Living in America, the land of plenty, it’s difficult for many of us to grasp the concept of intentionally abstaining from food! Fasting by definition according to the oxford dictionary is: abstaining from all or some kinds of food or drink, especially as a religious observance. Certain religious holidays require their followers (particularly Muslims in the time of Ramadan) to refrain from eating and drinking from sunup, to sundown. The practice of not eating or drinking is often called dry fasting and can be very dangerous if done for too long due to dehydration. Many other religions encourage their followers to partake in a fast. Christians around Lent find a vice (problematic food or habit) they’d like to cut out of their lifestyle and for the month of Lent they avoid that particular food or habit.
Intermittent fasting, Extended fasting, Alternate day fasting, and Rolling fasts
Intermittent Fasting
There are many different fasting variations that all have their benefits and also each have their downsides. Intermittent fasting involves two components: a fasting window and an eating window. Generally the larger your fasting window, the more benefit the fast will provide. Conversely, if the fasting window is decreased, the fast won’t be as beneficial, but will slightly easier to get through until it’s time for your next meal. Sometimes you’ll see an intermittent fast written like this: 18:6. 18 is the number of hours of the fasting window and the 6 denotes the hours of the eating window. Omad (one meal a day) is a type of intermittent fast that involves someone fasting 22-23 hours and eating their one meal in a 1 or 2 hour window. When I did the ketogenic diet in 2015 I found myself automatically doing intermittent fasting without even thinking about it. One day it was late in the afternoon and I realized I didn’t eat anything all day. After doing a quick internet search I found out there was a specific name for postponing your meals until later: intermittent fasting.
Extended Fasting
The next type of fast is an extended fast. This involves drinking only water or zero calorie beverages, and not consuming any food. One important thing to note: be sure to hydrate and add salt, potassium, and magnesium to your water each day. If someone isn’t staying hydrated, some unpleasant side effects of dehydration can occur. These can manifest as fatigue, headache, nausea, heart palpitations, and dizziness. The longest recorded fast in history was done by Angus Barbieri for 382 days!
Alternate Day Fasting
Alternate day fasting is done by fasting for around 1 1/2 days and eating every other day. The length of fasting window varies from person to person, but it normally between 40-48 hours. Let’s say you start your fast on 2 pm on a Sunday. You would fast until 2 pm Tuesday. This is a video of an incredible woman named Rachel. She has a compelling story to share about her success with ADF.
Rolling Fasts
The final type of fast is called a rolling fast. Rolling fasts are a type of extended fast that involves one meal to break the extended fast and you “roll” right back into your next fast. Some common rolling fasts are rolling 48 hour and rolling 72 hour fasts. In a nutshell, you fast for a certain number of hours and have one meal and go right back into the next fast.
A Rolling 72 Hour Fast involves fasting for three days and breaking a fast with one meal and go right back into another fast. The link above is a video that explains in an informative and concise manner what fasting for 3 consecutive days does to the body.
Metabolic Processes That Occur During Fasting
There are many changes that happen on a micro-biological level certain times during a fast. If someone consumes carbohydrates in their diet they can expect withdrawal side effects from their glycogen being depleted from the liver and body tissue. These side effects can be experienced as: headache, fatigue, feeling faint, nausea, and dehydration. The range for the amount of total glycogen stored varies from person to person. 500-600 grams is generally the maximum amount that can be stored at most. This amount equates to around 2,000-2,400 of total calories. The great part about fasting is once you deplete your glycogen stores, your body switches over from burning sugar, to burning body fat for energy. The fatty acids that are produced are called ketone bodies and are a very efficient source of energy. The blood ketones are called beta-hydroxybutyrate. Even someone that is very lean has several thousand calories that can be utilized and burned for fuel if they partake in a fast. It’s recommended to get the approval from your primary care physician to avoid any negative interactions with medications or if you’re afflicted with certain medical conditions. People that should not fast include: women that are pregnant and children. Some say that type 2 and type 1 diabetics shouldn’t fast, but I believe that fasting is a powerful tool to assist in achieving a healthy blood glucose level and ultimately lowering insulin levels to combat the health complications from insulin resistance. Insulin resistance is the result from excess insulin secreted by the pancreas and the cells are unable to let the insulin inside to store energy. Prolonged periods of elevated insulin can cause metabolic syndrome, diabetes as well as other health conditions.
Another interesting process that takes place during fasting is something called autophagy. Auto means “self” and phagy means “to eat”. During this phase of a fast the bodily kicks into a type of “recycling mode”. Our body prioritizes damaged cells and repairs, strengthens detoxifies and reuses them if they’re salvageable. Autophagy is a function that is a catabolic (breaking down) process that involves the strengthening of cells and damaged tissue. The opposite of autophagy is a process called m-TOR (mammalian target of rapamycin). m-TOR is a process that is an anabolic(growing or multiplying). Both of these biological mechanisms are both necessary for optimal health. For instance, autophagy will repair damaged cells and strengthen your immune system, but can also deplete muscle mass if it’s too frequently tapped into. m-TOR is a necessary process for gaining muscle mass, but also is involved in the growth of cancerous cells. Ultimately, a balanced autophagy/m-TOR dynamic is essential for having a healthy life.
While fasting for at least 24-48 hours or so, the pituitary gland secretes HGH(human growth hormone). The body does this as a countermeasure to prevent muscle loss and muscle atrophy. It’s also important to note that fasting also lowers IGF-1(insulin-like growth factor) which is an inflammatory hormone that is found with individuals with neurodegenerative disease such as Alzheimers and dementia. Fasting is a powerful tool to utilize for protection of the brain, increasing BDNF (brain derived neurotrophic factor) and even rebuilding brain neurons.
One more point before i get into the fasting benefits: when glucose levels are stable and insulin is low, another hormone is released by the pituitary gland called glucagon. Glucagon is a hormone that is involved in the process known as lipolysis (fat burning). Another function of glucagon is to regulate blood glucose levels to ensure that someone doesn’t become hypoglycemic. Fasting also converts the visible subcutaneous body fat into brown fat. Brown fat is much more dense than white fat and brown fat has metabolic and thermogenic properties.
Fasting Benefits
+Easy to understand (don’t eat?…got it)
+Increased energy
+Decreases body fat
+Stabilizes blood glucose
+Lowers insulin
+Improves skin
+Heals injuries
+Improves mood/decreases depression
+Improves blood pressure
+Free to do
+Saves time
+No dishes to do
Here is a list of fasting benefits according to healthline.com
Cons of Fasting
-Hangry feelings when first starting
-Possibly having obsessive thoughts about food
-Tiredness when first getting started
– Potential muscle loss from over-fasting
-Headaches and dizziness if electrolytes are out of balance