User:Sharpd153/Intermittent fasting

Fasting is considered to be one of the oldest forms of therapy in medicine, practiced by many cultures and religions over centuries. Throughout primitive cultures a fast was viewed as a coming-of-age ceremony, one that was often required to be preformed before war. Often associated with an ability to maintain self control, fasting has maintained a role within all major religions.

Therapeutic intermittent fasts for the treatment of obesity were investigated since at least 1915, with a renewed interest in the medical community in the 1960s after Bloom and his colleagues published an "enthusiastic report". Intermittent fasts, or "short-term starvation periods", were ranging from 1 to 14 days in these early studies. This enthusiasm penetrated lay magazines, which prompted researchers and clinicians to caution about the use of intermittent fasts without medical monitoring. Europeans have used fasting as a form of treatment for years. Both treatment centers and spas helped individuals achieve a fasted state under medical supervision throughout Sweden, Germany, and Russia. Over the past years, fasting has gained traction and acceptance throughout the medical community in America. A cornerstone of fasting has become the idea that fasting allows for the body to effectively detoxify, further preventing disease.