THOROUGH CLINICAL EXPERIMENT ON BIGU-FASTING


Author: Dr. Wang Jianjun (China)
qigong scientist, President of Hanlin Academy
Address: Bulgaria, Sofia -1000, PO Box 1693, c/o Maria Pecheva Tel:
++359-2-242271 hanlin_academy@...

Introduction
In the qigong science, the bigu-fasting is known from the profound antiquity
in China as a method for additional purification of the body in order to make
conditions for further development. It can be compared with a nice cleaning of
a house.

In the system of qigong, the economy of energy - both physical and mental -
is especially valued. In Chinese, the fasting is calledbi gu, which literally
means ‘abstence from cereals’. It represents a complimentary method in the
qigong system, in which the qigong practitioners achieve a state at which the
are able to avoid eating cereals and solid food for certain periods of time
(weeks, months, or years), while maintaining normal functions of daily life. By
this, they clean the body and expel the turbid qi, in order to reach an advanced
level. An important characteristic of the bigu-fasting is that practitioner's
overall condition improves rather than weakens.

Before the fasting, a practical training is performed for accumulation of qi
in the body and for mastering techniques for how to not damage the mind. The
fasting always is preceded by a period of quantitative and qualitative
development of the energy in the body through the practice of the qigong quiet
exercise (meditation).

When the qigong teacher estimates that his students are ready enough, he
takes them somewhere in the nature and determines an individual program for each
of them, according to the level of their development. To the less advanced
students, the professional qigong teacher determines a free menu, but without
rice, wheat, oat, corn and other cereal products. The next level is a
nutritional intake, that constists only of vegetables and/or fruits. Those, who
have achieved a higher level of energy accumulation and development, are left
only with wild fruits, and only on water. For the students of the highest level
of evolution is set a complete abstence of food, and even without liquid intake.
The length and degree of bigu-fasting is determined by a professional qigong
teacher.

During the whole term, the students are consistently observed by their
teacher and seriously practice the quiet exercise, in order to not feel hunger,
mental discomforts and dicrease of the vital forces. In this way, the
bigu-fasting is treated as a complimentary method for purifying the body from
long-time accumulated pathogens, mucus and pollutants, which to this moment the
energy has not yet melt and transformed into useful qi or excreted from the
body.

The scientific study of the state of bigu-fasting not only is helpful for
the advance of the biological and medical research, but also has a certain
practical meaning. It can purify and rejuvenate the body, improve the immune
system, the energy and blood circlunation, and has an action of regulatory
bilateral adjustment of the bodily functions. However, we should not forget
that the deepest genuine purification of the body, the treatment of diseases and
overall development comes only through the practice of the qigong quiet exercise
(meditation).

In the spring of 1989, 20 researches at the Medical Research Institute in
Beijing, under the direction of the renowned scientists Prof. Li Yushu, MD and
Shen Zhan, conducted a strict scientific trial on bigu-fasting with a
voluntarily implementation of low calorie intake of 2 qigong practitioners in
the extension of 30 days.

Up to the present, this experment is regarded by the scientists circles in
China as the most complete and strictly monitored scientific trial in this field
of research. As Dr. Shen Zhan reported, “many qigong practitioners in China
declare that they can do bigu-fasting or are currently in the process of
bigu-fasting and wanted to participate in the experiment. However, when they
learned that this is to be a real scientific experiment with a very strict
clinical observation, they all shrank back”. Taking in consideration the above
statement, it can be seen the serious objective attitude and strict scientific
approach of the researchers toward this clinical trial.

Subjects
The subjects of the trial were divided into a bigu-fasting group and control
group. The bigu-fasting group consisted of 2 subjects: 1. Xiao Ding, a 13 years
old girl, who after hearing about qigong and bigu-fasting in 1987, gradually
discontinued eating food and started bigu-fasting on her own, without the
ability to control and stop it. 2. Wang Jianjun, a qigong scientist and
practitioner, who was 32 years old and has practiced qigong more than 10 years
at the time of the experiment, and who is the author of the present paper.
Unlike Xiao Ding, he was able to control the state of bigu-fasting and could
initiate or stop it at any time.

Method
During the experiment, the objects stayed at the Medical Research Institute
to the Chinese Academy of Science in Beijing for 30 days. They were strictly
monitored 24 hours a day by three clinical researchers who every minute
independently recorded all types of physical activities of the subjects and
estimated their daily calorie expenditure, according to the basal metabolism,
physical activities and resting energy expenditure (REE) factors of their age,
sex and weight. The researchers also completely recorded and estimated the
nutritional values of all liquid and food intake of the subjects. On this
basis, all other various medical observations have obtained a rich data and have
gained a great interest of the medical researchers at the Institute.

Physiological data: physique examination, ECG, EEG, weight, basal metabolism
rate (BMR), food intake and energy expenditure analysis.

Biochemical data: blood-cell analysis, blood serum, hemalbumin, urine analysis,
stool analysis, blood pH, salivation, amylase activity, electrogastric activity,
etc.

The examination of the daily nutrient and calorie intake represents a very
important index in the study of bigu -fasting. During the clinical study period
the subjects have been given only water, fruit juices and a minimal quantities
of solid food (Chinese red jujubes), representing barely 0.3 - 0.6 % of the
normal quantity of daily nutritional intake allowance.

Table 1.
Nutrient and calorie intake (daily average rate).
___________________________________________________
Observed items Xiao Ding Wang Jianjun Normal index
___________________________________________________
calorie intake (kcal) 306.1 495.1 *
2400

proteins (g) 1.08 0.46 * 70

Essential amino acids (mg)

isoleucine 19.8 3.3 600

leucine 38.3 7.4 840

lysine 30.3 5.6 720

methionine + cystine 12.1 9.9 780

phenylalanine + tyrosine 13.9 5.9 840

threonine 19.4 5.3 420

valine 27.0 7.8 600

fat minimal minimal essential fatty acids

Vitamins (mg)

B1 0.022 0.053 * 1.2

B2 0.382 0.107 * 1.2

C 1.81 2.15 * 60

A = 0 = 0 * 700

Mineral common elements (mg)

K 7.2 75.6 2500

Na 59.5 135.7 2500

Ca 16.7 148.9 600

Mg 3.5 33.0 200

P 6.4 1000

Mineral trace elements (mg)

Zn 27.3 723.9 10000

Cu 32.7 145.1 1300

Fe 676.9 1978.0 12000

Mn 25.2 55.0 5000

Cr 403.2 36.1 2000
___________________________________________________

The daily calorie intake of the observed subjects was divided respectively
into 300 kcal and 500 kcal, which is only 1/5 of the normal standard index for
daily calorie intake.

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