidism above, we talked about the complete rejection by doctors of the dry fasting method as a treatment for endocrine pathologies. Diabetes mellitus is also one of them, and the first type of pathology is an absolute contraindication to its use. As for the second, a mild form of the disease allows, under the careful supervision of a specialist, to normalize metabolic processes with the help of fasting, reduce the load on the pancreas and liver and improve its course;
• Herpes is a viral disease that makes itself known by rashes and ulcers on the skin under the influence of weakened immunity: during hypothermia, acute diseases, physical exertion, emotional stress. It is dangerous due to its complications: lesions of the mucous membranes of the digestive organs, kidneys, joints, central and peripheral nervous system. In modern medicine, there are no means to completely overcome this disease and it is limited to the use of symptomatic drugs. A 1-2 day dry fast helps to speed up recovery in the case of a pronounced process;
• dry fasting to restore potency - this statement is true, although it has both supporters and opponents. The latter believe that a man's sexual strength is formed in the womb and must be maintained by a balanced diet and abstinence from alcohol. Another opinion is that potency depends on the health of the body and its cleansing leads to rejuvenation at the cellular level, mobilization of the endocrine glands, and therefore increased potency.

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General information dry fasting

During dry fasting, the body switches to cellular nutrition, drawing what it needs from internal reserves. The essence of it is that in tissues, primarily in sick ones, there is a breakdown of transport proteins that carry the necessary substances inside and between cells, and the amino acids they secrete ensure the vital processes.

Preparation

The success of the result and the safety of the procedure largely depend on the correct preparation for dry fasting. The duration of the preparatory period is 2 weeks. During this time, you need to give preference to porridge, boiled vegetables, poultry, fish, nuts, fruits and berries, include honey and mushrooms in your diet, drink herbal tea, and a week before fasting, switch to only plant foods and drink a lot. Sweet and salty dishes, beef, pork, lamb, coffee, alcoholic beverages, and smoking are prohibited.

Stages of dry fasting

When using dry fasting, one usually starts with short periods of food restriction and then moves on to longer periods. The whole process is divided into several stages:

• 1st - food arousal, lasts from 2 to 5 days. During this period, a person is irritated by the smell of food, conversations about it, anxiety increases, a feeling of fear, the pulse quickens, the smell of acetone appears from the mouth, the tongue is covered with a gray coating;
• 2nd - increasing acidosis (increased acidity of the body): hunger disappears, the emotional state levels out, but a feeling of inhibition appears, in the morning - headache and weakness. The tongue is still coated, the smell does not disappear. Eliminate by brushing teeth and rinsing the mouth with soda and salt. Duration of the stage is 7-8 days;
• 3rd - compensation, an acidotic crisis occurs, characterized by an improvement in the general condition, the appearance of lightness, confidence in the success of the procedure, the disappearance of all fears. Such sensations occur on the 6th-12th day of fasting. The tongue begins to gradually clear, the smell of acetone goes away. At this stage, it is recommended to spend more time outdoors, visit the pool and sauna;
• 4th - restorative nutrition. For 1-3 days, unsweetened fruit juices, decoctions and vegetable juices are drunk in small portions at intervals of a quarter of an hour. Often at this stage, anxiety returns, weakness overcomes, capable of plunging into semi-bed rest;
• 5th - intensive recovery, 4-8 days of nutrition bring you out of a depressive state, there is a noticeable improvement in your physical condition, your head clears up;
• 6th - after 9-10 days, there is a return to the normal way of life and nutrition, physical activity, self-renewal of the body. An increase in mental activity, relief from headaches and dizziness, normalization of blood pressure are noted.

Dry fasting techniques

There are many dry fasting techniques that have found numerous practical confirmations of their effectiveness.

Here are some:

• Dry fasting according to Shchennikov is a patented method called "Healing abstinence" which involves cleansing cycles lasting 7, 9 and 11 days. Its peculiarity is a positive emotional attitude without stress and worries, 2 days of preparation before fasting on raw vegetables, cleansing procedures in the form of enemas or laxatives. The first time it is recommended to start with a minimum period of 5-7 days, then move on to the maximum 11-day ones. The initial three days should be completely free of even external contact with water, then you can wash your face and take a shower. The main peculiarity is to spend the night time awake: sleep from 6 to 10 am, walk outside until 1 pm, devote the next two to intellectual activity, until 6 pm - classes with an instructor, an evening sleep from 6 to 10 pm, and indulge in active activity and walks all night. The end of fasting occurs at the same time as the beginning of drinking small sips of boiled water, after a few hours you can eat a vegetable salad, drink herbal decoctions. Then give preference to fresh vegetables and fruits and small portions;
• Dry fasting according to Filonov is a fractional (staged) abstinence from food and water in successive courses of 5-7, 7-9 and 9-11 days, between which they resort to restorative nutrition. The first fast lasts as long as a person can withstand, contact with water (swimming in a river) is allowed, but it is necessary to survive the acidotic crisis. The second fraction is perceived easier and should be carried out in full, and in case of serious diagnoses, a third fast is carried out. This technique is very effective for obesity;
• dry fasting according to Lavrova - is called "cascade", it is an absolute five-day fast, not allowing any contact with water. The cascade consists of alternating fasting and eating according to the scheme: day after day; 2 after 2 and so on up to 5 and 5. Each stage can be repeated as many times as you like, the average duration of the course is a month;
• Dry fasting by Anna Yakuba - a well-known specialist in dry fasting and raw food diet advises to start with 24- or 36-hour (3 days) refusal of food once a week on the same day and bring it to such a comfortable state of the body that you want to speed up the arrival of these days. This can happen in 3-4 months, then add a few hours to each fast. The frequency of courses recommended by Yakuba is as follows: one day a week, 3 days a month, 5-7 days a quarter, 7-11 days once or twice a year. Preparation and exit from fasting occurs with the help of raw food (salads, fruits);
• Dry fasting according to Goltis — the technique provides for the same time for all 3 periods of the procedure: preparation, fasting, exit from it — 1-7 days, and to start no more than from 3 days, physical activity does not decrease during this time. The entrance to fasting involves eating vegetables, juices and daily cleansing enemas with spring water. During fasting, enemas are continued. The next week has the same diet as the first, but without enemas. In the morning, you need to clean the plaque from the tongue. The best time to fast is the 2nd and 4th phase of the moon. The author recommends adhering to the following frequency of fasting: 3 days once a month; 7 days — once a quarter; a day of fasting, a day of exit, 3 days of fasting, 6-7 days of exit are allowed; 7 days of preparation, 3 fasting, up to 14 days of exit are possible;
• dry fasting according to Porfiry Ivanov - his fasting system "Detka" includes rules of attitude to life, nature, relationships between people, nutrition, to which he not only called others, but also followed himself during half a century of life. Refusal of food should be combined with meditation, prayer, communication with pleasant people. It begins on Friday, after a light dinner, and from midday on Saturday you can not drink. Its duration is 42 hours and regularity is very important, preferably once a week;
• Dry fasting according to Malakhov - his book "Fasting. Author's textbook" - is a description of various fasting methods, his attitude to them and personal experience of their use. In the preparatory stage, he recommends including cleansing of the liver, stomach, intestines, lymph, joints. During fasting, he advises doing cleansing enemas using urine, not reducing, but increasing physical activity. Its average duration is 7-10 days. The book describes the influence of the phases of the moon on the procedure, as well as its features depending on the constitutional structure of a person. This method is considered quite extreme, but it has its followers.

The dry fasting methods considered involve abstaining from food and water for 1, 3, 5, 7, 10, 11 days; longer periods are fraught with irreversible consequences. Some refer to the experience of Jesus himself, who endured 40 days of dry fasting in the desert, but that is why he is the son of God. There is a practice of alternating water and dry fasting. It is easier for the body to bear and can be quite long.

Effects of dry fasting

The dry fasting procedure is not easy, but it is carried out because of the greater healing effect than with water. The main positive effect on the body is the breakdown of fatty tissue 3 times faster than when using water, a beneficial effect on the kidneys, because there is a release from inflammatory processes, their pathogens are destroyed, sand is removed and stones in urolithiasis dissolve. The kidneys are closely connected with the liver, cleansing it of toxins, reducing the synthesis of bad cholesterol, will also have a beneficial effect on them. All followers of dry fasting note a clear rejuvenating effect, because after the procedure, self-renewal processes begin to occur rapidly.

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Exit from dry fasting

The recovery stage is no less important than the fasting itself. It requires a special approach and diet that would gently bring the body out of the state of inhibition and ensure intensive recovery and self-renewal. The easiest way out of a one-day dry fast, since the restructuring in the body has not yet occurred. It provides for fruits and fresh juices on the first day after fasting, on the second - vegetable salads seasoned with refined vegetable oil, kefir, then you can add porridge, boiled meat. The main thing is that the portions are small and the intervals between meals are not too long.

The exit from a 36-hour dry fast is practically the same, since the time period is not much more than a day, but from a 7-day one it differs:

• Day 1 - drink only fresh juices, you can dilute them with water;
• 2nd - eat chopped vegetables and fruits;
• 3rd, 4th - oatmeal and jelly, buckwheat;
• 5th, 6th - milk, low-fat cream, diet bread, honey;
• 7th - you can allow yourself small portions of non-fried meat dishes and other familiar foods.

Exit from dry fasting according to Goltis

It assumes the same time period as the stages of preparation and its implementation. He schedules each day, giving it a very important role:

Day 1: Clean your mouth with your finger, chew a few apples but do not swallow, spit them out and rinse your mouth with water. Take 3 sips, after half an hour 7 sips, after the same interval - 9, then 12. After an hour, drink a cup of herbal tea with lemon and honey, after an hour drink without restrictions. After lunch - fresh vegetable juice except celery, beetroot is limited to 20% of the total. On the same day, you can eat berries, watermelons are good to eat;

• the second - pollen is added to the menu (mix a teaspoon with the same amount of honey), it dissolves in the mouth, berries before lunch. Then different fruits, separating an hour from each other;
• the third - is supplemented with dried fruits, a small amount of sour milk (30g), lots of greens, vegetable salads with the exception of white cabbage, not dressed with oil;
• the fourth - includes salads with the addition of oil, natural vinegar, lemon juice, nuts once a day (walnuts, cashews, pistachios, pine nuts), 30g of sour milk in the morning and evening;
• fifth - porridge, vegetables, soups made from them (except potatoes, eggplants), yeast-free bread, cereals;
• sixth - in addition to the listed products - sour cream, legumes;
• seventh - quail eggs, mushrooms, cheese.

In the following days, fish, poultry, chicken eggs, meat and all familiar, but correct for the body products are gradually introduced into the diet.

Benefits

From the listed pathologies, for which the dry fasting method is used as a treatment, we can generalize and draw a conclusion about its benefits, expressed in:

• getting rid of waste and toxins;
• tissue regeneration;
• neutralization of the action of pathogenic viruses and bacteria;
• activation of metabolic processes;
• resorption of tumors;
• weight loss.

Contraindications

Dry fasting has many contraindications and restrictions, so the first rule for its implementation is to be under the supervision of specialists and people with experience in fasting if the procedure lasts more than 3 days. It is absolutely prohibited under the following circumstances:

• aged less than 14 and more than 70 years;
• low body weight;
• pregnancy;
• tuberculosis;
• heart problems (arrhythmia, bradycardia, heart failure);
• diseases of the digestive organs (gastritis, gastroduodenitis, ulcers, erosion, colitis);
• diabetes mellitus;
• gout;
• venous insufficiency.

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Possible risks

Any fasting, especially dry fasting, is stressful for the body. Doctors warn that this can trigger processes that are very dangerous for the body: critically low or high blood pressure, insulin surges, hormone release after returning to food and water, heart problems, nausea and diarrhea, and increased uric acid levels.

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Dry fasting for termination of pregnancy

Among the folk remedies for terminating pregnancy (overheating, hot baths, special herbs) there is also a method of dry fasting. Such recommendations state that in the early stages of pregnancy this can happen on the 2nd-3rd day of fasting. The argument is that the body, in search of water, will draw fluid from the embryo, thereby leading to its death. It is not for nothing that pregnancy is among the contraindications of the procedure.

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Bladder Problems After Dry Fasting

During dry fasting, the body does not receive any liquid, the bladder begins to shrink, the blood becomes thicker, and the metabolism slows down. That is why so much attention is paid to ending the fast. Uncontrollable replenishment of the body with water, following your desire to drink, leads to problems with it. Women are especially susceptible to cystitis during this period, and the kidneys may also suffer - pyelonephritis may develop.

Acidotic crisis

Since the essence of dry fasting is the transition to internal nutrition, as a result of which sick, old cells are used, the acidotic crisis crowns this process. This is the line after which the processes for which fasting was started begin - maximum acidification of the body's environment, its intoxication. It is accompanied by headaches, dizziness, weakness, dark urine, the smell of acetone from the mouth and body, depression and depressed mood. But a turning point comes: the mood and well-being improve, weakness goes away - acidosis has set in.

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Complications

Short-term dry fasts, as a rule, are not accompanied by complications. People who are not prepared psychologically and practically, who dare to take on such a serious test without the care of experienced gurus, face the following possible complications:

• overeating in the early stages of breaking the fast;
• constipation;
• mereorism;
• weakness, dizziness and even fainting;
• exacerbation of the underlying disease.

By acquiring and building up experience, learning to feel your body, the likelihood of experiencing negative consequences decreases.

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Reviews and results

There are various reviews about the benefits and results of the procedure. Doctors' opinions about dry fasting are mostly negative. They have nothing against short-term fasting, lasting no more than 3 days, and they themselves resort to it in the treatment of pancreatitis. But they believe that a longer one complicates the removal of toxins from the body, makes it difficult to remove uric acid, disrupts salt metabolism and can harm the kidneys, liver, and brain. Their list of contraindications is much wider than what dry fasting fans voice. The fact that the body primarily wastes the energy of sick and weak cells is also questionable. On the other hand, there are quite a few followers of the dry fasting theory, they themselves do it more than a dozen times and help others. Their reviews are completely different. What is myth, what is reality can be determined only by studying the features of dry fasting and competently applying it to yourself. The recorded world record for dry fasting is 18 days, and the founder of the “dry fasting” system and healthy lifestyle schools in the post-Soviet space, L. A. Shchennikov, conducted a 21-day fast.