The Limited Times

Now you can see non-English news...

40 days of Lent: You should really pay attention to this when fasting

2020-02-18T09:30:29.356Z


Fasting takes place between Mardi Gras and Easter: an overview of what is important in Lent, where this custom comes from and more information about Lent.


Fasting takes place between Mardi Gras and Easter: an overview of what is important in Lent, where this custom comes from and more information about Lent.

For Christians, Lent begins on Ash Wednesday - 2020 is February 26th . Fasting takes place until Easter, which is celebrated this Sunday, April 12th . Lent lasts until Easter Saturday, this year until April 11th.

But even with people who have little to do with faith, fasting is difficult . In addition to weight loss, many also hope that fasting will bring happiness, a cleansing of body, mind and soul, sharpened senses, more energy or firmer skin. But can fasting meet these expectations? How does that actually work? Is there a guide for everyone? And what should you watch out for when fasting?

What is fasting and where does it come from?

Fasting is defined as a voluntary waiver of solid food and is limited to a certain period of time. Usually you fast for five to ten days , but sometimes for 14 days . Depending on the method, eating is completely or only partially avoided. Christian Lent lasts 40 days. In Islam there is the fasting month of Ramadan - it lasts 29 to 30 days. There are different forms of fasting and different reasons (see below). The word "fasting" comes from Germanic ( fastan ) and means something like " (hold) , observe, guard".

Fasting is NOT a diet and should not be confused with abstinence.

Fasting is as old as humanity itself

The Greek doctor Hippocrates, who lived 460 - 375 BC, is said to have promoted fasting. The following quote on this topic should come from him: "If you want to stay strong, healthy and young, be moderate, exercise your body, breathe clean air and heal your ache more by fasting than by medication ."

But long before Hippocrates people kept deliberately avoiding food. Fasting or Lent came into Christianity in the 2nd century. Initially, it only lasted two days (before Easter). In the 3rd century, Lent was then extended to Holy Week. By the beginning of the 5th century, the 40-day Lent had finally prevailed across the board.

Lent 2018: When do Christians, Jews, Muslims and Buddhists fast?

religion

What kind of fasting?

periods

backgrounds

Christianity

Once lots of rules and very strict fasting. With violation z. T. draconian punishments (in the Middle Ages). Today: For example, refraining from sweets, alcohol or similar, and on certain days also from meat; Recommendation: Only one full meal a day and two small fortifications.

From Ash Wednesday to Holy Saturday, i.e. the 40 days before Easter. Lent this year runs until March 31, 2018. (Easter is always the first Sunday after the spring full moon and is between March 21 and April 25);

For a long time in Christianity, Ash Wednesday and Friday (Jesus was crucified) served as a general day of fasting.

According to the Bible, Jesus went to the desert for 40 days and fasted there. Christianity fasts as penance and reflection. During Lent, Christians are asked to voluntarily give up food and to pray and give. It is about penance, reflection and repentance.

Islam

Refrain from eating, drinking (except water) and smoking between sunrise and sunset.

Fasting is mainly in Ramadan. This is the ninth month of the Islamic lunar year (and shifts every year). Otherwise, Muslims are required to fast every Monday and Thursday.

Fasting is one of the five pillars of Islam and accordingly an elementary part of religion.

Buddhism

Buddhist monks and nuns do not eat any food from 12 noon every day. But every believing Buddhist is also called to fast again and again.

There is no prescribed or recommended period of Lent as in Christianity or Islam in Buddhism.

Buddhists fast in order to become pure inside, to be able to meditate better and to find inner peace and enlightenment.

Judaism

For example, Jews are not allowed to eat, drink or smoke on Yom Kippur. Washing, sex and work are also prohibited. In addition to this important fasting day, there are five more general fasting days. Some of them are only fasted from sunrise to sunset.

Fast days on which eating and drinking for 24 to 25 hours is completely prohibited: Yom Kippur, Shiva Assar beTammus, Zom Gedalja, Assara beTevet and Tischa beAv.

Jews fast, for example, to atone for previously committed sins or to commemorate sad events. But it is also about "independence from earthly needs".

Hinduism

The restrictions on food consumption during fasting in Hinduism vary depending on the faith and the occasion.

There is no classic Lent in Hinduism either. But there are several days on which all Hindus fast; but also those on which you fast individually. Fasting also takes place on full moon days and new moon days.

Hinduism often fasts before a festival or ritual. Fasting is also practiced, for example, to ask the gods for the recovery of a loved one or the forgiveness of their own sins. Fasting should purify the mind.

Orthodox Church

Avoid meat, eggs and dairy products. In addition, on strict fast days, fish must not be eaten, no wine drunk, and no oil used. Fasting is inextricably linked to prayer.

Four major Lent times a year: 40 days before Easter, so-called "Apostle Lent" the week after Pentecost, "Koimesis Lent" in August and "Advent Lent" from mid-November to Christmas Eve. In addition, fasting should take place every Wednesday and Friday, as well as on January 5, August 29 and September 14.

Fasting is said to support spiritual life. It is supposed to calm the mind and body and strengthen prayer. The goal is to reflect on God.

Fasting correctly - but with which method?

Fasting - apart from religious regulations - can be done in very different ways. Sometimes no solid food is allowed at all, sometimes only dry rolls and milk, sometimes only juice or only fruits and vegetables. Fasting and base fasting are particularly popular. However, the goals are similar to religious fasting: in the broadest sense, it is about mental and physical cleansing as well as getting rid of ballast and reflecting on the essentials. In the following we go into the most important fasting methods:

Fasting according to Otto Buchinger

Otto Buchinger was a German doctor who lived from 1878 to 1966. In 1919 he tried a fasting cure to get rid of his rheumatism pain. His project was crowned with success. Buchinger then dealt with the subject in detail and opened its own fasting clinic in 1920. In 1935 he published his book "The Fasting and Its Aid Methods". Since then, Buchinger has been the founder of therapeutic fasting. His work is regularly reissued to this day. The doctor's approach was to cleanse the body of toxins and stimulate its self-healing powers. In this context, Buchinger introduced the term "detox". This expression is scientific and what is behind it is not proven. According to doctors, there is no deposition of metabolic products in a healthy human organism. If a person is healthy, they regularly eliminate waste products and toxins anyway. Fasting according to Buchinger is therefore often criticized by doctors.

Instructions: This is what counts for therapeutic fasting according to Buchinger

After one to three so-called relief days, only tea, water, juices and vegetable broth can be consumed. Around 500 calories are to be consumed per day. At the end there are two days of construction, the so-called " fasting break ". Fasting is supported by one or more bowel movements (e.g. with Glauber's salt or enemas).

  • On the relief days, you should only eat light food and no protein. Fruit, steamed vegetables and rice or potatoes are recommended. You should already drink a lot (about three liters a day). Alcohol and cigarettes are prohibited.
  • On the fasting days there is tea in the morning (preferably herbal tea), which can be sweetened with a little honey. At noon a vegetable broth or vegetable juice follows; in the evening fruit juice, vegetable juice, vegetable broth or tea. All liquids should be spooned and chewed slowly. Every second day of fasting (starting with the 1st), the bowel is emptied.
  • The build-up days (you always calculate one build-up day for every three days of fasting) that begin with the so-called "fasting break" should begin with a ripe apple (on the evening of the last day of fasting) and a vegetable soup (with contents / for lunch on the first build-up day). In addition, slow eating and conscious eating should be maintained as long as possible.
  • Ideally, therapeutic fasting according to Buchinger is supported with moderate exercise and a lot of relaxation. For example, light yoga exercises and walks are recommended.

Video: New trend of interval fasting

Fasting according to Franz Xaver Mayr (milk and bread cure)

Franz Xaver Mayr was an Austrian doctor who lived from 1875 to 1965. He devoted his research primarily to the human intestine and digestion. He developed a three-stage fasting cure to clean up the intestine.

It is based on the following principles : "Protection, cleaning and training". Mayr's thesis was that the key to health is healthy, efficient digestion. The foundation stone for this should be laid with his milk and bread cure for at least three weeks. Franz-Xaver-Mayr therapy is intended to prevent constipation and colon cancer, among other things.

For Franz Xaver Mayr, the how of the diet is much more important than the what. An important part of his cure is therefore the slow chewing of the food. This stimulates the flow of saliva, which is the first stage of digestion. In addition to eating, abdominal massages that are supposed to stimulate the intestine also play an important role in therapy.

Already about a week before the start of the FX Mayr cure, you should change your diet and avoid sweets, hard-to-digest food (raw foods), fatty foods, baked, fried or fried foods, as well as coffee and alcohol. When the fasting begins, the following things have to be considered:

Instructions: This is what Franz Xaver Mayr's therapeutic fasting is all about

  • At the start of the cure there are bowel movements (e.g. with Glauber's salt) and strict fasting with tea and water .
  • Afterwards, a dry bread roll with fresh milk can be eaten for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Each bite should be chewed 40 to 60 times before adding a spoonful of milk to it and then swallowing the porridge. Fasters should no longer consume solid food after 6 p.m.
  • In addition to the bread and milk diet, the fasting person should also consume two to three liters of still mineral water or herbal teas. Vegetable broth is also allowed.
  • An emptying of the bowels (e.g. with Glauber's salt) is recommended every day.
  • To prevent malnutrition, it is advised to take additional vitamins and minerals (so-called substitutes), for example as pills.
  • A gentle diet is then recommended, which further protects and relieves the stomach and intestines.

Therapeutic fasting with the Schroth cure

Johann Schroth was a carter and natural healer who lived from 1798 to 1856. Schroth got the idea for the cure, which was later named after him, while watching sick cattle. The animals refused to eat, hardly drank anything and moved little. He concluded that such behavior could also help a sick person - and tried it. His method was successful and Schroth quickly became a " miracle doctor ". He had previously experimented with wet wraps on his own body after a knee injury with a tip. This treatment was also successful and instead of focusing on one part of the body, he developed whole-body wraps .

Fasting with the Schroth cure is also based on these two principles. This lasts two to three weeks and consists of so-called drinking and drying days. The goal is to "detoxify" the body.

In principle, the Schroth cure consists of four pillars :

  • Diet / Nutrition
  • Schroth pack (whole body wrap)
  • Alternation of drinking and drying days
  • Mix of calm and movement

Instructions: This is what is important for therapeutic fasting with the Schroth cure

  • Since the whole-body wrap, which is an elementary part of the Schroth cure, can only be put on by trained people, the fasting people usually go to a special fasting clinic for three weeks.

  • The Schroth cure is designed for 21 days . A weekly schedule is repeated three times. For the past three days, the fasting are being brought back to a normal diet.

  • Before starting the Schroth cure, the intestine should be emptied with Glauber's salt or an enema .

  • The Schroth cure begins with a so-called dry day . On such a day, a maximum of half a liter of liquid should be drunk - and preferably not water, but white wine (preferably a light wine). This should be enjoyed in small sips over several hours. If you do not like wine, do not tolerate it or better not drink alcohol, you can of course also take water or tea as a substitute.

  • You can eat rice, oats or barley mucus . A dry roll is recommended for breakfast and dinner. Cooked vegetables and dried fruits are also allowed in moderation. It is important: The diet should be free of salt and fat and contain as little protein as possible. A total of 700 calories should not be exceeded.
  • The drying days are alternated with two "small" and "large" drinking days each week. (Example: Day 1 = dry day, Day 2 = small drinking day, Day 3 = dry day, Day 4 = large drinking day.) On drinking days you can eat vegetable soups with potatoes, carrots, peppers, cabbage, celery or leeks. In the evening, about a liter of wine (or alternatives, see above) should be drunk.
  • In the early morning (around 4:00 a.m.), the fasting person is put on a " Schroth pack " (whole body wrap ) six days a week (except on Sunday). It consists of a damp, cold sheet, three hot water bottles and dry woolen blankets, which in the best case are tied around the body with two cords. The fasting person should drink hot tea before putting on the shot. This combination promotes the formation of heat, has an analgesic and antispasmodic effect, as well as calming and balancing, is said to increase the body's defenses and stimulate excretion.
  • Dry days are used as rest days . It is time for relaxation techniques, massages and walks. Exercise is on the program on drinking days. Exercise should stimulate the metabolism and additionally promote fat loss.

Basenfasten

Base fasting is a mild form of fasting . You can continue to eat three to five small meals a day - but only with vegetables and ripe fruit. Anything that comes from plants is allowed. Animal foods, sweets, pasta, alcohol and caffeine are prohibited. Base fasting is designed for seven to 14 days. The idea behind this is as follows: There should be a balanced ratio of acids and bases in the body so that people feel healthy and productive and the metabolism can be effectively managed. So it's about inner balance.

The acid-base balance in the body is influenced by lifestyle. Anyone who drinks a lot of alcohol or coffee, eats a lot of sweets, a lot of fat and a lot of dairy products and also has stress, his body is most likely overacidified. The result is indigestion, fatigue, headache or blemished skin.

Instructions: This is what is important for base fasting

"There are three basic meals a day, where you can eat as much as you want," says Ute Merk, a medically certified fasting director from Lenggries (Bad Tölz / Wolfratshausen district). "Fruit, vegetables, nuts and Herbs processed. "A lot of liquid also helps to flush out the deposited slag in the body. Losing weight is not the focus of this type of fasting , according to Merk:" Rather, it is about detoxifying and counteracting acidity. "

What happens in the body when fasting

When fasting, the body first utilizes the sugar , which it stores as a short-term source of energy as glycogen in the liver. This is completely used up after 24 hours. Because the internal organs and the brain require energy, the body gets it from emergency reserves.

But that doesn't just mean the bacon rolls. The body also breaks down protein from muscles and organs. " All organs lose a bit of size when fasting ," says Prof. Hans Hauner, director of the Else Kröner-Fresenius Center for Nutritional Medicine, which belongs to the Technical University of Munich. This leads to a hormonal change in the body, which changes into the deficient mode. All organs lose some size when fasting, ”explains Prof. Hauner. For people who only fast for a week, the organs shrink only slightly . But if you fast and extremely fast, you even risk a dangerous breakdown of the heart muscle.

A body that switches to "emergency mode" when fasting uses less energy. Because: the digestion is free , the heart beats slower and the blood pressure drops. That is why fasters sometimes have circulatory problems. When the muscles shrink, the energy requirement also decreases. "By 20 to 25 percent," says Prof. Hauner.

+

Fasting is not the same as dieting.

© dpa

Only one organ does not save on fasting : the brain does not have to go hungry. This can be explained from our evolutionary heritage. We may have developed culturally. In terms of our physical development, we are still the hunters and gatherers from primeval times.

Hunger would make the mind lazy when hunting in the wild. Which causes the Chanchen to sink to loot. But here, too, a solution has emerged in the course of evolution: If no glucose is added, our brain switches to another fuel, so-called ketone bodies, which are produced when fatty acids are broken down in the liver. Incidentally, they also lead to the nasty bad breath that many fasting people know .

For the body, this change means above all: stress. "That is why fasting people often feel uncomfortable at the beginning, are nervous or even aggressive, " says Prof. Dieter Melchart, director of the Competence Center for Complementary Medicine and Naturopathy (KoKoNat) at the Klinikum rechts der Isar in Munich. But usually the feelings disappear quickly - at least, if you voluntarily refrain from eating. Forced abstinence, however, leads to permanent stress. It triggers a hormonal chain reaction in which a lot of cortisol is formed. The hormone keeps the stress level high because the hungry person should act before his strength wears off.

Those who voluntarily fast with a sense of proportion often find themselves in a good mood. The Göttingen neurobiologist Prof. Gerald Hüther studied where it comes from on rats. He found that when fasting, more of the mood enhancer serotonin is formed in the brain .

Who can fast and who should rather do without

"In principle, every healthy adult can fast," says Antje Gahl from the German Nutrition Society (DGE). Nevertheless, there are risk groups that should be careful when fasting. Fasting doctor Ute Merk, who has been medically certified, warns pregnant women about fasting in the base. "The flushed out toxins could pass to the fetus." People suffering from psychosis or depression should also refrain from fasting.

In general, the German Nutrition Society (DGE) warns: People with serious pre-existing conditions should not fast. Before anyone puts their body on a fasting cure, you should always talk to the doctor. Günther Gunzelmann from the Fasting and Nutrition Professional Association specifies: Fasting should not be done by pregnant women, nursing mothers, and children and adolescents under the age of 14. "Even those who have just had a serious infectious disease such as bronchitis should avoid fasting, " Gunzelmann recommends. Those who take medication regularly should ideally speak to their family doctor before fasting. This is especially true for those who suffer from high blood pressure, diabetes or certain heart diseases.

Fast right? You should avoid these mistakes

These two mistakes should be avoided when fasting :

  • Do not speak to the doctor before taking a fast for the first time .
  • To overdo it when fasting .

We have already discussed that medical clarification before fasting makes sense. But when do you overdo it with fasting? Prof. Dieter Melchart explains: After 40 days, even fasting professionals should be finished. When fasting you should always drink enough - up to three liters a day. In addition, the body should be supplied with important vitamins and minerals, such as fruit or rice days, vegetable broth and fruit juice.

Fasting doesn't have to be the hard way

If you want to do something good for yourself, you can try a fasting cure. The body is detoxified, recharged with new energy - and the pounds also drop. You don't have to do without food radically - you can eat very well, just consciously and correctly.

Endlessly durable: these foods never spoil

To the photo gallery

Source: merkur

All life articles on 2020-02-18

You may like

Trends 24h

Latest

© Communities 2019 - Privacy

The information on this site is from external sources that are not under our control.
The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.