FASTING STORY

Fasting in Medical History

At the end of the 19th century that became Fast No longer practiced by most churches and began to fade into oblivion. Doctors took action around 1880 Henry Tanner and Ed Hooker Dewey the subject of fasting again and revitalized it.

Tanner carried out a 42-day fast on himself under the supervision of other doctors, while Dewey demonstrated the therapeutic effect while observing numerous fasting cures. He was of the opinion that patients suffering from febrile infections should not be fed too much should be weakened further, and the body rather needs a fast to regain its strength. This thesis was rejected by most of the conventional medicine. Dewey was ridiculed by most and assumed that his findings lacked scientific justification. Nonetheless, therapeutic fasting was also increasingly able to establish itself among conventional doctors at this time.
A great advocate of Dewey was the German doctor Siegfried Möller. He saw the practice of fasting as an antidote to repentance and physical decline. Möller also wrote numerous books on the subject of fasting and practiced various fasting cures on himself during a serious illness.

At the turn of the century there was a separation between holistic fasting, which also treats physical aspects and diseases, but also those emotional and psychological component should not be disregarded from the conventional medical point of view. This was mainly characterized by numerous findings about hunger metabolism that had been researched in animal experiments. One attempted to fathom the fasting process exclusively scientifically and to weigh pros and cons. At this time of separation, both fronts hardened. Many years later the physicians and the naturopaths got closer again. In 1937 the internists showed Dr. Grote, who mainly used conventional medical practices, and Alfred Brauchles, who illustrated nutritional and physiological relationships that both movements can work together.
During the Third Reich, naturopathy and with it fasting reached a new high point. The reason was the absolute proponents of naturopathy in the regime, who particularly encouraged this type of medicine. The fasting inventor Buchinger became closely involved with the term through the invitation to publish various fasting books Therapeutic fasting and naturopathy connected. The regime wanted to ensure that fasting and naturopathy became widespread in Germany and applied across the board.

Fasting in today's medicine

Of the Scientist Bloom posed in years 1959 first attempts on obese patients who have undergone a prolonged fast. In very overweight patients a fasting period of 249 days was achieved. The success was very promising, the patients lost a large part of their body weight (Fasting Slimming). These experiments resulted in the “0 diet” that is still known today. The University of Ulm also made numerous experiments on the subject of fasting and examined physiological processes during fasting. Fasts were carried out on patients in the hospital at the time. Accompanying treatments, such as colon cleansing, psychological support, etc. were omitted. The main focus was on weight loss and, accordingly, that Lose weight. As quickly as the patients were able to reduce their body weight, they gained weight again at the end of the fast. Furthermore, numerous circulatory side effects to be established. The high costs of inpatient treatment soon led the hospital operators to consider switching to outpatient treatment. Further studies describing excessive protein breakdown during fasting diminished the fasting euphoria. Doctors strongly advised the administration of proteins during the fast, regardless of how long the cure lasted. Naturopaths countered that this Protein breakdown part of the concept of fasting and rather accelerating recovery. Again, hardened fronts arose between conventional medicine and naturopaths.
The industry recognized its opportunity and produced Nutritional supplements with protein-containing additives, which were increasingly offered in shops and found great sales. The Fast began to wander out of the focus of medicine and to find its way into pharmacies and supermarkets, where these preparations could increasingly be purchased. More and more people practiced fasting with these aids without medical supervision. In year 1978 60 overweight patients died who had undergone a fasting cure with protein substitution without medical attention. Fasting lost its all-healing reputation and was forgotten. Even today, opponents of fasting cite the incidents from 1978. It is true that the patients died not from fasting, but from incorrectly manufactured protein preparations.
Protein seems to be the main criticism of fasting in general. So describe Lent critic always too high a protein loss through fasting combined with the loss of protein-storing muscle fibers. One must not forget that humans and animals have successfully survived numerous unwanted fasting periods in their history. The Fasting advocates With this argument see the fear of protein loss as unfounded.
Today fasting is used in a slightly different way. It will natural productsthat do not exceed a total calorific value of 500 kcal are recommended for fasting patients. Furthermore, patients are advised to reduce food intake with physical exercise and physiotherapy, naturopathy, psychotherapy and a Diet training to combine. The "approval" of orthodox medicine meant that fasting is now mostly carried out again as it was in the old days. Fasting holidays, hiking tours and courses are offered under the motto "Fasting in the old day". Often there is a non-medical fasting leader who usually does not fast himself and is available to every fast participant for questions and observation.
It should not be overlooked that even today numerous institutions, some of them medical, do business with the Therapeutic fasting have found. So be from Tour operators commercial Fasting trips and Hiking vacations offered and actively used. In addition, there are not only numerous dietary supplements specially made for fasting lovers to buy in pharmacies and health food stores, but numerous resident doctors and clinics also offer inpatient ones Fasting treatment which, however, are not financed by the health insurance companies and therefore have to be borne by the patient himself. It is important to note that medical observation of fasting is good in principle, but that a fasting leave accompanied by an inpatient is often unnecessary. Before starting a fast, it is important to have a detailed physical medical examination examination to be carried out in order to exclude the possibility that the patients suffer from diseases in which they should not fast.
Furthermore, the patient should correctly assess his limits during a fast. So, as described, the feeling of hunger, the irritability, the dizziness and the fatigue normal at the beginning. However, if it comes to the strongest dizziness and circulatory problems, you should not hesitate to break off the fast. Very overweight people must also note the following: numerous toxins from everyday life are stored in adipose tissue. Fasting for a long time leads to a radical meltdown of the fat masses with an associated release of toxins. This Toxins can then in the body too Side effects lead and must be observed. If a fasting cure is carried out to lose weight in severely overweight patients, one should still, so today's medical professionals advise, one Minimum amount of calories take to curb the sometimes very strong release of toxins. In the case of certain diseases, it is medically indicated to refrain from eating. In the event of inflammation of the pancreas or various gastrointestinal infections, food should be avoided for a limited period of time. In this case one does not speak of fasting, but of one Food leave.