Outstanding French documentary on fasting

While life expectancy is increasing in Western countries, cases of diabetes, hypertension, obesity and cancer are increasing, and the use of medication has exploded. Does this mean that in order to live to a ripe age we are condemned to swallow more and more drugs? What if there was another way? For half a century, in Russia, Germany and the U.S., doctors and biologists have been exploring a different therapeutic approach: fasting. The results are amazing. Soviet researchers have provided a body of clinical studies of exceptional wealth ...only published in Russian, and thus unknown in the West. Young biologists from the University of Los Angeles have overturned conventional wisdom and used molecular biology to demonstrate the powerful effects of fasting. These researches suggest a wide-ranging potential, which could include treatments for the disease of the century, cancer. If these scientists are right, maybe our approach to disease and treatment will need a rethink." - A film by Sylvie Gilman & Thierry Vincent de Lestrade - Director of Photography : Thierry Vincent de Lestrade - Chief editor : Guillaume Quignard - ARTE France & VIA DECOUVERTES PRODUCTION - www.viadecouvertes.fr

Surgery and pharmaceuticals are Western medicine's default solution for almost any ailment. But a therapeutic alternative, one that has existed for centuries, is gaining attention among researchers and physicians. This program examines the growing interest in fasting as a treatment for cancer, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, and other diseases. Journeying to the Goryaschinsk Spring sanatorium on the shores of Lake Baikal, in southern Siberia, the film shows how decades of secret clinical studies conducted by Soviet and post-Soviet doctors have led to new applications for fasting and caloric restriction - with astonishing results. Viewers also encounter dramatic case studies of liver damage reversal and arthritis mitigation at Germany's Buchinger Clinic, as well as the findings of an innovative gerontologist at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. Together, these stories suggest a paradigm shift in our understanding of healing and human physiology.

"The video is impressive, confirming what a lot of us who have fasted for decades knew long ago. The one word of caution for those either new to it or planning a long fast is don't go it alone. You need feedback from those who have been there before--I disagree with those who imply everyone can fast 3-4 weeks with no down side, I have seen the opposite. I'd start with 2-4 days and take several week breaks and gradually work up to two weeks or so."