The German clinic Buchinger Wilhelmi is considered to be (one of) the world’s leading clinics for therapeutic fasting. It was initiated by Dr. Otto Buchinger, one of the first doctors to document the beneficial effects of fasting for a number of diseases in 1920. Descendants of his family and four generations of doctors and scientists have continued to hone the method and document it scientifically. 

Below is a lecture given by the lead research scientist at the clinic, Dr. Françoise Wilhelmi de Toledo. She has published multiple studies regarding fasting and is considered one of the world's leading researchers in the area. We previously published an article with another lecture by her regarding the world's largest study on fasting. You can view that one here if interested.

The lecture below discusses the science and research that has gone in to uncovering the benefits of long-term fasting.

Fasting has been shown to have tremendous health benefits and can be used to treat and cure a wide variety of diseases and ailments. These benefits have been documented by researchers for decades, yet fasting as a health intervention is rarely “prescribed” by doctors. This is perhaps because unlike a pill, fasting isn’t profitable for big pharmaceutical companies. People can do it for free. The modern day medical industry will unfortunately only become interested in pills that mimic the effects of fasting.

That being said, many clinics and health practitioners have indeed started to prescribe and recommend fasting to their patients. This is because every single year more and more science/examples continue to emerge regarding its benefits.

It's a fun topic in science and health to explore, and thankfully one that's not riddled in controversy. So many topics these days are riddled with corruption and politicization, and sometimes it can be hard to know how to navigate truth, especially in what's become such an aggressive environment. This isn't as difficult when it comes to the science of fasting.

Remember, just like most other health interventions, fasting is not devoid of criticisms. The Buchinger Wilhelmi clinic is an excellent resource for those who want to start learning more about it if you're interested.