Professor Umberto Veronesi also says this in his latest book: one-day fasting keeps the doctor away.
Yes, fasting relieves our body of the trouble of digesting and disposing of thickeners, additives, preservatives, fries, lasagna, eggplant parmigiana and good company.
It should be done with caution, because it has healthy results and is not too tiring for our body. However, sometimes it goes very well.
Here is the fast: what do we need and how to do it?
Fasting: what is it for?
In the history of human evolution, for a long time (centuries) food was not available always and everywhere as (but not for all) it is today. This means that the human body is made to tolerate fasting moments and alternate them with moments of feeding.
Scientific studies have shown that those who (humans and other animals) regularly perform fasting moments live longer, are less likely to develop tumors and maintain their mental faculties better in old age. In fact, fasting triggers stress reactions in the body that are beneficial in the long run.
Here is what happens in our body when we do not eat: after 8 hours from the beginning of the fast, the body will have exhausted the glucose supplies (the essential fuel for life) introduced with the last meal, and will start to produce it using stocks of glycogen in the liver.
Continuing in fasting, the body uses, to produce glucose, the reserves of glycogen deposited in the muscles and subsequently (about 12 hours after the start of fasting) those of adipose tissue, "burning fat", to understand.
Burning fats is our mirage and this could make us think of fasting as a unique remedy for weight loss. But be careful : the chemical reactions in question also produce ketone bodies as metabolic waste, and these in large quantities are toxic to the body.
Continuing fasting "to the bitter end" (when fat reserves fall below 7% of body weight) the body begins to use proteins to obtain glucose: here ends the weight loss and begins the deterioration . Fasting longer than three weeks is not recommended.
A well-organized and prepared fasting leads to the elimination of recently taken toxins, to the reduction of inflammations, to the strengthening of the immune system (which is no longer forced to start working at every meal to verify the "non-belligerence" of the absorbed food particles ).
Furthermore, as we know, cancer cells need energy a lot: leaving them too fast can help slow down or prevent their development.
These detoxification and elimination of toxins can occur, during fasting, in various forms: headache, diarrhea, cutaneous manifestations, mild diffuse pains. Everything will have to disappear within 1-2 days.
Fasting and monodiets
Fasting: how to do it
Given the costs and benefits of fasting, here are some tips for those who want to approach them.
Do not fast for longer than 1-2 days without informing your doctor or otherwise giving your opinion. Do not fast if you are diabetic, if you are under 21 or if you have other diseases (just in case, ask your doctor).
Recommendations :
- Before starting the actual fasting, start treating the body with 2 days of fresh and preferably raw seasonal fruits and vegetables.
- Drink a lot during fasting, water (better if water with low fixed residue and with a pH between 6.4 and 6.9) or even centrifuged vegetables or vegetable broth, to favor the disposal of toxins and maintain the necessary hydration.
- If you feel excessive hunger during fasting, you can exceptionally consume one or two fresh fruits.
- Choose the right days for fasting, especially for the first time: avoid days of extreme stress or physically tiring work. Better to start in a weekend and see how it goes.
- Fast for no more than 1-2 days and start eating fresh raw vegetables and fruit for at least another two days, before resuming a diet that is as light and healthy as possible, so as not to immediately nullify the beneficial effects of fasting.
- You can repeat the fast, if well tolerated even once a month .
