[Effect of complete fasting on the coagulative and antioxidative properties of blood]

The effect of 3- and 5-day fasting on coagulation blood properties, antioxidant system activity, and the content of oxidized hemoglobin was studied in 2 series of observations over 22 normal volunteers. Fasting was discovered to lead to the reduction of blood plasma and red cell coagulation, to the deterioration of platelet aggregation, rise in the oxidized hemoglobin content, and to the increase in red cell resistance to peroxide hemolysis. The changes revealed were shown to favour the maintenance of the blood in a liquid state, to lower the risk of intravascular coagulation and thrombus formation.