Fasting, also commonly known as "therapeutic fasting", is used in the medical field as a measure of nutritional therapy.
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Fasting means voluntarily giving up food and luxury foods for a limited time. With its different forms, it has a long tradition. Lent can be anchored in religion, such as the weeks after Ash Wednesday to Easter in Christianity or the month of Lent Ramadan in Islam. Fasting for health reasons has also existed for centuries. Even in ancient Rome and Greece, doctors used fasting to bring the body fluids back into balance.
Therapeutic fasting not only to reduce body weight
Fasting or therapeutic fasting has long been used not only to reduce excess weight. It is also used for the prevention and supplementary treatment of chronic diseases such as gout, skin diseases, allergies or high blood pressure.
In addition to the physical aspects, the mental cleaning process also plays a role in fasting a role. The psychological effects such as sharpened senses or increased attention are due to changes in the metabolism in the brain as a result of starvation. For example, there is an increased release of serotonin, a messenger substance in the brain.
What exactly happens when fasting?
Fasting takes advantage of the fact that the body tries to provide enough sugar (glucose) at all times to supply certain organs and tissues (e.g. brain, nerves, kidney marrow, red blood cells). In the early phase, about twelve hours after the last food intake, the body initially uses the limited sugar reserves (especially from the liver).
However, these are largely used up after just one to three days of fasting. In the next step, the body uses proteins from the muscles to supply energy. In order to avoid major protein losses, fat tissue is used in the long term as the largest energy store.
The initial weight loss during fasting is primarily due to increased water and electrolyte excretion. However, with fasting for a long time, there is also a reduction in energy consumption, which significantly slows down weight loss.
Base fasting: balance the body's acidity
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For whom is fasting suitable?
Fasting cures are usually carried out for health reasons to prevent and treat diseases. They serve to reduce body weight, which has a positive effect on numerous diseases.
The following areas of application for fasting from a medical point of view are described:
- Reduction of obesity
- Prevention of arteriosclerosis
- Metabolic diseases such as diabetes mellitus, fat metabolism disorders, gout,
- Risk reduction for cardiovascular diseases (high blood pressure, heart attack, stroke, circulatory disorders in the legs)
- Gastrointestinal disorders
- Liver disease
- Venous disease
- rheumatic complaints
- Skin diseases
- Kidney disease
- chronic headaches and migraines
- psychosomatic complaints
A fasting cure could also have a beneficial impact on preventing cancer associated with unbalanced food intake.
Who shouldn't fast?
In principle, every healthy adult can fast. Anyone serious Infectious disease such as who has had bronchitis or flu should refrain from doing so. People who take medication regularly should speak to the doctor treating them before fasting. This is especially true for patients suffering from high blood pressure, diabetes or certain heart diseases.
Fasting is not recommended for the following diseases:
Lent should also be avoided in these phases of life:
- pregnancy and breast feeding period
- in the growth phase (children and adolescents)
- in people over 65 years with age-related diseases
Fasting Risks and Side Effects
Frequent side effects of the fasting cure are – especially in the initial phase – circulatory problems, drowsiness, dizziness, tiredness, headache, nausea, vomiting and reduced performance. Such side effects can be due to a drop in blood pressure (hypotension) and low blood sugar levels.
Avoid gout attacks
In the course of the fasting days, there may also be an increase in uric acid levels (hyperuricaemia) with an increased risk of gout attacks and an overacidification of the blood (acidosis). In order to reduce the risk of side effects and to overcome the initial side effects as quickly as possible, the recommended amount of drinking should be adhered to and heavy physical stress avoided during fasting.
Other possible side effects when not eating for a long time are:
- dry skin and exfoliation
- no menstruation
- Bad breath due to increased exhaled acetone
- increased freezing
When the protein deficiency begins, hair loss can occur. Fasting can also lead to an increased storage of fat reserves because the body has become accustomed to a reduced energy supply and has adjusted the metabolism accordingly.
Individual measures and medical advice can help to avoid or alleviate the side effects of fasting.
Lent in the clinic: who pays the costs?
The cure can also be carried out under supervision, for example in a fasting clinic. Under certain circumstances, the costs are borne by the statutory health insurance company: if it is recognized in individual cases as a therapeutic fasting measure for a chronic illness. Appropriate justification by the doctor is necessary. In the other cases, the patient must bear the costs themselves.
What fasting methods are there?
Those who have never fasted can start with a fasting day a week. This form is also called "intermittent fasting". There is no food at all on the same day of the week or on a fasting weekend in the month for two days in a row. Regularity is important for intermittent fasting. For the newcomer to fasting, it is also advisable to start a fasting course of one to several weeks under medical supervision or supervision, which is usually carried out in a fasting clinic.
Which fasting method is the right one?
The basic question is: Do I want and can I fast fully or only partially? When you completely refrain from solid food, the body switches to "nutrition from the inside", which means that it gets its energy from the available reserves and deposits, the fat cells. After switching from an external to an internal diet, the initial feeling of hunger also disappears. The body is relieved because the burning of food, the digestion, runs on a back burner.
Another important criterion for choosing the appropriate fasting method is whether fasting is used only for health care or whether there are already acute or chronic health complaints. Being overweight can also be a decisive motivation that motivates you to fast.
Fasting methods
- Fasting Tea
- Tea juice fasting according to Buchinger
- Fast Juice Fasting
- Water fasting (zero diet, only with water, possibly with mineral and vitamin preparations, often in hospitals for the treatment of very overweight patients)
Partial fasting methods
Cures according to Buchinger and F.X. Mayr
The two most important fasting cures come from the German doctor Otto Buchinger (1878-1966) and the Austrian doctor Franz Xaver Mayr (1875-1965).
After a three-week fasting cure, Buchinger was cured of a condition and developed from a naval doctor to a fasting doctor: "Fasting is an elimination cure, a cleansing cure for the entire body tissues and juices. It degrades the aged cells and thereby stimulates the formation of new cells. That explains why every fast has such a tremendous regenerative effect on the body, "is Buchinger's conclusion.
Mayr gained his fasting knowledge among other things as a spa doctor in Karlovy Vary and during the First World War in a field hospital.
Colon cleansing, liver wraps and lots of drinking
Fasting according to Buchinger, also known as tea-juice fasting, is often carried out in specialized health clinics. It primarily serves to purify and detoxify.
Drinks play an important role during fasting. At least two liters of liquid such as spring water, herbal teas, vegetable broths, juices should be daily. Before the fasting process, the intestines are cleaned with Glauber salt or Epsom salt, and enemas are usually carried out three times a week during the cure. Exercise, relaxation and Kneipp treatments accompany the fasting program.
In the F.X.Mayr cure, the fasting person should chew stale rolls with little milk very intensively and one after the other. A Mayr rule says: "What doesn't always taste better after chewing 50 times is not healthy food." There are also herbal teas and water.
Fasting is supported by a special abdominal massage, liver and calf wraps, enemas and lots of exercise. Colon cleansing with Epsom salt (magnesium sulfate) is also mandatory for the Mayr cure.
How do I fast correctly?
Since there are illnesses and situations in which a complete lack of food is not appropriate, the fasting person should be examined by a doctor in order to clarify the general state of health, possible risks and contraindications.
The duration of the fast depends, among other things, on the associated goals and state of health. Long-term fasting for more than two to three weeks is only recommended for overweight people, since they usually have larger protein reserves in addition to the larger fat reserves, so that protein loss is less important for them.
Healthy people can fast from a few days to two weeks without any problems. It is advisable to put Lent on vacation or at least the beginning of a less stressful phase.
Preparation: discharge days
Starting fasting without preparation is not recommended – some time should be planned in advance to adjust the body to the upcoming phase of low energy intake. Already a week before the planned cure, the consumption of meat and luxury foods such as sugar, coffee, tea or alcohol can be gradually reduced.
Immediately before fasting, one or two relief days are recommended, on which only raw fruit and vegetables are eaten. The fiber contained in it ensures a sufficient feeling of satiety.
Colon cleansing: the be-all and end-all when fasting
In many forms of fasting, complete bowel movements are initially planned. With most cures, the intestines are first cleaned with mild laxative salts (Epsom salt, Glauber's salt) and enemas.
The intestine is cleaned several times on the following fasting days. In this way, harmful deposits are loosened. Because of the greatly reduced intake of food, intestinal movements are restricted.
Avoid heavy loads and alcohol
During a fasting cure, inexperienced people, in particular, should avoid excessive physical exertion, as this can trigger a dangerous hypoglycaemia. At the beginning, physical performance drops, and it only improves a little later. Regular exercise appropriate to the age and condition of the fasting person is recommended as it will facilitate therapy.
As a rule, a fasting cure includes a comprehensive personal care program in addition to the lack of food. This can be, for example, saunas, massages, body wraps, rubdowns or oil baths. They stimulate the body's excretion processes. Fasting can also be supplemented with relaxation exercises to promote inner peace and balance.
Alcohol should be avoided entirely, as this can cause hypoglycaemia. Coffee and smoking are also not recommended. Experience has shown that fasting people find it quite easy to do without these luxury foods.
How does fasting break?
At the end of a fasting cure there is a post-fasting diet, the so-called breaking of the fast. Here, a targeted diet is slowly built up to get the body back to normal food intake and eating rhythm.
In this phase, which makes up about a third of the entire fasting phase, the nutritional plan is gradually expanded again. The first real meal can be, for example, a grated apple, later soups, steamed vegetables, crispbread are added. It is important to eat the meals in peace and to chew and store the food well.
In addition, extensive nutritional advice takes place in fasting clinics. They should help the patient to change his diet to a wholesome, balanced diet. As a result, he can keep his body weight constant and stabilize his condition in the long term with certain diseases. If you change your diet after fasting, you will often see a rapid increase in body weight.