One-day therapeutic fasting according to all the rules and with benefits for the body

From this article you will learn:

Features and phases of fasting
The benefits of one-day therapeutic fasting
Indications for one-day fasting
The harm of one-day fasting
Preparing for a one-day therapeutic fast
4 rules for one-day therapeutic fasting on water
Recommendations for dry one-day fasting
The right way out of a one-day fast

Many stars practice one-day therapeutic fasting and note only the advantages. Indeed, even doctors have proven the benefits of this kind of diet. During the day spent without food, a person is literally transformed. He feels lighter, his headaches go away, and his mood improves.

There are different types of one-day fasting - dry and water. We recommend the second option, as there will be more benefits. Water, as we know, is extremely necessary for our body, so it should not be removed from the diet. Not only the type of fasting is important, but also the preparation for it, because you cannot simply refuse food. We have described all the rules in detail below.

Features and phases of fasting

Features and phases of fasting
Intermittent fasting, the 16/8 method and the 5:2 diet - the goal of all these schemes is to recover from short-term food restrictions. Jennifer Aniston, Kourtney Kardashian, Scarlett Johansson, Reese Witherspoon have tried these methods on themselves. You can’t call this just another trend, because scientists have proven that intermittent fasting has a beneficial effect on the body’s condition. It's time to find out how to get rid of ailments in a day and allow your body to cleanse itself.

A healthy body's ability to fast is limited to 21 days, but you should not fast at home for more than 72 hours without medical supervision.

Independent abstinence from food consists of two phases, the first of which lasts a day. According to functional medicine expert E. Kondrasheva, the first phase is not capable of causing damage. The specialist states in his blog on Instagram: you can devote 24 hours every week to abstaining from food. The second phase lasts from 24 to 72 hours, but you need to prepare for it and not sharply shock your body with prolonged fasting, because this can lead to complications, one of which is hypoglycemia. You can repeat it once every 2-3 weeks.

It is worth considering that any phase will be accompanied by various transformations in the body.

Features of the study

For what research on fasting did a Japanese scientist receive a Nobel Prize in 2016? According to Yoshinori Ohsumi, such a unique phenomenon as autophagy helps in the fight against cancer and even dementia. A similar discovery was made back in the 60s of the last century, but scientists did not attach any significance to it then. The Japanese made a significant contribution to deciphering this concept.

Autophagy is a recycling process followed by the elimination of all unnecessary substances in the human body. It is thanks to it that the cellular composition is gradually renewed, and at the same time waste, toxins and infections that have entered from the outside are disposed of. Autophagy occurs as a result of stress, which is fasting.

The benefits of one-day therapeutic fasting

One day of fasting rejuvenates the body for three months.

The benefits of one-day therapeutic fasting
In ancient times, the practice of fasting for health purposes was widespread. This is how Hippocrates, Paracelsus and other doctors treated patients. Nowadays, the beneficial effects of abstinence in food have been proven by scientists. According to research, short fasting helps normalize metabolism and rejuvenate the body.

Surprisingly, the effect of using such methods is similar to the effect of spa treatments.

The benefit of one-day therapeutic fasting is that the body heals both outside and inside. When fasting, it is strictly forbidden to take any medications, and drinking water often and in small quantities is recommended.

Another unusual effect lies in a short refusal of food: the imagination grows stronger, and the desire to realize creative potential arises. For example, the founder of The Beatles, John Lennon, was a fan of short-term abstinence from food and meditation. It is possible that he achieved success in his creative work not only thanks to hard work and talent, but also by abstaining from food.

To stimulate mental activity and rid the body of everything unnecessary, advised T. Toeo, a former representative of the House of Commons of the Japanese Parliament, to fast. The politician has repeated many times that fasting is not just a diet, but a way to improve brain function and become more productive.

During a short period of abstinence from food, metabolism improves.

Some people think that they will have to experience severe hunger during a short period of fasting, and in order not to suffer and not lose the ability to think sensibly, they need to eat every 2-3 hours. Nature took care of eliminating the need to eat so often, because some systematic fasting, even for long periods of time, accompanied the life of primitive people, but their mental activity and motor activity did not suffer significantly. Otherwise humanity would die out.

The human body is capable of maintaining a certain level of blood sugar. This skill, given by nature and necessary for survival, also works in situations that threaten life and health. A person can fast for 24 hours, then run for 90 minutes, and their blood sugar levels will be the same as when they ran on a full stomach.

Only 84 hours of fasting or longer would change the amount of glucose and cause it to affect brain function. Even this effect is not permanent, because the brain gets used to it. He begins to use ketone bodies to produce energy. Two days of not eating or severely restricting calories does not affect brain function or blood sugar levels.

In this regard, the myth that one-day therapeutic fasting activates the fasting mode is dispelled.

The benefits of one-day therapeutic fasting

According to the discoveries that were made during the study of this topic, the first symptoms of a decrease in metabolism due to cessation of food intake appear after 60 hours and amount to 8% of the resting metabolic rate, however, information from other researchers shows that metabolism does not change for 72 –96 hours of abstinence from food. Important experiments and conclusions on the topic of fasting belong to George Cahill.

Giving up food for 36 hours did not provoke changes in the metabolism of people who were under the supervision of scientists. It was even concluded that food does not have a strong effect on metabolism in principle.

During a one-day therapeutic fast, metabolism increases.

Studies have shown an increase of 3.6–10% after 36–48 hours of fasting (Mansell PI et al and Zauner C et al). From an evolutionary perspective, this is not meaningless: epinephrine and norepinephrine (adrenaline/norepinephrine) stimulate mental activity and encourage action, which is necessary to search for food and hunt.

The result is that the possibility of survival increases. After a person has fasted for several days, the stimulation of metabolism changes to conservation of energy, since the second option is more beneficial for survival, but the metabolism increases during fasting for up to 60 hours.

Refusal from food was used not only to restore health and rejuvenation, but also for spiritual enlightenment.

Almost all known cultures and beliefs have references to the use of fasting in spiritual life. Many spiritual educators abstained from food:

Moses abstained from food on the sacred mountain for 40 days many times. Subsequently, he achieved truth and divine revelation.
Christ refused food for 40 days before starting large-scale preaching activities. The scriptures say that Jesus fasted for 40 days in various forms.
Buddha abstained from food for 40 days before his enlightenment occurred.
Mohammed and Ali , the founders of two branches of Islam, also abstained from food for 40 days.
Mahavir is the founder of Jainism. He fasted for 12 years and sometimes during fasting he abstained from any food.
The founder of Reiki, Mikao Usui , did not eat for 21 days while in a place of power, after which he acquired the gift of healing.

Christians fast several times a year according to the rules of limiting the consumption of certain foods. That is, fasting can be called a method of restructuring eating habits and getting used to healthy food. During fasting, fasting is prescribed every Wednesday and Friday, and some Christians do not eat even for several weeks during fasting.

Christ himself told his closest disciples that one must abstain from food in order to cleanse the body and soul. He called the body the temple of the soul.

Muslims also refuse food for several days.

If we turn to the everyday life of ancient times, we can find out that abstinence from food was practiced as a preparation for rituals. For example, in order for a young man to be considered a man in many tribes, he had to undergo various restrictions, including quite a long hunger and life away from people.

Hunters and warriors made amulets that gave strength. They could only work if the men cleansed themselves by abstaining from food for a while.

Abstinence from food was widespread in shamanic cultures. Shamans left people for places of power and went hungry in order to make contact with the gods and become seers.

Shamans practiced “vision searches” in this way: a person retires to a place of power, for example in a forest or mountains, for one to three days, while fasting. There he acquires the skill of understanding nature, realizing what makes it powerful, and comes to an agreement with it. A person is attentive to everything he sees, hears and feels.

Refusal of food is also practiced in qigong and yoga. This method was used by Paul Bragg. He regularly practiced yoga and cleansing pranayamas, explaining his abilities in the form of flexibility of the body, developed intelligence, and the benefits of abstaining from food.

It has partially become clear why one-day therapeutic fasting prolongs life.

The benefits of one-day therapeutic fasting
In the 50s of the 20th century, scientists realized that refusing food helps to increase the life expectancy of both single-celled organisms and primates, that is, regardless of the form of life. But why such an effect occurs at the cellular level was unclear.

US scientists have concluded that the benefits of one-day therapeutic fasting lie in changes in the functioning of mitochondria.

Scientists from Harvard, Cornell and the American National Institutes of Health, led by Harvard Associate Professor David Sinclair, discovered two enzymes. These substances stimulate the work of mitochondria, which are sometimes called “energy factories,” during periods unfavorable for cells. This effect increases the lifespan of the cell.

Mitochondria are cellular organelles that enable the process of cellular respiration. Due to the second, energy is released, or it is concentrated in the form of adenazine triphosphoric acid (ATP). The content of the article, which was published in the journal Cell, tells that scientists provided an illustration of the effect of short-term refusal of food on the activation of a protein that ensures the saturation of mitochondria with molecules of the coenzyme nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD), which is on a par with the main energy carriers in the cell.

Researchers believe that a high concentration of NAD leads to the use of “youth enzymes” encoded by SIRT3 and SIRT4 in mitochondria. That is, they do not exhibit a natural stop in the functioning of organelles, which provokes cell death. Mitochondria resume their activity with renewed vigor, producing energy. This delays cell aging and almost completely blocks the self-destruction that occurs in old cells.

It is worth saying that stimulating the work of mitochondria compensates for the loss of other sources of cell existence for some time. In situations where its nucleus cannot function at all, self-destruction of the cell does not occur. But researchers still do not understand how mitochondria manage to prevent cell death.

Fasting and atherosclerosis.

Fasting and atherosclerosis
Among the signs characteristic of atherosclerosis is low-grade inflammation that occurs in the walls of the arteries with a concentration of immune cells called macrophages. In the latter, according to scientists published in the journal Cell Metabolism, there is a violation in the waste processing process. Biomolecules that are in the cell stop working properly over time and require replacement with synthesized molecules. However, the old ones must be contained somewhere after this. For this purpose, the cell is equipped with a special self-digestion mechanism, according to which waste is separated.

Scientists think: stimulating cell cleansing helps reduce the chances of developing atherosclerosis. Accordingly, the pharmaceutical industry can create drugs based on this knowledge, but researchers believe that people, even without the use of medications, can start the process of cell cleansing through one-day fasting. That is, refusing to eat or consuming a small amount of calories will help cells find other sources of energy, which could be waste at the molecular level.

Fasting for weight loss.

To lose weight, you must act in accordance with the rules of one-day therapeutic fasting. Regular approaches also have an impact.

Scientists from the USA believe that just one day of food refusal per month can be beneficial for the body.

Experts have concluded: people who fast every first Monday of the month are 40% less likely to develop cardiovascular diseases, and asthmatics are less likely to suffer from attacks caused by this disease. Accordingly, during a short refusal of food, the body is in a state of slight stress, which benefits the immune system, and the person becomes less susceptible to cancer. There is an opinion among scientists that you can skip breakfast or dinner rather than fast for a day, but the most important thing is that you need to fast systematically and at the same time drink water.

We can conclude: a short-term refusal to eat is a chance to self-cleanse. The body mobilizes its capabilities to get rid of molecular debris and help normalize organ function. Until now, scientists cannot fully comprehend all the abilities of the human body in this process, and therefore it cannot be said that the term “fasting treatment” fully explains the transformations occurring in the body. This method of self-purification will work in many situations, but it will not be possible to restart the functions of some organs and systems in conditions of progressive diseases.

Indications for one-day fasting

Indications:

intoxication of the body;
chronic fatigue;
first stage of cancer;
atherosclerosis;
obesity of any degree;
hypertension;
neuroses and stress;
frequent shortness of breath;
ischemia;
tendency to increased gas formation;
hypotension;
swelling;
allergic reactions.

Regular one-day therapeutic fasting brings benefits in the form of solving problems with the reproductive system in both men and women; treatment of certain dermatological diseases

Deadlines and schemes

Short-term fasting is called fasting, which lasts from 12 hours to 3 days.

Why is the starting point 12 o'clock?

According to research (in particular, the Japanese microbiologist Yoshinori Ohsumi, who received the Nobel Prize for his discovery in this matter), it is 12 hours after the last meal that the process of autophagy starts in the body. This is the digestion by cells of their own organelles in order to provide themselves with internal nutrition, since external nutrition has ceased. Sick, outdated pathogenic particles are subject to destruction. This has enormous benefits for human health and life.

Why not more than 3 days?

By the end of the 3rd day of fasting, it is recommended to carefully exit it. If this is not done, a glycemic crisis will begin, characterized by a sharp deterioration in well-being, which can have undesirable consequences for health, especially in the presence of diseases. It is manifested by severe headache, fever, weakness throughout the body, rapid heartbeat, hand tremors, and muscle spasms. Doctors warn that it is undesirable to bring yourself to such a state. Therefore, any hunger strike lasting more than 3 days is no longer considered short-term.

There are various schemes for short-term fasting.

Sentinels:

12/12 is the most convenient and gentle scheme for many: at 19.00 we had dinner and then exactly 12 hours later, at 7.00, we had breakfast.
10/14 - at 18.00 we had dinner and at 8.00 we had breakfast.
16/8 is the most popular bodybuilding regimen from Martin Berkhan, which allows you to build muscle mass: dinner at 16.00, breakfast at 8.00 (we have already written about it).
20/4 is a more difficult scheme (called the Warrior diet), in 4 hours you can only have time to eat twice.

It is advisable to carry out hourly circuits only on water.

Daily allowance:

A 24-hour fast is a one-day short-term fast, which for many is a regular fasting day on the water.
The 36-hour plan is a fairly effective plan: we had breakfast today at 7.00, and now we can only eat the next day at dinner at 19.00.
48-hour - if you have the strength, you can fast for two days.
60-hour is the longest of all short-term ones; you have to endure 2.5 days.

The question will probably arise as to why there is no 72-hour scheme. As already explained above, by this time the risk of a glycemic crisis increases, which is better not to lead to. Therefore, experts recommend stopping at a maximum of 60-hour fasting.

Daily hunger strikes can be dry, but they require separate preparation - moral and physical. If you are a beginner, they are definitely not for you.

As for frequency, clock circuits can be used on a regular basis, that is, constantly fed this way. If it’s too difficult, then 5 days after 2: fast on weekdays, eat as usual on weekends (or vice versa). Daily methods - once a week, every 2 weeks or a month.

The harm of one-day fasting

Indications for one-day fasting
It is worth mentioning the negative aspects of a short-term refusal of food. Losing weight occurs faster if you drink a lot of water, and not by burning fat. Alarming symptoms of short-term abstinence from eating include:

nausea;
state of weakness;
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dizziness;
drowsiness;
headache;
decreased performance;
abdominal pain;
severe attacks of hunger.

It is imperative to break the fast when these symptoms do not go away within three hours or intensify. However, you need to return to your normal course not abruptly, but in accordance with the rules.

Consequences of wrong exit

It doesn’t matter whether you fast with water or without it, the wrong way out in both cases threatens to worsen existing diseases or create new ones. Ignoring the rules and abruptly returning to the previous diet can cause negative consequences:

volvulus;
problems with urination;
joint pain;
decreased pancreatic function;
exacerbation of gastritis and pancreatitis;
the formation of ulcers on the gastric walls;
intestinal diseases;
the occurrence of gastric erosion.

Preparing for a one-day therapeutic fast

In order not to become a hostage to negative consequences and to enhance the positive effects of fasting on the body, you need to prepare before you refuse to eat. Below is a diagram that shows how to properly start a one-day therapeutic fast.

Until the day of fasting

Do's and don'ts

In three days

It is necessary to exclude from the diet:

fatty foods;
sweet;
flour;
fast food;
alcoholic and carbonated drinks.

It is necessary to consume low-fat dairy products, water-based cereals, juices, as well as vegetables and fruits. Dishes need to be boiled, baked or stewed.

Per day

Exclude:

dairy products;
nuts;
coffee;
mushrooms;
tea;
legumes

You need to eat more plant foods, which include fruits and vegetables, berries, and greens. It is recommended to drink herbal infusions and juices all day. You should not smoke, you need to do an enema in the evening to cleanse the intestines.

The basis of therapeutic fasting should be laid in the morning, although at this time you can eat a light breakfast, for example, porridge with water, about two pieces of unsweetened fruit or bread with cheese, or drink diluted freshly squeezed juice.

If you need to prepare your body for dry fasting, you should adhere to more stringent rules: reduce the amount of food and liquids for three days. There is no need to do an enema in the evening, since this measure is only necessary in conditions of a water diet.

You should not take medications either before or during a one-day therapeutic fast or other types of food refusal, and you should also not overload the body with strong training, jogging and exercise in the pool. During the preparatory period, it is recommended to do light gymnastics and yoga.

Progress of the study

The object of study was mutated fungi, which in a normal environment do not have the ability to break down proteins. When receiving substances from the outside, all organic matter accumulates in microcells. Through autography, the Japanese scientist was able to prove that with a sharp restriction of nutrition, autophagosomes accumulate in fungi - special structures that absorb and break down substances already accumulated by the body.

Similar studies were carried out on animals. The results showed that periodic fasting on water also leads to similar internal processes - individuals feel much better and the likelihood of developing diseases decreases.

The results obtained by the scientist are well transferred to the human body. When a complete refusal of nutrients occurs, the cells begin to actively absorb adipose tissue. It turns out that despite food abstinence, there is no feeling of hunger at the cellular level. The energy resource is produced from what has been accumulated for a long time.

Recommendations for dry one-day fasting

Dry daily fasting is a more severe method, which is characterized by the complete absence of water and is suitable for experienced people. Psychologically, such a measure is more difficult to bear, since from time to time there will be a desire to fill the emptiness in the stomach with at least something. The following rules must be observed:

Make preparatory measures a few days in advance.
It is recommended to walk more in the fresh air, as this will help speed up the process of losing excess weight and provide a distraction. Bed rest can only be observed if you feel unwell.
You need to do something: reading, creativity, do household chores, etc. A daily plan will help. You should not watch TV, especially cooking programs, because you may be tempted to fill your stomach.
It is better to retire and limit communication, since sympathy or advice from friends and relatives can ruin a hunger strike.

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Dry fasting is recommended to be done every week. This measure contributes to the rapid process of losing weight and reducing muscle volume, but you cannot refuse food without water for more than a day, because this can result in serious problems.

Hunger strike for Yoshinori Ohsumi

To better understand the essence of the physiological features, the biologist introduced the term “nutrition window” into the system. It represents the time period when a person consumes various foods. If a person woke up at 6 am and ate an hour later, then the “eating window” opens at 7 am. If the last meal occurs at 22:00, then it closes at this time. Duration is 15 hours.

Interesting fact. Scientists have proven that the shorter the duration of the “eating” window, the more comfortable the body feels and the more benefits it receives. This can be noticed by improving the quality of night sleep, reducing the likelihood of heart disease, normalizing blood pressure, etc.

As a result of numerous studies, Yoshinori Ohsumi proposed to the world a unique fasting diet or one-day fasting, which became the basis for the Nobel Prize.

General information

Short, that is, one-day fasting, was practiced in ancient times.
For example, this was done by Socrates, who believed that food must be seasoned with hunger. Such “treatment” was also practiced by ancient doctors, who were convinced from experience that hunger can be treated. In fact, there is a lot of common sense in this thesis, since modern people are prone to overeating. Short daily fasting is very beneficial for the body. It makes it possible to cleanse it, stimulate the function of the immune system, keep the body in good shape and even cure some diseases. And even if a person fasts one day a week, then with the right approach to this process, such a system will make it possible to obtain a tangible effect. how to properly fast for 1 day, how to recover from fasting , and how to tolerate a 24-hour abstinence from food correctly.

Important Tips

To make the fasting process easier, you need to do it on the same day of the week all the time. This way the body quickly adapts to such a schedule.
It is worth warning those closest to you about your intentions so that they support and do not tempt you to break away from the process. At first, you should remove tasty and aromatic foods from your visibility to make your task easier.
It is worth preparing dishes in advance for the correct exit from such a diet.
Under no circumstances should you allow yourself even small indulgences. Otherwise, such unloading will lose its meaning, and it will be very difficult to get used to the system later.
During periods of hunger, you need to find something to do that will give you the opportunity to be distracted and think less about how you want to eat.
Another important factor for success is the right mood. A person must believe that he is fasting for health, improvement of well-being and appearance. And the knowledge that tomorrow he will be able to eat will be an incentive to withstand a relatively short period of hunger.
You can start practicing this kind of hunger with someone for company. In this case, psychologically it will be much easier to withstand it, because you can share your experience and your feelings with a like-minded person.
There is no need to assume that such abstinence from food can pose any danger to the body. If a person is healthy, he may well not eat for 24 hours.

What is a power window

Ohsumi continued his research into intermittent fasting and its effects on muscles. He arranged “nutrition windows” for them - the time during which a person eats. For example, if a person has breakfast at 7 a.m., then the specified period opens at 8 a.m. If dinner falls at 8–10 p.m., then the window extends to 12–14 hours.

Studies conducted on animals showed that those individuals who periodically fasted felt better, lived longer and were less sick compared to those who ate a normal diet. It is worth noting that both groups received quality products. This means that a small window of nutrition is more beneficial for the body.

Its main properties:

reduces the risk of breast cancer;
increases UV protection;
reduces blood pressure;
improves sleep quality;
reduces the risk of heart disease.

Fasting 36 hours

Here you will have to remain without food for more than a day, which can already negatively affect your health. Therefore, it is recommended to arrange such abstinence no more than once a month. Fans of various spiritual practices (including yoga) insist on more frequent repetitions, which does not find a positive response in medicine.

It is best to distribute the time allotted for a one and a half day fast:

do not have dinner on the first day;
do not eat edibles for the entire second day;
start eating from breakfast on the third day.

Healthy sleep is very important to maintain strength. Without food, it’s hard for the body; you can’t deprive it of rest. During the day, to facilitate the psychological transfer of this time, it is advisable to occupy yourself with something exciting that will not allow you to constantly think about food.

Contraindications

Fasting, even short-term, is not allowed for all categories of patients. Before you start following a technique, you need to study its limitations. Absolute contraindications include: