Fasting- Can It Be The Cure?

cavalry (51)in #fasting • 6 years ago (edited)

Fasting has been praised by religion and philosophers for thousands of years and today it actually has scientific backing. This long forgotten method has been studied for the past 60 years by Soviet Union and Germany biologists with some pretty amazing findings. Research has found that the stress of fasting activates your bodies regulator system that sets off a hormonal alert of adrenaline, nor-epinephrine, glucagon, and cortisol some of which can have an anti inflammatory effect. This decreases glycerol, cholesterol, triglycerides, and insulin in the blood which causes a person's breathing and heart rate to slow, sending the digestive system into a state of rest known as cytogenesis. This process has been known to fight off disease, illnesses, infection, and in some cases, mental illnesses. Scientists at the University of Southern California discovered a fasting method call FMD (fast-mimicking diet) that tricks the body into thinking a person is fasting. They found that this method not only reduced a person's body fat, but it lowered the production of the IGF-1 hormone which has been implicated in cell processes that leads to aging and disease.

The fasting process can be long and arduous, lasting between 18 to 21 days. Patients experience a range of symptoms, including nausea, weakness, fatigue, and headaches. These symptoms can last between 24 to 36 hours. The Garyachinsk Resort, located in Russia, has been spearheading this alternative approach in medicine for 40 years. Patients here receive treatments and are closely monitored during the fasting process. Treatment includes plenty of water, exercise, massages, and sauna treatments to detoxify the body. Patients treated here have reported improved mental sharpness as well as feeling (and looking) younger. Fasting has also been effective in resolving certain illnesses, with two-thirds of patients reporting a decrease in illness. In the last 15 years, fasting has become a central health policy covered by state health care in Russia.

Fasting can have a stimulate effect during the first week of treatment and a anti depressant effect after the first week of eating again. A calming effect can take place after the acidosis crisis, which occurs when the body produces too much acid while burning through its reserves. During a fast, the body exhausts its glucose supply, causing body's protein from the muscles to break down into glucose. Fat lipids are filtered through the liver and produce keytones which substitutes glucose for energy. Since the body needs glucose for brain function, these productions can produce mental clarity in patients who are fasting.

With all this evidence and research available, I wonder if these methods will ever be adopted in the United States. The primary reason I think it has not as of yet is the fact that big pharmaceutical companies cannot make money from fasting; there is no profit in self-healing. Perhaps in the near future, people in the western world will discover the benefits of fasting and take charge of their own health.