It is an ancient practice associated with the detoxification of the mind and the body. Fasting is gaining an increasing number of supporters worldwide, especially for health reasons.

Therapeutic and intermittent are the two types of fasting most recommended by specialists in the treatment and prevention of various diseases. Abstaining from eating food for a certain period of time (12 hours, 14 or longer) cause the body to resort to accumulated fat and stored sugar as glycogen. Fasting will imply a system reset triggered by autophagy (self eating) and cell regeneration. Research on the mechanisms of autophagy is the reason for the award of the Nobel Prize for Medicine to Yoshinori Ohsumi, in 2016. It is a process of constant survival in the organism that, when deregulated, leads to the appearance of diseases.

Advocates of this practice claim that during fasting the organism would feed itself on everything that is in excess, automatically annihilating all the undesirable elements that contribute to the appearance of the most diverse diseases. Many invoke the need to use this method, just as you would do when shutting down a computer for system updates.

The first therapeutic fasting clinic appeared over 100 years ago. In these types of spaces, a team of specialists follows and monitors patients. However, many people have adopted intermittent fasting almost unconsciously in their daily lives. Having an early dinner and waiting until the following day for the next meal, for example, allows the body to take a break of between 12 and to 14 hours. But it´s important to remember that each case is different.