According to historical records, people have practiced fasting for thousands of years ago. Hippocrates, Socrates, Plato - these are some of the most famous scholars of antiquity, who in his writings recommend fasting as a means of recovery. Furthermore, starvation is part of many of today's most popular religious practices.

Modern discoveries in the field of physiology and medicine support - a temporary refusal to eat can actually have a positive impact on human health. With the help of fasting can relieve the symptoms of many diseases, or even completely get rid of them. The most common of the diseases for which it may be useful fasting are asthma, high blood pressure, allergies, chronic headaches, inflammatory bowel disease (ulcerative coli and Crohn's disease), irritable bowel syndrome, diabetes, heart disease, degenerative arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, eczema Eczema , Acne, fibroids, systemic lupus erythematosus.

Fasting provides a person a kind of physiological rest during which the body can to rebuild damaged organs. It also helps cleanse the body of toxins that inevitably accumulate in the cells, and can have a significant impact on well-being.

During fasting resting and gastrointestinal tract (GIT), thereby restoring its mucosa. Healthy gastrointestinal mucosa is necessary, among other things, to prevent the entry is not well digested proteins into the bloodstream. It is believed that in this way provide protection against autoimmune diseases.

People who have undergone fasting, usually noted at the following changes:

• More healthy skin;
• Healthier teeth and gums;
• Improving the quality of sleep;
• Evocation;
• Significant pain relief for muscles and joints. Some people are completely pain;
• Relieving headaches;
• Stabilization of blood pressure;
• The normalization of intestinal motility;
• Weight loss;
• Alleviation of the symptoms of many of the above diseases.

Who needs fasting

Indeed fasting it is necessary only if your doctor has recommended it for the treatment of certain diseases, but sometimes resort to it and perfectly healthy people.

Most people for the health and just for good health is enough to eat right, exercise, get enough sleep and regular breathing fresh air .  However, if the person is just trying to start a healthy lifestyle, fasting can facilitate his transition to the new diet, exercise, and so on .  It is very important psychological aspect: starvation, consciously or not, is perceived as an act of purification before the start of a new phase (probably for the same reason many post religion plays such an important role for the spiritual development of the faithful) .  In addition, fasting helps to restore the sensitivity of the nervous system, so it is often used by people who are trying to overcome any addiction (it can be as the dependence on nicotine, alcohol, drugs, and from certain foods) .  After fasting, many people are surprised to find a rich taste of apples and ordinary lettuce is delicious baked potato without sour cream Smetana: untold riches of Russian cuisine   and any seasoning, and so on - they are like rediscovering the world of tastes, and feel their unusually clear.

Finally, some healthy and have no dependencies people use fasting to rejuvenate and cleanse the body of toxins that accumulate in it, even with a healthy lifestyle.

How long it should last fasting

The course of fasting should be as short as possible. Healthy people are not recommended to refuse to eat for more than 3-4 days. Those who want to use fasting for the treatment of acute or chronic disease, you should consult with your doctor - he will determine the optimal duration of fasting for a particular patient. It is important to note that most of the diseases can not be cured only with the help of fasting - it is used only as an adjunct to other therapies.

Fasting and weight loss

Although during the fasting people usually lose a few extra kilos, experts on nutrition agree that fasting should not be used exclusively for weight loss. This method seems very attractive: a few days without food (albeit a rather painful) - the body will be considerably slimmer. However, that quickly goes away, it can also be quickly and return. Moreover, people who suffer from overweight or obesity, starvation can only make the problem worse. What is fasting and even just with a significant restriction of caloric intake metabolism starts to slow down - a widely known fact. As a result, the weight will be reduced (though maybe not as fast as you'd like), but as soon as you return to normal diet, the body begins to compensate for the lost weight quickly.

If you stick to a balanced diet, the weight will increase only slightly, but if after a course of fasting you do not hold back and allow yourself to high-calorie treats, your weight may soon exceed that what you had to starvation. Thus, you can starve to health, and sometimes necessary, but do it only for weight loss should not be; better to try to eat right and not less than four times a week in sports.

Fasting and cleansing of toxins

Until now, it has not been received sufficiently convincing evidence that fasting really cleanses the body of toxins. The fact that the body - healthy body, at least - he copes well with this task: to eliminate toxins, it does not need any fasting or enemas, no special preparations. However, many doctors believe that because of the dietary habits of modern man (in the diet of many of us do not have enough phytochemicals and antioxidants, but there are substances that do not enter the body of people a couple of centuries ago) in the cells can accumulate toxins that the body does not always can bring their own. Due to these toxins during the last decades are becoming more common diseases such as diabetes, atherosclerosis Atherosclerosis - when problems with blood vessels , and so on. Regular fasting can help a person get rid of these substances, so that the likelihood of developing certain diseases is reduced.

Contraindications and precautions

Fasting is contraindicated for pregnant women, patients with arrhythmia, kidney or liver failure, as well as those who are deficient in any nutrients. To avoid health problems, long-term fasting is recommended only under medical supervision.