During dry fasting old body water is replaced by live body water of higher quality that is synthesized by the body itself, and all negative information that entered our body is deleted. This is one of the major healing mechanisms of dry fasting.
Interviewed by Aleksandar Gerc (magazine “Letters to the doctor”)
…..the editorial office of Svjetlost magazine received a letter from Victoria Boutenko, author of the bestselling books “Green for life” and “The 12 Steps to Raw Food.” Victoria had just returned from Ukraine, where she underwent, under the expert guidance of Anna Yakuba, a course of dry fasting, or living for five days without food and water. “It was the greatest transformational experience of my life,” wrote the famous writer. We immediately got in touch with Anna; expert in naturopathy, with whose permission and recommendation we publish the interview that follows. It was first published in the Ukrainian magazine “Letters to the doctor.” The interview clearly shows why Victoria Boutenko was so thrilled with the technique of dry fasting. Why would people in their right mind and free will undergo fasting that includes no food or water and furthermore say they feel absolutely great in doing so? What does one get with dry fasting? Can anyone do it? Is it dangerous to dry fast on your own? In her interview for the magazine “Letters to the doctor” Anna Yakuba answers these questions. She leads the School for dry fasting and raw food in Ukraine, which has been attended by more than 400 people, she is also the author of the book ”School of healing through dry fasting and raw food”.
Anna, how did you come to dry fasting and with what purpose do you teach others?
I have been practicing naturopathy for more than 20 years. I have tried everything from combined diet to raw food diet, from detoxifying according to Malahov and Semenov to practicing dry fasting. In 1992 I attended School of Nadežda Semenov and after completion worked in the Ukrainian branch of her school. The dry fasting method I learned from L.A. Šenikov, and I learned about raw food from Viktoria Boutenko, Pavel Sebastjanovič, Sergej Dobrozdravina and other naturopaths. I also learned the old Slavic abdomen massage method from N.S. Nasikovski, the method of “healing impulse” from Goltis and a number of other methods. Now I myself teach about dry fasting and raw food according to my own patented method in order to help the ones in need to relieve suffering and keep their body in great shape without the use of drugs.
Why is there a need for dry fasting when there are already well known methods of fasting on water?
Dry fasting implies complete exclusion of food or water intake, not only drinking water but also use of enemas or showers or any other means of watering the body. The advantage of dry fasting is that the body is put into more difficult conditions and must actively dissolve its own fat tissue and destroy pathogens. This process increases strain to the body particularly the psyche; therefore unsupervised dry fasting at home longer than 2-3 days is especially dangerous. However short periods of dry fasting do not lead to our organism feeding of itself so many people use this method at the beginning of their regular water fast. Those who have tried this method know that dry fasting can be easier than fasting on water because of the absence of hunger. In addition water can sometimes be harmful.
In what way?
In nature there is heavy water in which hydrogen is replaced by deuterium. It was only recently shown that heavy water could be found in the human body. Water enriched in deuterium is also called dead water. It comes out of our organism more difficultly and therefore slowly poisons it. According to some scientists this happens because of the so-called information poisoning of water. Furthermore, scientists have proven that in the human body, long before any symptoms of illness appear, local water zones are created with irregular structure– we call these zones pathological zones. It is a kind of wasteland within our body where parasites rapidly reproduce. Also one has to bear in mind that in our body there is no ordinary water. Water in our bodies is structured, and our drinking water is usually chlorinated or boiled, or we drink beverages filled with all sorts of chemicals. Thus this drinking water has to be processed and that uses a lot of our energy, which causes overload to our organism, which in turn leads to pathological processes within our bodies.
However, our bodies cannot survive without water!
That is true, but in dry fasting our body uses up the surplus of body fat from which it synthesizes water – using oxygen from air. During dry fasting old, dead water is replaced by new, live water that is of higher quality and is also synthesized by our body, and all negative input that entered our body externally are wiped out. This is one of the most healing mechanisms of dry fasting. Other healing mechanisms are anti-inflammatory and immuno-stimulating. Without water there are no inflammations since microorganisms, viruses and parasites thrive in moist environments. Healthy and strong body cells searching for water use up the water from pathogen microorganisms. They also use up water through skin from air unlike unhealthy cells, viruses and bacteria that cannot do that. That is why it is recommended to dry fast in nature, preferably in mountainous regions near mountain rivers or waterfalls.
When there is no sufficient fat in our body, during dry fasting proteins in our body begin do dissolve…
Amino acids from proteins are primarily used by the brain and cardiovascular system. Thereby releasing huge amounts of hormones and glucocorticoids, which begin to circulate in the blood. This has a strong anti-inflammatory effect because it inhibits all inflammatory foci. Also when proteins are dissolved body temperature rises and it feels like an internal “fire”. This represents an important part of protective body reaction. When the temperature rises metabolic processes accelerate and toxins that cause disease are destroyed faster. Activity of protective immune cells rises, as does the production of interferon, and all that helps fight diseases. The blood is cleaned of all unnecessary substances. It even normalizes blood coagulation, although it would appear that lack of water would lead to it’s clotting.
Can anyone dry fast? What are the counter indications?
First of all, this healing method can be approached only voluntarily, with set goals and belief in ones own body. This requires adequate emotional and psychological preparation. Furthermore, in order to avoid negative effects, long dry fasting (7-9-11 days) and termination of fasting should be done under supervision of experts and in compliance to all individual recommendations and schedules. Counter indications are mental illness and brain traumas, cancer, tuberculosis, serious cardiovascular diseases, purulent inflammations, kidney and liver diseases, pathology of the endocrine system, weakness and low body weight, thrombophlebitis and thrombosis. In addition pregnancy and lactation and psychological unwillingness to dry fast.
Could you describe the dry fasting process?
The process begins with a period of preparation, which includes 15-30 days of raw food diet, psychological preparation, cleaning the body of parasites and other cleansing methods. Following is the fasting process that has certain phases.
1. Phase is food stimulus; it lasts 1-2 days (in the “wet” fasting method lasts 2-3 days). In this phase the look and smell of food, the sound of crockery all cause excessive salivation, stomach churning and pain below the breastbone. Sleep is disrupted, there is increased irritability and mood swings. Thirst is bearable.
2. Phase is increased acidosis, it lasts 2-4 days. During this time the body uses up reserves and intermediate tissue. This leads to the accumulation of degradation products in the body and to acidification of inner body – acidosis. This is the most important physiological mechanism that includes a number of other healing mechanisms, including the process of tissue degradation – autolysis. This cleanses the body of waste, weak and pathologically altered tissue. Here the principle of priority takes place: everything superfluous is degraded first, and then comes healthy tissue in order of importance to vital functions of the body.
What does the fasting person feel?
As soon as glycogen reserves are used up in the liver (usually during the first day of fasting) the blood begins to accumulate acidic products of the incomplete degradation of fat (fatty acids, acetone). The person might experience headaches, nausea, weakness, and malaise. On the tongue white deposits are formed, the tongue and lips are dry, mucus forms on the teeth; there is an acetone smell in the mouth, dryness and paleness of skin and thirst. This uncomfortable feeling is the result of harmful products accumulated in the blood. The highest acidification of organism occurs during acidotic crisis and in that period chronic diseases can exacerbate. If exacerbation is clearly visible, a complete cure can be expected. If exacerbation is less pronounced that means the fasting is dealing with other, more important issues in the organism. The remaining diseases will be resolved in the next fasting process. But, as long as the person who is dry fasting does not go through acidotic crisis one cannot expect the healing process to begin or increase in the body’s immune system.
What happens after that?
The third phase is called compensation or adaptation. It usually begins on the fifth day of dry fasting and ends on the eighth day. Person starts feeling better, the weakness diminish, the feeling of hunger completely diminishes, but thirst increases. This phase ends with the second acidotic crisis that takes place between days 8 and 11 of dry fasting. For the healing process to be completed one has to endure this second crisis, as it activates and increases all protective forces within one’s organism. This in turn enables curing of all “incurable” diseases. This is followed by a period of recovery that lasts three times longer than the dry fasting period.
Should one practice one day of dry fasting?
Regular one day (36 hours) dry fasting a week and three day dry fasting a month strengthens the body’s ability to self heal because it has positive effects on a persons physiology, psyche, emotions, intellect and spirituality. Here are some advices. Supply yourself with clean filtered water, fresh fruits and vegetables including lemon. One day before and one day after dry fasting eat only raw vegetables and fruits (bananas and grapes are not desirable). The fasting begins from the moment of your last water intake. For example, if you choose Friday for your one-day fasting then your last water intake is Thursday evening, and the next water intake is Saturday morning. The fasting should be incorporated in your daily activities. The day after fasting you should get up as usual, clean your tongue of deposits and slowly drink a glass of clean water with lemon juice. Then take a warm shower to relax and feel comfortable. For breakfast it’s best to drink a glass of freshly squeezed fruit juice and eat a fresh apple or pear. You should drink and eat slowly, and chew slowly and carefully. Then continue your day as usual. It will surely be a good day!
Taken and translated from the magazine “Svjetlost” (“Light”), no.134, March/April 2014.