Why do people swell from hunger? Is it really possible to become swollen from hunger? Pros: cleansing the body

In old books, sometimes such an expression came across, it was incomprehensible, and was perceived as irony.
But this is not irony, but the real harsh reality.

Just 15 years ago you could find many similar pictures on Google. Now I found one with difficulty - they cleaned everything out.

An emaciated child with a large belly, let’s also pay attention to the feet, they also have swollen “pads”.

If anyone thinks “we don’t have hunger, this doesn’t concern us” - don’t rush, it still concerns us!

I'll try my best.
The protein albumin floats in our blood, It doesn't just float, it serves as a vehicle for many things: hormones, fatty acids, bilirubin, calcium, drugs... Maintains acid-base balance. But the most important thing is maintains osmotic pressure, which keeps the plasma inside the vessels and does not allow it to leak into the tissues.

Protein deficiency does not allow for enough albumin in the blood plasma to retain it in the vessels; fluid leaks into the abdominal cavity. Children's bellies are filled with fluid that needs to be in the bloodstream. As soon as children are given protein foods, the bellies disappear.

In order for it to float with us, we need to (1) eat protein, (2) digest/break it down into amino acids and absorb it, (3) then the liver makes our native protein albumin from amino acids.
These are the three conditions. The child in the photo, of course, does not fulfill the very first condition - to eat.

The second condition, digest and absorb, may not be fulfilled if the state of the digestive system is unsatisfactory - the stomach, intestines (this does not happen often, but it does happen, especially in old age).

But the third condition is violated quite often - with a “dead” liver, there is no one to make a sufficient amount of albumin - these are advanced alcoholics, diabetics, everyone whose liver is “planted” - cirrhosis, cancer, fatty degeneration of the liver (when you are told that the liver is enlarged).

Well, and especially often - pregnant women with late toxicosis - preeclampsia. But here we will add one more condition (4) not to throw away this protein in urine. That is why they check the presence of protein in the urine once a week in the last months of pregnancy.

The level of albumin in the blood determines the general state of health and shows how great the chances of survival are if you go to the emergency room or undergo surgery. Surgeons and emergency doctors always pay attention to this indicator.

Albumin decreases with age; this was considered normal. BUT!

A recent study found that increasing dietary protein INCREASES plasma albumin, even in the elderly (63-79 years).

How much should there be in plasma? - from 3.5 to 5.1 g/ dl. Grams, not milligrams.

A few words about th O kills the liver. Of course, alcohol, all sorts of harmful chemical things (for example, working in greenhouses or in a store that sells chemicals for swimming pools - I was always surprised how people work in such a chemical stench). In Soviet times, people in hazardous jobs were given milk.
From food - excess sugar, especially fructose. The fact is that fructose is almost undetectable in the blood; the liver filters it out and retains it, processes it as much as it can, and simply stores the rest. Both glucose and, especially, fructose have a bad property - they adhere to protein molecules in the blood and remove them from their working state (protein glycation). Diabetics know this; their blood is checked for A1c - hemoglobin damaged by glycation (adherent sugar).

Glycated hemoglobin, or glycohemoglobin (abbreviated as hemoglobin A1 c, HbA 1 c), — biochemical indicator blood, reflecting the average sugar content in blood over a long period (up to three months)...

Not only hemoglobins, but also any proteins are damaged by “sticky” sugar. That’s why the liver retains some of the sugars, takes the hit, and then converts them into fats. There is such an observation that as long as a person gains weight and accumulates fat, he does NOT have diabetes. But when obesity does not increase with the same diet, then diabetes sets in. The process of storing body fat protects against diabetes. A healthy body on a diet with excess carbohydrates MUST accumulate fat.

Polyunsaturated fats also affect the liver - omega 3 and omega 6. And also because there should not be a lot of them in the blood, they also damage a lot of things in the blood due to their unstable structure - they are easily subject to oxidation and themselves become dangerous to others molecules
And that is also why the liver retains them and in the end suffers from this itself.
Don’t poison your liver with all sorts of rubbish, especially the kind that they don’t tell you is rubbish!

Someday I’ll write about late toxicosis of pregnancy (preeclampsia), but for now here’s a short piece of advice:
Feed your pregnant wives fresh meat and fresh fish! Only animal foods contain ALL B vitamins, and only animal foods contain vitamin B12. Without it - preeclampsia, protein expelled in the urine, EDEMA, high blood pressure, threat to the life of both mother and baby.

When your legs swell, no one even thinks about the protein in the blood; none of the doctors will tell you this. You are allowed to think that this is the “heart”, or that it is just work “on the feet”.

Observation from life: one of my relatives died at 84 years old, over the last year or two or three she began to swell in her legs, the swelling rose gradually, reached her waist, then liquid from her legs even leaked onto the sheets. I couldn’t eat almost anything - I had some stomach problems, so I didn’t go to the hospital. In her case, the second condition was not met. There used to be such stubborn old women who didn’t believe in medicine. She said: “When the swelling rises to my heart, I will die.” May she rest in peace, she was a good old lady.

I knew one diabetic with liver cancer and swelling in his legs, and another drunkard with cirrhosis of the liver and also swelling. They both also had the same brain poisoning from all sorts of crap that the liver had not cleared from the blood.

During a simple blood test, albumin is always checked; if swelling appears in the legs, you need to pay attention to this indicator and take action.

There is a common expression among people: “ swell from hunger“. At first glance, it sounds absurd, because everyone knows that they lose weight from hunger, but gain weight from excess food and calories. However, the expression “swollen from hunger” has reason to be true. Let's consider the mechanisms hunger edema and swelling if you are malnourished, or nutritional dystrophy(from English alimentary - food and Greek trophos - nutrition).

Mechanism No. 1. Blood proteins and hunger edema

A little theory. There are about 100 different proteins in the blood, normally there are approximately 60-80 g in 1 liter of plasma(serum) blood. Proteins are separated into fractions using electrophoresis. Electrophoresis(from the Greek phoreo - to transfer) is the movement of dissolved charged particles in a medium under the influence of an external electric field. Electrophoresis isolates 5 blood protein fractions: 1 fraction of albumin and 4 fractions (α1, α2, β, γ) of globulins (these include lipoproteins, fibrinogen, various carrier proteins).

Blood protein fractions (after electrophoresis).

One of the main functions of blood plasma proteins is to retention of water in vessels. Due to their high molecular weight, proteins make a small (only 0.5%) but important contribution to the maintenance osmotic pressure blood plasma. The “protein” part of the osmotic pressure is called oncotic pressure(from Greek onkos - volume, mass). 80% of oncotic pressure is given by albumins due to their high content in blood plasma (35-55 g/l) and relatively low molecular weight.

With malnutrition, the concentration of albumin (and other proteins too) decreases, therefore, with the level of albumin less than 30 g/l water from the bloodstream enters the tissues, causing “hungry” swelling. According to the mechanism of formation, these edemas are also called protein-free. Fluid often leaks into the abdominal cavity ( ascites). At the same time, the volume of blood in the bloodstream decreases, which automatically forces the regulatory systems to increase the release aldosterone and antidiuretic hormone, which lead to the accumulation of water and sodium in the body. Another mechanism for the formation of edema during malnutrition is decline in kidney excretory function.

Swelling of the left leg.

For information. Other reasons for decreased albumin levels in the blood:

• malabsorption proteins in the gastrointestinal tract (removal of part of the stomach and intestines; enteritis - inflammation of the small intestine),
• decreased synthesis albumin in the liver (toxic damage, liver cirrhosis),
• increased losses squirrel:
• into the intestinal lumen with intestinal obstruction, peritonitis;
• on the burn surface with extensive burns;
• with urine with nephrotic syndrome (glomerulonephritis).

Mechanism No. 2. Large (swollen) belly

Malnourished people often experience bloating, which has several reasons:

• ascites(accumulation of fluid in the abdominal cavity), see above;
• exhaustion and intestinal smooth muscle weakness, due to which the movement of food and resulting gases slows down;
• enzyme deficiency(which are proteins) leads to poor digestion of food and, consequently, increased rotting.
• slow progress of food, poor digestion and increased decay contribute to active bacterial growth, which are normally up to 1 kg in the intestines (according to Wikipedia, up to 10 bacteria for each human cell). At the same time, the immune system is also weakened (antibodies are proteins) and weakly fights microbes.
• due to an acute lack of food they eat inedible things. As already discussed in the topic, an empty stomach is one of the reasons for the feeling of hunger. People eat “grass, tree roots, tree bark, sawdust, moss, white clay, straw,” which are poorly digestible, do not provide satiety and only clog the stomach and intestines.

Hungry children have swollen bellies.

However far away not all starving and malnourished people swell.

The very first winter of the siege showed that it was impossible to simply feed a dystrophic person - his body was often unable to absorb food, and almost all of his organs were modified. Blockade pathologists were convinced that a person who died from dystrophy still had Only two organs remain unchanged - the brain and kidneys. The remaining organs decreased in size, as if they were drying out - the body, not receiving food, began to eat itself (first - fat deposits, then - internal organs, even the heart could shrink by almost a third). Dystrophic women stopped having periods - the body sacrificed the reproductive function in order to somehow survive.

Some dystrophics dried up like splinters - it was called “ dry dystrophy", others, on the contrary, were pouring painful fullness- this meant that the body was unable to remove waste fluid. In addition, the siege survivors sometimes replaced the lack of food with water - a glass of boiling water was considered lunch for many. “Complete” degeneration, as a rule, died later than “dry”, but almost certainly, while “dry” could pull out with timely treatment. It’s hard to say who looked worse: the “dry” dystrophic had absolutely parchment-like dark skin that covered the living skeleton, while the “full” one, on the contrary, was deathly white, puffy, and if you pressed the skin with a finger, a depressed mark remained for a long time, often filling ichor.

Think about it. In 2008, according to WHO, every day the world is hungry and diseases directly related to it, died 24 thousand people(every 3.6 seconds for a person). For the year 8.8 million. It seems that fewer people died in World War II (he clarified: in 6 years, from 32 to 55 million were killed on all fronts). In besieged Lenigrad, from 0.5 to 1.5 million people died of hunger.

Malnutrition diseases in children

In children, malnutrition manifests itself as kwashiorkor And nutritional insanity.

KWASHIORKOR (infantile pellagra)- nutritional dystrophy in children due to lack of protein even with sufficient total caloric content of food (i.e., the food lacks protein in the first place).

Kwashiorkor.

The disease was first described in African children who, after breast milk, switched to low-protein carbohydrate foods that contained very few essential amino acids. Translated from the dialect of Ghana (a state in West Africa), “kwashiorkor” means “a disease that the older child gets when the younger one is about to be born.” Coming growth and mental retardation. Due to a decrease in the protective functions of intestinal cells, bacteria often enter the bloodstream, causing the liver and spleen to enlarge ( hepato- and splenomegaly), arises ascites. The skin has a characteristic rash and non-healing sores on the skin and mucous membranes.

Signs of kwashiorkor:
A- tendency to easy and painless hair loss;
B- swelling (after pressing, a dimple remains on the skin for a long time);
WITH- skin ulcers;
D- delayed wound healing.

A child with kwashiorkor may experience thinning hair, a puffy face, underweight, and stunted growth. Stomatitis [inflammation of the oral mucosa] indicates a lack of vitamin B
(photo and explanation from).

NUTRITIONAL INASM(from the Greek marasm?s - exhaustion, extinction) - nutritional dystrophy in children due to protein-energy deficiency with a predominance of energy deficiency (i.e. lack of both proteins and calories in general).

Nutritional insanity.

In contrast to the reaction to malnutrition, which is manifested by a general slowdown in growth, in a child with nutritional insanity, the metabolism is reoriented to consumption of energy resources of one's own tissues. With nutritional marasmus, general exhaustion quickly sets in: the subcutaneous fat layer almost completely disappears, muscles atrophy, the sick child gains the appearance of a withered, wrinkled old man. But in most cases the appetite is preserved, so with proper care the child can be brought out of this serious condition quite quickly.

There is a common expression among people: “ swell from hunger" At first glance, it sounds absurd, because everyone knows that they lose weight from hunger, but gain weight from excess food and calories. However, the expression “swollen from hunger” has reason to be true. Let's consider the mechanisms of hungry edema and swelling due to malnutrition, or nutritional dystrophy (from the English. alimentary- food and Greek trophos- nutrition).

Mechanism No. 1. Blood proteins and hunger edema

A little theory. There are about 100 different proteins in the blood, normally there are approximately 60-80 g in 1 liter of plasma(serum) blood. Proteins are separated into fractions using electrophoresis. Electrophoresis(from Greek foreo- transfer) is the movement of dissolved charged particles in a medium under the influence of an external electric field. On electrophoresis, 5 fractions of blood proteins are isolated: 1 fraction of albumin and 4 fractions (? 1, ? 2, ?, ?) of globulins (these include antibodies, lipoproteins, fibrinogen, various carrier proteins).

Blood protein fractions(after electrophoresis).

One of the main functions of blood plasma proteins is to retain water in the blood vessels. Due to their high molecular weight, proteins make a small (only 0.5%) but important contribution to the maintenance osmotic pressure blood plasma. The "protein" part of the osmotic pressure is called oncotic pressure(from Greek onkos- volume, mass). Albumin accounts for 80% of the oncotic pressure due to their high content in blood plasma (35-55 g/l) and relatively low molecular weight.

With malnutrition, the concentration of albumin (and other proteins too) decreases, therefore, when the level of albumin is less than 30 g/l, water from the bloodstream enters the tissues, causing “hunger” edema. According to the mechanism of formation, these edemas are also called protein-free. Fluid often leaks into the abdominal cavity ( ascites). At the same time, the volume of blood in the bloodstream decreases, which automatically forces the regulatory systems to increase the release aldosterone and antidiuretic hormone, which lead to the accumulation of water and sodium in the body. Another mechanism for the formation of edema during malnutrition is a decrease in the excretory function of the kidneys.

Swelling of the left leg

For information. Other reasons for decreased albumin levels in the blood:

• impaired absorption of proteins in the gastrointestinal tract (removal of part of the stomach and intestines; enteritis - inflammation of the small intestine),
• decreased albumin synthesis in the liver (toxic damage, liver cirrhosis),
• increased protein loss:
  1. into the intestinal lumen with intestinal obstruction, peritonitis;
  2. on the burn surface for extensive burns;
  3. with urine in nephrotic syndrome (glomerulonephritis).

Mechanism No. 2. Large (swollen) belly

Malnourished people often experience bloating, which has several reasons:

• ascites (fluid accumulation in the abdominal cavity), see above;
• depletion and weakness of the smooth muscles of the intestine, which causes the movement of food and gases to slow down;
• A lack of enzymes (which are proteins) leads to poor digestion of food and, consequently, increased rotting.
• slow progress of food, poor digestion and increased putrefaction contribute to the active proliferation of bacteria, which normally in the intestines is up to 1 kg (according to Wikipedia, up to 10 bacteria for each human cell). At the same time, the immune system is also weakened (antibodies are proteins) and weakly fights microbes.
• Due to the acute shortage of food, inedible things are used as food. As already discussed in the topic physiology of hunger, an empty stomach is one of the reasons for the feeling of hunger. People eat " grass, tree roots, tree bark, sawdust, moss, white clay, straw”, which are poorly digested, do not provide satiety and only clog the stomach and intestines.

Bloated bellies in hungry children

However, not all starving and malnourished people swell.

The very first winter of the siege showed that it was impossible to simply feed a dystrophic person - his body was often unable to absorb food, and almost all of his organs were modified. Blockade pathologists were convinced that a person who died from dystrophy still had Only two organs remain unchanged - the brain and kidneys. The remaining organs decreased in size, as if they were drying out - the body, not receiving food, began to eat itself (first - fat deposits, then - internal organs, even the heart could shrink by almost a third). Dystrophic women stopped having periods - the body sacrificed the reproductive function in order to somehow survive.

Some dystrophics dried up like splinters - it was called “ dry dystrophy", others, on the contrary, were pouring painful fullness- this meant that the body was unable to remove waste fluid. In addition, the siege survivors sometimes replaced the lack of food with water - a glass of boiling water was considered lunch for many. “Complete” degeneration, as a rule, died later than “dry”, but almost certainly, while “dry” could pull out with timely treatment. It’s hard to say who looked worse: the “dry” dystrophic had absolutely parchment-like dark skin that covered the living skeleton, while the “full” one, on the contrary, was deathly white, puffy, and if you pressed the skin with a finger, a depressed mark remained for a long time, often filling ichor.

From the article “Hunger was overcome by the power of spirit”,
http://medvedev-da.ru/forum.php/index.php?PAGE_NAME=message&FID=10&TID=2670&PAGEN_1=2

Think about it. In 2008, according to WHO, every day in the world, people died from hunger and diseases directly related to it. 24 thousand people(every 3.6 seconds for a person). 8.8 million per year. It seems that less died in World War II (he clarified: in 6 years, from 32 to 55 million were killed on all fronts). In besieged Lenigrad, from 0.5 to 1.5 million people died of hunger.

Malnutrition diseases in children

In children, malnutrition manifests itself as and.

KVASHIORKOR (children's pellagra) - nutritional dystrophy in children due to lack of protein, even with sufficient total caloric content of food (the food lacks protein in the first place).

Kwashiorkor

The disease was first described in African children who, after breast milk, switched to low-protein carbohydrate foods that contained very few essential amino acids. Translated from the dialect in Ghana (a state in West Africa), “kwashiorkor” means “ a disease that an older child gets when the younger one is due to be born" Growth and mental development are delayed. Due to a decrease in the protective functions of intestinal cells, bacteria often enter the bloodstream, causing the liver and spleen to enlarge ( hepato- and splenomegaly), arises ascites. There is a characteristic rash on the skin and non-healing ulcers appear on the skin and mucous membranes.

Signs of kwashiorkor:
A - tendency to mild and painless hair loss;
B - swelling (after pressing, a dimple remains on the skin for a long time);
C - skin ulcers;
D - delayed wound healing.

A child suffering from kwashiorkor has thinning hair, facial puffiness, weight loss and stunting. Stomatitis [inflammation of the oral mucosa] indicates a lack of vitamin B
(photo and explanation from Wikipedia).

NUTRITIONAL INASM(from Greek marasms- exhaustion, extinction) - nutritional dystrophy in children due to protein-energy deficiency with a predominance of energy deficiency (i.e., there is a lack of both proteins and calories in general).

Nutritional insanity

In contrast to the reaction to malnutrition, which is manifested by a general slowdown in growth, in a child with nutritional insanity, the metabolism is reoriented to the consumption of energy resources of its own tissues. With nutritional marasmus, general exhaustion quickly sets in: the subcutaneous fat layer almost completely disappears, muscles atrophy, the sick child gains the appearance of a withered, wrinkled old man. But in most cases the appetite is preserved, so with proper care the child can be brought out of this serious condition quite quickly.

The article turned out to be sad, but, I hope, useful. Write in the comments other well-known but little-understood folk expressions. We'll figure out. The next candidate for analysis is the saying “ then diarrhea, then scrofula».

Update dated December 26, 2013

Recently I found more precise definitions of kwashiorkor and nutritional insanity.

Kwashiorkor- protein deficiency with deficiency of visceral proteins (blood proteins and internal organs). Only proteins are missing, while fat reserves are preserved. In this case, body weight is normal or slightly increased, muscles are preserved, but the level of proteins in the blood is reduced (hypoalbuminemia).

Nutritional insanity- protein-energy deficiency with a deficiency of somatic proteins (skeletal muscle proteins) and fat reserves in the body. There is not enough protein and total caloric content of food. Body weight is reduced, there are practically no fat reserves, muscle size is smaller than normal, but the level of proteins in the blood is normal (normoalbuminemia).

In practice, an intermediate state between marasmus and kwashiorkor is more common.

Recently, it has been widely believed that fasting for one day once a week can help cleanse the body and even reduce the body. It is believed that such abstinence from food can help treat diseases such as heart disease, high blood pressure, asthma, arthritis and other autoimmune problems and also get rid of excess weight. Is it really?

Although this practice has been around for many years, and some doctors advocate one-day fasting, the benefits and harms of such restrictions are controversial. What is causing the controversy?

Pros: cleansing the body

Proponents of this system argue that many toxic substances accumulate in the body over many years, but the body has little opportunity to focus on cleaning them out. Refusing food one day a week promotes this process: the absence of food allows the internal organs to use their limited energy to remove accumulated waste. This is explained by the fact that usually the body’s functionality is only sufficient to process incoming food, and in its absence, opportunities arise to perform other functions.

"Rejuvenation"

A one-day fast, the benefit of which is to cleanse the internal organs, can also rejuvenate. It is believed that you can "change" your biological age by removing toxins from your body. During a one-day fast, previously accumulated chemicals, nitrates and pharmaceuticals that are consumed regularly will be actively removed. These toxins interfere with mental and physical performance, make you look older, and cause harm to your body.

One-day fasting: rules and consequences

A healthy lifestyle should start with daily exercise, proper nutrition and weekly one-day fasting. This cleansing of the body will give you a lot of energy and vigor and, as already mentioned, even slightly rejuvenate you. Proponents of this system claim that your skin will look better, you will lose excess weight, think more clearly and live longer.

A person begins to especially appreciate food when he abstains from it for some time. When one-day fasting is practiced, a feeling of hunger sets in, and the assessment of food consumed is seriously changed. The stomach, as well as our consciousness, is programmed from an early age to eat three times a day, regardless of whether enough calories are burned or whether there is true hunger or not. One-day fasting allows you to learn to distinguish the true need for food from a programmed habit. If you practice this “diet” weekly, the stomach will shrink to its natural size, and further overeating will become difficult.

The importance of drinking water

The previously mentioned toxins and inorganic (insoluble) minerals that enter the body with the liquid and food consumed enter the bloodstream and spread to all organs. Therefore, during a one-day fast, it is important to drink only purified distilled water. It does not contain inorganic minerals or chemicals, unlike drinking tap water or even purified with special filters.

When drinking undistilled or unpurified water, the body begins to accumulate inert inorganic substances that it cannot absorb. Hard, calcified compounds begin to replace synovial fluid in the joints, which can cause discomfort and pain when moving.

Psychological theory

Another theory in favor of one-day fasting is explained by a psychological factor. All the diets used today are generally not very effective because people tend to focus on the value of consuming whole foods instead of focusing on healing and cleansing the body. Reconsidering some values ​​can have much more positive results as the body can begin to heal itself. The meaning of the whole concept can be expressed in one short phrase: “Less is more.” When a person feels unwell, he goes to the doctor, listens to negative information and then takes medications that contain toxins. If you tune yourself into a positive mood and imagine in detail the mechanism of self-purification, it can lead to good results. The one-day treatment, which is reported positively by supporters of alternative medicine, is often also called a system for curing various diseases.

Proponents of fasting also claim that the practice of fasting days can effectively eliminate serious health problems - from arthritis and colitis to heart disease and depression. Some practitioners of alternative medicine report that improving your diet, coupled with fasting one day a week, helps reduce the symptoms of lupus, arthritis, and chronic skin conditions (psoriasis and eczema). There is also an opinion that such a nutritional system helps improve the condition of people suffering from ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease.

However, all of the above arguments are given by supporters of alternative medicine, to which the attitude is ambiguous. In any case, everyone must decide for themselves which methods of healing seem acceptable to them.

If you decide to do a one-day water fast

The rules will be quite simple, but must be followed. Don't overeat the day before your fasting day. On the contrary, reduce your diet and lighten it. Eat lighter, cleaner foods (preferably organic): fruits, vegetables, nuts, nut butters and sprouted grains. If you love meat, try to limit your consumption in the previous days and eat it in the first half of the day. After lunch, foods that are easily digestible are recommended. For example, leafy greens, vegetables, fruits and nuts. Drink plenty of water (preferably distilled or purified) and avoid alcohol or caffeinated drinks.

The essence of a one-day fast is to not eat for 24 hours since your last meal, while drinking plenty of water.

Arguments against: possible health risks

However, most medical experts agree on one thing: giving up food is not a healthy tool for weight loss and cleansing the body. One-day fasting, the benefits and harms of which have been studied for many years, slows down metabolism. This means that later, eating even less food will promote fat storage.

One-day fasting also carries other health risks. Not eating during the day is rarely a problem if the person is healthy. However, this can be very dangerous if the daily diet is not healthy and balanced, or if there are problems with the liver or kidneys. In addition, fasting can cause some disturbances in the functioning of the immune system.

Psychological problem

In addition, a weekly refusal of food for a day distracts people from real actions aimed at cleansing the body and fighting excess weight. A person stops thinking about the fact that on an ongoing basis it is necessary to consume less fat, increasing the amount of fruits and vegetables in the diet, drinking clean water and limiting oneself in coffee and sweet drinks, desserts, and so on. The belief that a one-day fast will cleanse the body and get rid of problems is false and is not conducive to the formation of healthy habits. First of all, you need to reconsider your regular diet, and also start walking 30 minutes a day and sleeping more.

Undesirable accompanying methods that one-day fasting entails

Harm can also be caused by other methods, which are often combined with cleansing fasting. These procedures carry their own risks.

Refusal of food is sometimes accompanied by enemas to cleanse the gastrointestinal tract, and this can be very dangerous, doctors say. There are many beneficial bacteria in the intestines. When a person changes this balance, dysbiosis can begin to develop.

According to medical researchers, there is no scientific evidence that fasting will occur. This scheme has no biological basis, because the internal organs perform the necessary functions on their own. Thus, the liver is a natural detox center, the lungs, large intestine, kidneys, lymph nodes and skin also have certain functions that help get rid of toxins.

Medical indications

However, there are also medical indications for one-day fasting. For example, refusal to eat is necessary for 24 hours before surgery.

Fasting is also required to get accurate results on some medical tests. Thus, a short-term refusal to eat is indicated before taking tests for cholesterol and blood sugar levels.

Final conclusions

Thus, fasting is not recommended for everyone. Absolutely healthy people, as well as patients who cannot be helped by official medicine, can practice four fasting days a month - weekly. However, this can only contribute to improving well-being if such fasting days are combined with good nutrition before and after it. It goes without saying that exiting a one-day fast should also be smooth and careful.

In addition, there are groups of people for whom it is extremely undesirable to follow such therapeutic diets. These include:

• Pregnant women.
• Suffering from anorexia or experiencing regular malnutrition.
• Having manifestations of cardiac arrhythmias.
• Patients with liver or kidney failure.

In contact with

Classmates

You don't eat anything, but fat is stored? The mechanism of fat accumulation during fasting and long breaks between meals can be explained quite simply.

After eating, a glycogen depot is formed in the liver, which ensures the maintenance of a constant level of sugar in the blood for 4-6 hours; when the depot is depleted, and the body constantly needs sugar, in response to deficiency, a fat depot is created in the abdomen and sides, this is a reserve "for a rainy day". During fasting, the body also stores fat in this area; in addition, muscle tissue is destroyed, and basal metabolism decreases (the number of calories that the body will spend during the day on the life support of all cells of the body without adjusting for physical activity).

Calculation of the basal metabolic rate

MT - Body Mass

For example, calculating the basal metabolic rate for a 25-year-old woman weighing 70 kg:

14.7*70+496= 1525 cal/day

Another formula for calculating basal metabolism is called the Harris-Benedict formula and is described in our article “Sports, nutrition and weight loss.”

Depending on your level of physical activity, in order to understand how many calories per day you need, the basal metabolic rate must be multiplied by:

• 1.2 - completely sedentary work, car
• 1.4- more than 7 hours sitting, no car, 2 workouts per week
• 1.6- 3 workouts per week
• 1.8- 5 workouts per week
• 2.0 - miner, athlete.

Let's assume the physical activity ratio is 1.4. Therefore, the woman from our example needs 2135 calories per day.

Why does basal metabolism decrease during headaches? Why does the body end up gaining another 2-3 kg after such a diet?

Let’s say the body needs 2000 calories per day. You decide to lose weight and instead of eating 2000 calories, you eat only 1000 calories. This is stress for the body, it doesn’t understand that you want to lose weight, it “divides 1000 by sex” into 500 lives, and saves 500 feces in case they stop feeding you completely. Does your body need 2000 calories, but only receives 500? The body compensates for the calorie deficit by destroying (actually eating) its own cells, primarily muscles.

As a result, after a month of fasting, the ratio between fat and active cells changes: there is more fat, because half of what is eaten is stored in reserve, and active cells remain only in the amount that can feed 500 calories.

The excess weight was lost “at any cost”, the volume remained practically unchanged, but the muscles and strength decreased, and even the brain began to think worse. The diet doesn’t work, we get upset, we start eating the old 2000 cal/day, and the body thinks that it’s “lucky” and takes advantage of this moment to create more reserves. Now this is already 1000 calories, which means that you are guaranteed to gain another 2-3 kg. If we stubbornly continue to starve, we will begin to recover from bread and water, because... the basal metabolic rate will be critically reduced.

conclusions

When you want to lose weight, eat at least the amount of your basal metabolic rate; the calorie deficit per day, adjusted for physical activity, should not exceed 500 kcal. It is recommended to lose weight gradually - lose no more than 2 kg per month, no more than 500 grams per week. This rhythm is most optimal and allows you to achieve sustainable results.