Unique article: “Let’s Live to 300!”
An anti-stress remedy for fasting
Suren Arakelyan had a difficult wartime childhood among the mountains of Armenia. A large family: eight children. There was no father. To somehow get by, his mother kept a cow, sheep, and poultry. There was not enough feed. The children had to be fed, while the cow had to make do with whatever God provided. Every winter seemed to the children to be the last for their beloved Chinarka...
No matter how many times Suren later came home to his native village for the holidays as a student at a veterinary technical school, he was delighted: the family breadwinner was alive and did not skimp on milk, although she was quite advanced in age by cattle standards. Instead of the usual 12 years, Chinarka lived for 20—and would have lived even longer if she had not been sent to a meat-processing plant. Chinarka came to mind more than once.
Years later, Suren Arakelyan, chief veterinarian at the Ostankino state farm near Moscow, decided to conduct a bold experiment. He put obese old hens that had stopped laying eggs and were destined for slaughter on a fasting diet. No feed—only water with a small additive: a herbal preparation (Arakelyan conditionally called it an anti-stress remedy). During prolonged fasting, an animal enters a state of panic, and the preparation relieves it.
And so, after fasting, the hens seemed to come to their senses and recover—they began laying eggs again. This was sensational, and prompted a new, extensive, and well-prepared experiment.
It was carried out in 1964 in the city of Marx, Saratov Region, at the Research Institute of Poultry Farming (after graduate school, Suren was assigned to this institute).
A thousand Japanese record-holding hens had lived out what was called their natural lifespan. They no longer produced eggs and were destined for meat. These unpromising “old ladies” were handed over to Arakelyan.
A seven-day PFG began—physiologically beneficial fasting (the scientist’s term for fasting with the use of an anti-stress remedy). It was a risk, and not only for the “Japanese hens.” More than one and a half tons of meat was state property, and Arakelyan was responsible for it.
A month later, a miracle occurred. New feathers grew in place of the old, worn, and matted ones: silky and light-colored. The birds became energetic and active, their combs disappeared, and their voices became high-pitched—almost chick-like.
Most importantly, the rejuvenated hens (now the word could confidently be used) returned to the forgotten work of their distant youth—they began laying eggs.
Here are figures from the official report: one month after PFG, 63% of the hens were laying; another month later, the figure was already 91%.
Thus, fasting does not kill. On the contrary, when reasonable and controlled, it restores youth. The hens that underwent a month of PFG lived for an average of 18 years—instead of the six allotted by nature. Their species’ lifespan was extended threefold!
—So, by using animals as an example, you are proving that extending life is a real possibility?—we asked the doctor.
—Not merely life, but its best part—the active, productive period. Recently, a new science has been taking shape—juvenology, whose task is specifically to extend youth. I classify my experiments as experimental juvenology.
And one more example. Since 1976, in the city of Kirov, at the All-Union Research Institute of Hunting and Fur Farming, Candidate of Biological Sciences Y. S. Zabolotsky has been conducting highly interesting work on the use of fasting.
“Prolonged dietary unloading of raccoon dogs in cage breeding.”
At the biological station of the All-Union Research Institute of Hunting, he studied for four years the effects of complete prolonged fasting (only water was provided) on the motor activity and reproduction of raccoon dogs.
During winter, the dogs received no food for up to two months at a time. They remained in good health; not a single death was recorded, although no anti-stress remedies were used.
Unlike the control animals (well-fed, but sluggish and passive), the experimental “fasting” animals amazed observers with activity and agility unusual for this species, while retaining defensive reactions.
During 40–60 days of dietary unloading in December and January, the experimental animals lost an average of 26.3% of their weight, whereas the control animals lost 14% over the same period. The experimental animals produced healthy offspring every year.
The number of pups increased each year, and they were larger; in a single litter, their number exceeded that of the control group by 5–6 animals. The control animals, despite having abundant feed, were often unable to nourish their small litters.
Previously, scientists assumed that the lethargy and poor health of animals receiving abundant feed resulted from being kept in cages. Yet this same “cage confinement” apparently did not adversely affect animals subjected to prolonged fasting.
What happens during physiologically beneficial fasting? The body seems to undergo a major overhaul.
Sodium leaves the cells, and potassium enters from the intercellular space in its place. It is simply the replacement of one chemical element with another, a similar one. But sodium salts promote the preservation of organic substances. With ordinary nutrition, all products of vital activity are, as it were, preserved in the cells, and the body is not naturally cleansed. This includes toxins—the main cause of aging, according to the scientist.
Removing toxins means preventing aging.
That is why regular PFG is a sensible form of preventive maintenance for the “living machine.”
I tried rejuvenation on myself in 1965, when I was suffering from chronic gastritis and a stomach ulcer and conventional treatment did not help.
PFG as applied to humans: I fast on the first, second, and third day of every month; for one week once every three months; for two weeks once every six months; and for one month once a year. During this time, I drink only water with the anti-stress remedy added.
PFG combined with natural nutrition has helped many of my acquaintances get rid of atherosclerosis and metabolic polyarthritis, hypertension, and certain gastrointestinal diseases; there have also been cases of successful recovery after a heart attack. Natural nutrition means consuming only fresh plant cells and excluding food of animal origin.
I eat twice a day. One meal consists, for example, of 50 g of raisins, or two raw carrots, or one orange, apple, or 100 g of fresh cabbage, or 50 g of peas, beans, or lentils, or 100 g of raw wheat grains, buckwheat, or pearl barley.
I soak grains and dried fruit after first cleaning them with hot water. There are quite enough calories. First, a person generally needs three to five times fewer calories than is commonly believed. Second, with natural nutrition and periodic fasting, the body’s energy management is more efficient.
Meat contains the same essential amino acids as raw legumes, young nettles, vegetables, and fruit. At 56, I notice no approach of old age; I still play easily with a pood weight. I hope the program of 120 years of healthy active life will be successfully implemented.
Therapeutic cocktail recipe
Anti-stress remedy: for every 1 kilogram of a person’s body weight, use 0.01 g of food-grade citric acid, 0.01 ml of mint infusion, 2 g of natural honey, and 2 ml of water. This is the amount for six days.
If you weigh 80 kg and fast for three days, use 0.4 g of citric acid, 0.4 ml of mint infusion, 80 g of honey, and 80 ml of water. Divide this into three portions and take one portion once a day.
Citric acid is the only acid that combines with calcium in the body. Calcium citrate is a unique vital salt with alkaline properties. When it dissolves, phosphorus and calcium accumulated in the bone depots are released. With our diet, 60% of phosphorus and calcium passes through unused. Combining in ATP, citric acid “burns,” releasing energy. If you drink a solution of honey and citric acid, this can no longer be called fasting—you are receiving excellent nutrition (honey also provides fructose and biologically active substances). By combining with amines, citric acid forms aminocitric acid with a negative electric charge. Of the 21 essential amino acids, only three are negatively charged.
You can use a lemon. The juice of one lemon contains 10% citric acid. It is a good idea to add a little baking soda to the water—1 g per 3 liters of water. The carbon dioxide formed when baking soda combines with citric acid is very important to us.
During this fast, if your health deteriorates, you must administer enemas; at home, it is better to conduct a seven-day fast.
