“Observe nature, learn from it, take the best and improve, there is no limit to perfection.”
Dry therapeutic fasting is now considered to be one of the new methods of treatment. However, this method was born at the dawn of mankind. Moreover, it is safe to say that from the very beginning of the development of the present-day forms of animal life it was actively used by all representatives of the animal kingdom. The process of fasting without water has been known for thousands of years, but, unfortunately, it is not used by the majority of mankind, many people do not even know about it. In nature, dry fasting is much more common and more widespread than wet fasting. All living matter uses varieties of dry starvation (anabiosis, hypobiosis, hibernation) for survival, treatment and perfection of its species.
Let’s discuss whether this process is natural?
Yes, it is anatural process, it is written in the genetic code of humans and animals. As soon as an animal gets sick, especially if serious, it immediately refuses food and water, and so does the human body. But often a person does not react to this state of the body, eats and drinks through force, often drinks something that only harms him, “feeds” … pills. When the body is sick, it begins a full mobilization of vital forces to save, protect, used and reserves, if, of course, they are still there. And in order for the organism not to be distracted by “work” with food and water, the program of saving the organism includes “refusal” of food and water. Similar situations can occur under stressful influences.
As for the conscious abstinence from food and water for the purpose of health improvement, it was probably the result of observations on people and animals on whom “fasting willy-nilly” had a favorable effect. These observations, repeated many times, were memorized and passed on from generation to generation along with other knowledge. In the early period of the pre-written history of mankind, the experience of such treatment was the “oral heritage” of all members of a clan or tribe, and the practice of healing itself was carried out by elders, as the most experienced members of primitive society.
The history of the origin of the system of dry therapeutic fasting goes back to ancient times, and first of all to the Indian yogis. It has already been mentioned that yogis have always been excellent observers of nature, animal and plant world. That is why in their recommendations they strove in every possible way to bring man closer to nature, to nature. Yogis paid attention to the fact that no animal, when it is sick, will not eat, and if it is seriously ill, it will refuse water.
Abstinence from food and water has deep roots in Chinese traditional medicine. It aims not just to regulate the health of the body, but to transform it in a certain evolutionary way. Chinese healers believed that by changing the quality and quantity of physical food consumed, one could gradually switch to “energetic” food, and then to pure, so-called “true” or “original” energy of the Cosmos. This system was a gradual abandonment of material foods altogether. At first they ate more material (in terms of solidity) food, then they switched to jelly from vegetables and fruits, and then only their own saliva and air ether remained in the diet. There were and are many technologies of art, which already in ancient times was called “bigu”.
Dry fasting was also a major part of North American Indian customs. The American Indians regarded fasting as the most important and indispensable test in making a boy a warrior. A young boy would be brought to the top of a mountain and left there for four days and four nights without food or water. Starvation was regarded without exception by all American Indians as a means of purification and strengthening. At various times in his life, an Indian would go alone into the wilderness, starve and meditate.
Starvation and meditation are two indispensable components of any renewal. If it is not, death inevitably follows, both of the individual and of the whole nation.
Later, with the emergence and flourishing of religions, the treatment of the sick gradually passed into the jurisdiction of religious cult servants – shamans and priests, and the very treatment of the sick and the training of healers concentrated in temples. That is why ancient prescriptions of hunger are very often closely connected with certain mystical beliefs, are a part of a certain religious rite. Thus, the first Christian ascetics often refused food and water, but they did it mainly for religious reasons. For the same purpose, the Persian sun-worshippers subjected themselves to many days of fasting, or, in other words, fasting. Druid priests of the Celtic tribes, as well as the priests of ancient Egypt, were obliged to undergo a long fast before they could be admitted to the next stage of initiation. And in those times the word “fasting” meant complete abstinence from food and water. It was only later that this term came to mean the substitution of certain foods for others, say, butter for vegetable oil for fish, etc. In any ancient people, from which remained and reached us written cultural monuments or so-called “sacred texts” or “writings”, “scriptures”, one can find a lot of praise for treatment by starvation. Almost all ancient peoples considered the refusal of food and water as the best way to purify the body.
In our country absolute restriction from food and water (dry fasting) began to be used in clinical practice only in recent years [Zakirov V.A. 1990; Khoroshilov I.E., 1994]. Although the expediency of restricting water intake in the process of complete therapeutic fasting was written by Pashutin V. V. V. (1902), Pevzner M. I. (1958), Vivini Y. (1964).
From the physiological point of view, the organism in the process of complete fasting does not experience a significant fluid deficit, because for each kilogram of fat mass (or glycogen) being broken down, up to 1 liter of endogenous (metabolic) water is released every day. Fluid losses by the body (for skin-pulmonary transpiration and diuresis) under normal temperature conditions are small and amount to 1.5 to 2 liters per day. Thus, the water deficit does not exceed 0.5-1 liters per day, which in conditions of reduced basic metabolism is quite physiologically acceptable. If the absolute absence of food and water does not exceed 3-4 days, dehydration of the body does not exceed the boundaries of a mild degree. (Workers in hot shops lose up to 5 liters of sweat per shift, the same happens in a steam bath).
Dry fasting gives a greater health-improving effect than complete fasting (with water), because already on the third day of absolute fastingacidosisoccurs, after which the patient’s well-being improves significantly, and the greatest therapeutic effect for the body is observed. In fasting with water, the crisis comes only after 7-16 days. Dry fasting up to 3-4 days does not lead to severe dehydration of the body, (the body releases about 1 liter of endogenous water every day, when breaking down fats) and is carried relatively easy. Carrying out 3 – day dry fasting is equal to 7-9 day fasting with water.
The unloading period passes in the same three stages as in full fasting, but the terms of their onset are shortened. The stage of “food excitement” lasts a few hours (very individual), the stage of “increasing ketoacidosis” from 1 to 3 days. Already on the 3rd day of absolute fasting comes “ketoacidotic crisis”, after which the patients’ well-being improves significantly (stage of compensated ketoacidosis). Contrary to the established opinion that dry fasting is subjectively tolerated more severely than wet fasting, there is rather an inverse dependence. Patients do not feel thirsty (with the exception of a slight dryness in the mouth), and the feeling of hunger and malaise caused by ketoacidosis are relieved more quickly.
When dry fasting is used, an earlier onset and more complete breakdown of stored fats is observed. Already after 24 h the content of triglycerides and cholesterol increases in the blood. The share of fats in the energy supply of the organism increases by the beginning of 2 days of absolute fasting from 15 to 31%. Reduction of excess body weight is from 2 to 3 kg per day, and 40% of the lost mass is due to water, 30-40% – due to the breakdown of adipose tissue, 15-20% – due to the loss of lean body mass, mainly glycogen of the liver and skeletal muscles (Khoroshilov I.E., 1994).
В. A. Zakirov (1989) showed higher efficiency of dry Z-day fasting compared to Z-day wet fasting in the treatment of patients withbronchial asthma. It can be considered that three days of absolute fasting correspond to 7-9 days of complete fasting without water restriction. Apparently, the recommendation of outpatient weekly 24-36-hour dry fasting is very rational (Ivanov P.K.).
Combination of absolute and complete therapeutic fasting is also expedient. In July 1994 in Moscow at the 1st International Congress on Traditional Medicine and Nutrition from Russia was presented a report on “Experience of application of short-term therapeutic fasting in the treatment of acute infectious colds in adults” (A. H. Kokosov, A. A. Alifanov), which states that the most justified application of absolute or combined (absolute and complete) fasting, as abstinence from ingestion of liquids significantly increases the concentration of factors of nonspecific resistance of the upper respiratory tract to the usually causing cold viral infection – lysozyme, interferon and others. The concentration of factors of nonspecific resistance of the upper respiratory tract to viral infections that usually cause colds – lysozyme, interferon, etc. – increases significantly. (V. A. Zakirov, 1990).
A clinical experiment conducted in the mid-90s on the basis of the Ivanovo Medical Academy showed that absolute therapeutic fasting (without food and water) has a serious prospect in terms of treatment of tumors and severe immunodeficiencies. Dry fasting achieves higher concentrations of biologically active substances, hormones, immunocompetent cells and immunoglobulins in body fluids, which gives a powerfulimmunostimulatingeffect.
This method is used under very strict indications, when the vital force of a cancer patient is sufficiently preserved, and it is desirable to use it in the early stages of the disease, because in addition to detoxification of the body must have reserves for its recovery. Otherwise, excessive stress for the body – starvation can undermine the remaining energy of the body and accelerate the sad final, especially after chemotherapy, radiation or the presence of concomitant diseases!
There are two kinds of dry hunger. One, as severe and dry as possible, is associated with a complete refusal of water, and not only from drinking, but from any contact with water. That is, we do not wash, bathe, take a bath, try not to wash our hands and avoid contact with water. Another, softer way is related to the refusal to drink water internally, while allowing external contact with water in any possible and available form. Now let’s analyze the processes occurring during these methods of fasting, their differences and advantages. Let’s start with the fact that dry fasting puts the organism in more severe conditions than water fasting. The processes in the body, which are aimed at survival, are much deeper during dry fasting. The body must not only reorganize itself to a different consumption of energy and reserves, but also to resist dehydration.Also during dry fasting we work through not only the fear of living without food, but also without water. As a result, we penetrate much deeper into the inner world, coming into contact with deep fears. As a consequence, the transformations of the inner world are much deeper. When refusing from food and water already in 18-20 hours there are noticeable changes in the composition of the blood, the state of mucous membranes. Healthy cells of the body begin to take away from the weak, sick and alien not only food, but also water. Sick, malignant cells, as if shrivel up and rejected. In addition, in the absence of aqueous medium, various viruses, bacteria and even worms stop multiplying, and if starvation lasts for several days, they themselves leave the body or die. This is only a small part of the processes occurring inside us. Dry fasting destroys the mucus, which is accumulated in our body, respectively, it ceases to be a breeding ground for various pathological microorganisms. The vitality of every cell of the body increases very quickly and significantly.
During dry fasting, processes are activated within us for significant renewal. It begins as soon as we come out of dry fasting. The whole body is renewed and rejuvenated. During dry fasting the blood vessels are effectively cleansed. The mucous membranes of the stomach and intestines, the oral cavity are perfectly cleansed and renewed. A special attitude is important for dry fasting. For most people it is psychologically more difficult to bear it. Although many people who have made up their minds and gained such experience often switch to dry fasting in their practice. enemas during dry fasting are contraindicated. Even if the intestine does not work, it quickly and immediately recovers when coming out of starvation. It is allowed to do a small series of enemas before fasting, especially if you feel clogged, slagged body, if you have a tendency to headaches.
Back to the two types of dry hunger
The first methodconsists in complete refusal of contact with water, both inside and outside. The body is put in the most severe critical conditions and activates hidden internal reserves for its survival. The body begins to shrink very slowly. And first of all our diseases, mucus, viruses, tumors, swellings shrink. They shrink due to the fact that the cells of the body take away their nutrition and fluid. As a result, the cells become strong and very lively. Water and fluid consumption decreases. Breathing changes. The lungs are renewed. If you fast like this for three days or more, your senses become incredibly heightened. We start to feel odors, feel subtle energies, people’s states, it is difficult to be in energetically dirty spaces, and, on the contrary, it is very pleasant in clean ones. We begin to dream about water bodies, water streams. Sometimes in a dream you drink water and quench your thirst. Mouth, lips, throat and skin dry up. The great advantage of this type of fasting is the renewal and rejuvenation of the skin and mucous membranes.
The second type of dry fasting– refusal to take water internally, but contact with water externally. The proponent of this type was Porfiry Ivanov. He urged to fast weekly for 40-42 hours dry, while dousing oneself with water, bathing in open water bodies. He himself fasted like this for a long time. Some people, fasting dry for several days, sit for hours in the bathtub, often wash themselves, wet their heads. External contact with water makes it easier to tolerate starvation, it is easier to starve longer. Each contact with water cleanses the pores, refreshes, gives vigor. However, afterwards you are often more thirsty.
The effects of internal cleansing in the second type of fasting are almost the same as in the first, maybe a little weaker. But the rejuvenation of the skin is much less. If we rinse our mouth and throat, the mucous membranes are also cleansed more weakly. When we come in contact with water, the skin absorbs water. Skin nutrition is activated. This is the advantage of this method. It is also desirable to contact with clean water.
Based on this condition, there is another combined type of fasting: dry + water fasting. Fasting for a day or several days – dry, and then coming out of dry, and then fasting on water. Starving on water after a dry fast is easy and pleasant. I emphasize that water fasting comes after dry fasting, not vice versa. This type of fasting allows you to saturate your cells with moisture, prolonging the effects of the cleanse. This is an exotic method, and I recommend it only to people who have fully mastered water fasting and dry fasting and have many years of experience in these practices.
Dry fasting is limited in duration. The Guinness Book of World Records records a record of 18 days of dry fasting.
