Abstract of a Thesis of a Candidate’s Degree in Medical Sciences

The 11-page abstract gives a brief description of the study by Igor Khoroshilov Clinical and hygienic aspects of absolute (dry) fasting (1994). His work was commissioned by one of the military departments, which was interested in the problem of human survival in the absence of food and drink. Igor Khoroshilov studied the condition of a group of volunteers who conducted a 3-day dry fast in a pressure chamber, which served to create a controlled external environment. Before and after fasting, the members of the group evaluated the state of the cardiovascular, digestive, urinary systems, investigated the state of protein, carbohydrate, lipid and water-mineral metabolism, studied changes in the neurohumoral regulation of the body. Based on the data, the researchers concluded that none of the bodily systems suffer from a 3-day dry fast.

Dr. Khoroshilov was not satisfied with the conclusion that dry fasting was harmless; he was interested in whether it was beneficial. He obtained an affirmative answer to this question in the course of the same work conducted in a clinical setting, where he subjected patients already undergoing a water fasting course to a short dry fast (1-3 days). The conclusion of his dissertation contains a list of diseases for which the author recommends combined (dry and then water) fasting.

Now one can often hear that one day of dry fasting is as effective as three days of water fasting, but no one cites the primary source of this information. We are pleased to report that the first to make this statement was Dr. Khoroshilov in 1994.

File pdf, 11 pages.