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Reducing diet

What is nestitherapy?
Nestitherapy is a unique approach to medical treatment having a broad range of beneficial effects and producing remarkable results. Nestitherapy has already proved its efficacy according to all criteria of evidence-based medicine and is successfully employed for treatment of various pathological conditions at defined stages of their development and progression. The regimen of treatment by nestitherapy includes not only fasting per se but also the prior accomodation period and subsequent recovery period, which require special diets. Throughout the whole treatment period, the patient must be monitored by the physician.

How long has this approach been practiced?
Therapeutic fasting has been known from extreme antiquity. It is mentioned in monographs and teachings of scholars in Egypt, India, China, Tibet, and Rome. Hippocrates have declared that if human body is not cleansed, the more it is fed, the more it is damaged. In the XX century, therapeutic fasting has spread widely because of the development of health care movement inclined to natural therapies. Over the recent years, the interest towards therapeutic treatment dramatically increased in Russia, and various publications about this treatment multiplied. Medical treatment regimen comprising nestitherapy have been put under scientific scrutiny in Russia, Germany, USA, France, Australia, and other countries.

Where nestitherapy is used in Russia and what results does it afford?
Starting from 1990-ies, nestitherapy has been widely used at different health-care facilities in the Buryat Republic. Over the recent years, this approach has been used to treat more than 3000 patients, of whom many readily used this treatment again and again. In May of 2001, the scientific and practical conference "Therapeutic Fasting in Internal Medicine: the Prospects for its Introduction in Health Care and Sanatorium-and Spa Treatment" has been held in Ulan-Ude.

For how much time should therapeutic fasting last?
The duration of therapeutic fasting is determined by physician for each individual patient depending on the pathology and individual features. Usually, therapeutic fasting lasts for 14 to 25 days, and the recovery period should be equal to the treatment period. Prophylactic nestitherapy is conducted by courses lasting from one day to three days.

What diseases are amenable to nestitherapy?
Nestitherapy is efficient in a number of conditions including:

  • obesity (alimentary-constitutional and hypothalamic),
  • hypertensive disease,
  • atherosclerosis,
  • osteochondrosis of the spine,
  • Bekhterev disease,
  • reactive polyarthritis,
  • rheumatoid arthritis,
  • gout,
  • arthrosis,
  • chronic enterocolitis,
  • chronic pancreatitis,
  • chronic cholecystitis,
  • chronic gastroduodenitis,
  • bronchial asthma,
  • eczema, psoriasis, and neurodermatosis, and
  • allergic diseases (alimentary and iatrogenic allergy, angioedema, urticaria, etc.).
  • Therapeutic fasting enhances:
  • пcomplete or partial recovery of sexual functions in men and
  • normalization of the menstrual cycle in women.
  • After a course of therapeutic fasting, the patient experiences invigoration and better emotional mobility and balance.

    How efficient is nestitherapy?
    The effect of the initial course of nestitherapy used to treat chronic diseases is stable for a period of 12 to 18 months. Due to nestitherapy, patients are enabled to significantly reduce their drug intake (by 1/3 or more) and, in 45% of cases, to cancel drug therapy.

    Are there contraindications against therapeutic fasting?
    There are some including the following:
  • cancer,
  • tuberculosis,
  • emaciation,
  • lactation and pregnancy,
  • early childhood, pubertal age and senescence,
  • acute infections,
  • acute conditions requiring surgery,
  • thyrotoxicosis,
  • diseases of the adrenal glands,
  • stage II and III diabetes mellitus,
  • blood diseases,
  • chronic hepatitis and liver cirrhosis,
  • systemic diseases of the connective tissue (systemic lupus etc.),
  • rheumatism,
  • glomerulonephritis and pyelonephritis,
  • cardiac arrhythmias,
  • circulatory insufficiency and stage IIb and III cardiopulmonary insufficiency, and
  • exacerbated gastroduodenal ulcer.


  • What dangers await patients who go in for fasting by themselves?
    First, such patient may not be aware about contraindication against therapeutic fasting. Second, such patient may inadequately assess his/her condition during fasting. Besides that, self-administered fasting and inadequate relief from it may lead to pathological changes in patient's feeding behavior or to metabolic disorders and emaciation prone with the lethal outcome.

    Where one should address in order to pass a course of nestitherapy?
    There are still only a few health-care facilities in Russia where this approach is available, however, LENMEDCENTER is one of such facilities. LENMEDCENTER Head, Prof. Elena Nikolayevna LAPTEVA, who is gastroenterologist and highest category dietitian, successfully uses therapeutic fasting and is one of leading authorities in this field. She is engaged not only in medical practice but, also, in research. That is why she has been asked to head the session dedicated to therapeutic fasting on the "Gastro-5 Baltic Forum" held in Saint-Petersburg in 2004.

    Клиника питания, голодания и нарушения пищевого поведения на Обводном канале в СПб | Поликлинический центр «ЛЕНМЕДЦЕНТР» профессора Лаптевой Контакты:
    Адрес: Наб. Обводного канала, 93-а, МДЦ «Нептун» Санкт-Петербург
    Телефон:+7 (812) 973-20-48, +7 (812) 243-24-00, +7 (951) 686-92-42