Fasting is a detoxification process that purifies cells all over the body, including those in the brain. Anxiety, boredom, loneliness, tension, and fear are negative mental states which to some extent can be said to be mental expressions of a physical state. Fasting enables purification of blood. This detoxified blood on reaching the brain frees it from toxic poisons, liberating the mind both physiologically and psychologically.

Fasting Helps in Schizophrenia

Although psychological drugs only temporarily alter the mental states by affecting the brain, fasting may free the brain forever (Bragg & Bragg, 1999). Since the last 50 years therapeutic fasting has been found to be the most effective treatment for schizophrenia in Russia.

Dr. Yuri Nikolayev, director of the fasting unit of the Moscow Psychiatric Institute, reported fasting to be a successful treatment for various mental disorders including schizophrenia. Nikolayev says, “seventy percent of those (schizophrenia patients) treated by fasting improved so remarkably that they were able to resume an active life” .

Fasting Sharpens the Mind

Many individuals report that their mind is sharpened and focused after a period of fasting. This is because the cleansing process of fasting actually gets rid of cementing and intrusive particles of the nerve tissues. As a result, a greater number of our brain cells come into contact with purified blood and the improved flow of blood to the brain helps to clarify our mind.