1. A Very Low-Calorie Diet adopted by Russian astronauts' team, marathon runners, and mountain climbers.
The Guru: Galina Shatalova, MD, a surgeon, clinical researcher, health educator, and finally a guru in her own unique Health Schools. The program included diet, exercise, body-mind, and a very peculiar philosophy. All these well in excess of everything known before.
Of all her theories, Galina Shatalova is still most famous in Russia for her diet nicknamed "Astronauts' Diet." It is well known there that people who followed her entire system were able to get rid of many ailments and not only restore good health, but improve it to a much higher level: how about running a marathon after being diagnosed with a heart disease!
In fact, this diet is very low in calories though there's no specific rules concerning calorie limitations. It just eventually happens that people on this diet found themselves eating times less than they used to.
It is also known that the system has been under investigation in the Institute of Space and Aviation Biology, Moscow, where Dr. Shatalova was head of the Astronaut Training Sector. Her system was eventually adopted by the Institute and was implemented in the astronauts' training practices.
Later Dr. Shatalova founded several so called Health Schools and many of her previously severely ill patients became able to physically perform in extreme environments of high altitudes, deserts, long-distance hiking, marathon, and even super-marathon running.
Very Low Calorie Diets and Diseases
Dr. Shatalova's report on her results of the 1983-1989 experiments to the Moscow Research Institute of Physical Education were so impressive that she received a grant for further research, this time entirely on chronically ill patients diagnosed with:
Diabetes
Drug-resistant hypertension
Duodenal ulcer
Allergic kidney disease
Liver cirrhosis
Obesity
Heart disease
Success Stories
One of Dr. Shatalova's successes was the patient diagnosed with a heart disease. The lady asked Dr. Shatalova to enrol her in the Health School without a required physician's approval. The patient attended all the stringent sessions: she would run 10 to 15 km every day before work, swam in ice water during Fall and Winter, did yoga, progressive relaxation, and special breathing exercises, all these along with Dr. Shatalova's diet. Eventually, the same family physician that diagnosed Mrs. Marinicheva found it possible to allow her to participate in a super-marathon.
The first of the long-distance hiking tours, sponsored by the (former) USSR Geographical Society, occurred in August of 1987, when Dr. Shatalova, one of 15 participants, was over 70 years old. The group covered 125 km in 5 days, on water allowance 10 times below the standard.
Says Dr. Shatalova: "Our daily route was about 25 km. We slept outdoors, had one meal a day and drank water or tea twice a day. Nobody lost weight, nobody got sick."
During next controlled experiment, Galina Shatalova was 75. By then, she had lived in accordance with her system, including the Astronauts' Diet, for 40 years. Now Galina Shatalova is 87. She keeps hiking and working. Here's a picture of her this summer, teaching a special exercise to ease her patient's kidney problem.
2. Very Low Calorie Diets, Longevity, and Optimal Health.
What is known to conventional medicine about very low calorie diets and fasting? This chapter covers the topics:
Very Low Calorie Effect on Health and Life Span
Low Calorie and Low Carb
Can Adults Benefit from Calorie Restriction?
Are Very Low Calorie Diets stressful?
How do they Work?
3. Fasting
Fasting and ketones Glucose and Insulin How I fast How to enter the fasting. If you committed a longer fast
4. Satiety Index
In the recipes, you'll find quite a few that will probably surprise you. Perhaps Dr. Shatalova intuitively knew what became a scientific fact only recently. You can consult with this Index for your own food choices.
5. Recipes
Is there anything too different about this diet's recipes? Not at all. There are a few limitations though. Remember to follow the cooking rules, cleansing procedures, and other concrete recommendations.
