Why are weekly one-day fasts effective?
So far, we have looked at data relating to fairly long fasts. Recently, one-day fasts have become popular. Of course, their effect is weaker than that of prolonged fasting. However, under certain conditions, the effect of even one-day fasting once a week can increase dramatically. For this purpose one-day fasts should be repeated. Koda Mitsuo, a medical professor known for his research on fasting, says: “If you fast at the end of each week and come out of fasting carefully, you will get an effect like that of a long fast. In six months or a year you will be healthy beyond recognition.” Therapeutic fasting is praised by many doctors and enjoys a latent popularity among specialists and also entrepreneurs.
Here’s what doctors say about a one-day weekly fast:
● If one-day fasts once a week are continued for a year, it will improve a person’s constitution and rid him of disease.
● Fatigue of the internal organs is largely relieved by one-day fasts. There are many cases where a mild degree of diabetes has been cured merely by allowing the pancreas to rest for a few days of fasting.
● One day of fasting rejuvenates the body for three months.
The effect of rejuvenation and prolongation of the quality of life.(Elena Desyatnik – TV presenter).
More than anything else in the world, I love to eat. And not just to “grab” some fast-food nonsense, but to eat fundamentally. With appropriate serving, drinks, candles and good dishes. That’s why my acquaintances, when they heard that I had taken up one-day fasting, asked me directly whether I was crazy because of overwork. (For the last six months, we had been working so hard on live TV programs that I fell asleep at dinner without even taking a sip of wine).
In fact, my sybaritism and epicureanism was turned into asceticism by a seemingly unremarkable incident. The topic of the next talk show was quality textbooks, and I was recommended to invite a rather famous mathematician who had written more than one manual on geometry, which he adored. I got his phone number quickly, the guy turned out to be intelligent and contactable, and we agreed to meet half an hour before the live broadcast to discuss the main directions of the conversation. I knew that my guest was 70 years old, so I warned the makeup artist that it would take a little longer to work on his face. But what was my amazement when instead of a pleasant grandpa, whom I expected to see on the threshold of the studio, an imposing man of no older than 55 was waiting for me! His first question struck me even more than his appearance, for he asked me, “where here you can drink a cup of strong coffee?” And one more nuance almost made me speechless. My guest did not smell like a 70-year-old man. He smelled young. It was the first time I’d ever encountered such a thing. And purely professional interest in the respected mathematician was replaced by a keen personal curiosity:“how does he manage to look like that at 70?”
Luckily, he wasn’t about to keep that secret. It turned out that he had been fasting on Mondays for years. At 9 p.m. on Sunday he has a stable mood, the beginning of each week due to an empty stomach he meets in a rare bad mood, Tuesday begins with a trip to the pool, and only then – the long-awaited breakfast.The result of all this I saw with my own eyes, moreover, this amazing man had just incredible for his age energy, cheerfulness and constantly generated a huge number of ideas.In mathematics, I dare say, this is a bit more difficult than, say, in cooking.
Naturally, on the following Monday I ate only mineral water. Therefore, closer to lunch I was simply dying of hunger, and by the end of the working day I began to feel dizzy, as if I had drunk 50 grams of cognac. By the evening story my stomach realized that there was nothing to catch today and calmed down. Tuesday morning was tempting to organize a Lucullus feast, but I courageously limited myself to oatmeal. The following Monday, under the surprised looks of my colleagues, I repeated the execution. It was already much easier. I felt the result of my experiments in about a month. My skin was somehow lighter and fresher, my eyes shone, and the number of wrinkles under my eyes was somewhat reduced. Encouraged by what I had achieved, I began to look for scientific evidence of the correctness of my actions.
It turned out that Hippocrates, Avicenna, Paracelsus and other doctors treated patients with the help of fasting in ancient times. Nowadays there is a lot of scientific data revealing the mechanism of therapeutic effect offasting, which stimulates metabolism,rejuvenatesthe body and prevents aging. During complete fasting, the energy that we spent on digesting food is used for the treatment of existing diseases and for cleansing. On my personal experience I was convinced that an empty stomach copes with runny nose in two days, with the strongestflufor some reason in three. But if in the first case you can move around, the flu is accompanied by alternately terrible fever and drowsiness. The most striking thing is that after such treatment you look like after a spa treatment. I do not know what it is, but the body is clearly cleansed both externally and internally. By the way, if you decide to treat diseases with hunger, then in no case, do not take any medications. You can only drink water – often and in small portions. You should drink 1.5-2 liters of liquid per day. In addition to pure water, you can drink weak infusion of rose hips or green tea (without sugar!).
By the way, short-term fasting, in addition to cleansing and significant improvement of appearance has another unexpected effect. It consists in increasing the power of imagination and the ability to create. For example, John Lennon, one of the legendary Beatles, practiced meditation and was fond of fasting. It is possible that his creative insights in the musical sphere were the result not only of his talent and efficiency, but also of his periodic refusal of daily bread.
T. Toeo, a former member of the House of Commons of the Japanese Parliament, strongly recommended weekly one-day fasts to all doubters as a way to improve health and energize thinking. He repeatedly emphasized that it is not just a diet, for through fasting the head works better and ideas continuously arise. The only thing that should not be forgotten: before fasting it is necessary to cleanse the body. To do this, 2 days before the scheduled date exclude animal products from your diet. Switch to a cereal and vegetable diet. The menu should consist of all kinds of porridge, vegetables and fruits. Always start with no more than 1-2-day fasting, then move to a 3-day fast. How long the hunger lasted – so much and exit from it. You can alternate one-, two-, three-day fasting, ending each one with the same duration of exit from the process. Further increase of terms should be carried out after longer breaks. Gradually it is possible to bring the fasting up to 7 days. It is desirable to conduct it once in 6 months. Longer fasting at home (at least until you master it properly) is not recommended.
And most importantly, an optimistic attitude is very important in the process of self-cleansing. When you start fasting, believe in success, and you will achieve amazing results. The body will cope with any illnesses on its own, and when regular fasting becomes a habit, you will stop getting sick at all.
Slimming effect
If properly and qualitatively prepare fordaily fasts, and do them steadily and systematically every week, you can achieve good results for weight loss.
American experts say that even 1 day of fasting a month can be very beneficial to your health.
Scientists conducted a study that showed that people who abstain from food every first Monday of the month have a 40% lower risk of cardiovascular disease. And asthma patients have fewer attacks. According to experts, the mild stress experienced by the body during moderate fasting has a positive effect on the immune system and reduces the likelihood of cancer. Some experts even say that it is not necessary to fast the whole day: you can skip breakfast or dinner. The obligatory condition is that if you decide to fast, do it regularly and drink water during this process.
