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Anonymous
"Americans eat 51% of their diet from processed foods and foods low in phytochemicals and antioxidants," he says. "So you see a buildup of waste products in the cells -- AGE, advanced glycation end products -- that build up in cellular tissues and lead to atherosclerosis, aging, diabetes, nerve damage, and the deterioration of organs. This is basic science and physiology every doctor learns in medical school."
In his practice, Fuhrman tells WebMD, he has seen fasting -- combined with improving the diet before and afterward -- eliminate lupus, arthritis and chronic skin conditions like psoriasis and eczema. He says he has also seen fasting heal the digestive tracts of those with ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease, and lower blood pressure.
"Fasting followed by a vegetarian diet interferes with the immune system's activities, especially if the immune system is overreacting, as it does with ," and other auto-immune diseases, he says. He cites half a dozen studies published in medical journals ranging from the American Journal of Physiology - Endocrinology and Metabolism to the Scandinavian Journal of Rheumatology.
Studies published in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and The Journal of Nutrition in 2003 showed that mice forced to fast every other day, while eating twice the normal amount of food on non-fasting days, had better insulin control, neuronal resistance to injury, and other health indicators than mice fed calorie-restricted diets.
Fasting may yield psychological benefits as well.
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