Fasting is depriving oneself of food voluntarily. There is complete fasting (no food, no water), water (water is allowed) or modified (mono diet: eat only one food). Whether for spiritual, political or medical reasons, fasting, whether short or long, has been known and practiced since antiquity. Particularly developed in the USSR, Central Europe, Germany or Switzerland, it began to establish itself in France.
Why and how to fast?
Fasting, an ancestral metabolic adaptation: in the history of mankind, the consumption of food in the form of regular meals is recent. With the advent of industrialization, modern humans began to prolong their day after dark, and to eat more. So, as paradoxical as it may seem, the organism is better adapted to the fasting that it has known for millennia, than to the abundance...
Revitalize and / or accompany heavy pathologies: different modes of fasting are practicable, depending on... SOI. For healthy people, this ranges from digestive, sensory, mental and physical rest for 1 to 5 days to intermittent fasting 24 to 72 hours a week or month. In Germany or Switzerland, clinics organise fasting for special cases of people with diabetes, hypertension, cancer, inflammatory diseases, electro and chemosensitive people, etc. In Germany or in Switzerland, fasting clinics are organized.
To dispel the idea that fasting is dangerous: an adult of average weight could, in theory, stay alive between 70 and 80 days without eating. Only one condition, drink water. Without water, he cannot expect to live more than three days.
Short fasting, even repeated, is not dangerous:
- No action on the basic metabolism (i. e. minimal energy expenditure to breathe, make your heart beat etc.);
- Fasting does not affect physical strength either by "nibbling" muscle proteins or the heart. Endurance may eventually diminish (hence the interest in practicing a light sport during this period) but cognitive abilities may be diminished.
Long fasting, that is to say more than a week, and those practiced in the context of a heavy pathology, require medical supervision because they have marked side effects: bad breath, bad breath, bad odor sweating, hyperacidity attacks accompanied by headaches, circulatory disorders, nausea, cravings... and bad mood! However, after some time, the brain secretes endorphins, that is, natural morphine, which gives a highly appreciated euphoric effect.
Beware of fasting for more than 15 days, as the risk of muscle loss becomes very high. A "long" fast is only 6 to 14 days.
Breaking the fast: eating too much after a period of fasting can cause stomach cramps, colic. It is therefore necessary to eat little, slowly, using fresh and seasonal products, without sugar (except that of vegetables but not that of sweet fruits) and without gluten, without products of animal origin (milks, cheeses, meat). This transition phase lasts the time of fasting divided by three (6 days of fasting = 2 days of transition, for example).
How it works:
Under normal conditions, sugars are degraded in the cellular cytoplasm. The degradation products pass through the mitochondria to become, after a very complex circuit, energy stored in the form of small chemical "batteries", ATPs, which will move where the organism works. In case of fasting, metabolic adaptations are put in place to compensate for the absence of dietary sugars. The major challenge for our body is then to maintain a normal blood glucose level, for the production of energy. The steps are as follows:
- The body depletes its sugar reserves: glycogen (liver, muscles) becomes sugar (from 12 hours of fasting to 48 hours).
- The organic reserves are mobilized: proteins at the beginning (3rd to 5th day) as well as certain parts of the fat reserves (glycerol) to become sugar again.
- The rest of the lipids will evolve to give the elements corresponding to the third stage of energy creation in two ways: -either by producing elements that can be directly assimilated by the mitochondria, this small energy plant which, at the heart of the cell, is responsible for producing energy.
necessary for the functioning of the organism
Either at the liver level, producing other types of molecules called ketones. These are very small molecules, giving priority to organic tissues whose energy production is necessary for the survival of the organism. In particular, they can break through the hemato-brain barrier (at the same time as they cross the blood-brain barrier) and nourish the brain, but they also target the heart, renal cortex and skeletal muscles that use them as a secondary and highly efficient source of energy.
Role of Oxygen
A unique method of cellular oxygenation... natural
Regardless of the cellular fuel used after fasting (fatty acids or ketones), mitochondrial energy is produced only in the presence of oxygen. Putting oxygenation at the top level is therefore essential to revitalize the organism and achieve a successful fast. Another positive aspect of the Bol d' air® is the fight against acidification following fasting: an experiment conducted on a healthy volunteer, without and with Bol d' air Jacquier®, showed that the respiratory sessions allowed a better acidic flush, especially at night.
I recommend 3 sessions per day: in the morning when waking up, in the afternoon after hiking and before or after each treatment. The synergy between the benefits of fasting, the return to movement of the body through walking and care, and better oxygenation is undeniable. The effects are manifold: enthusiasm, quality sleep and a biological rhythm more in keeping with the seasons.