Embarking on a journey to reset your body and mind might be simpler than you think. In recent years, water fasting has sparked curiosity and debate among health enthusiasts and researchers alike.
Water fasting is a practice where you consume only water for a set period, typically to promote detoxification, metabolic rest, and other health benefits.
Imagine giving your digestive system a day off while your body focuses on rejuvenation. Below, we'll delve into how a full day of water fasting can help unlock improved energy, mental clarity, and metabolic balance.
"When you fast, the body goes into maintenance mode, self-healing." -Dr. Sebi
What Is Water Fasting?
First off, fasting in general is defined as any period of 8 or more hours when one goes without food. From that definition alone, we all qualify to have fasted (you don't eat while you sleep, right?).
Water fasting specifically is any period when you do not eat or drink anything except water. Typically people fast for 1 to 3 days, but longer fasts are possible once you are experienced. During a fast, you need to stay hydrated, and relaxed, for maximum healing potential.
Benefits of Water Fasting
Eliminates Waste and Toxins
Water fasting promotes autophagy (the body's natural process of cleaning out damaged cells). The accumulation of old damaged cells makes the body weaker and makes diseases more likely.
Not eating once in a while is a small price to pay for your health. It's like having a cellular clear-out, then being able to replace damaged cells with more efficient ones.
Facilitates Gut Motility
Water plays an important role in the digestive system. As a solvent for nutrients, it helps transport them from the blood into the cells. In addition, water prevents and relieves constipation, making the trip to the bathroom a little more bearable.
Promotes Glowing Skin
Remember autophagy? Getting rid of old dead skin cells and replacing them with new healthier cells gives you that youthful glow that everyone will wish they were you. Water rehydrates the skin, improves its elasticity, and makes your skin smoother and brighter.
Risks of Water Fasting
Every cloud has a silver lining, but every rose has its thorns. Though there are so many benefits of water fasting, it's important to also mention the risks of water fasting if done incorrectly.
Nutrient Deficiencies
Water fasting restricts other foods, since you're only drinking water. Our bodies need nutrients to function effectively. These nutrients are in the foods we eat and are not in water.
When water fasting your body is working harder, especially your immune system. This is why Dr. Sebi recommended herbal supplements like Green Food Plus when fasting, so you don't become nutrient deficient.
Wrong Type of Weight Loss
Although water fasting can help with weight loss—research has shown that you can lose almost 1 kilogram (2.2 pounds) a day through water fasting—this weight loss comes from stores of carbohydrates before you lose any fat. It can also result in muscle loss if you fast for too long.
Worsen Certain Health Conditions
Although the benefits of water fasting to a healthy individual are numerous, people with certain conditions need to be more careful. If you have gout or unmanaged diabetes, you must seek supervision from a professional experienced with fasting to support you.
How to Prepare for Water Fasting
Here are some tips on what to do before a fast to make the cleansing process more effective.
- Ensure your last meal is small and low in carbohydrates, this helps you get into the fasted state (ketosis, a fat-burning state) more quickly and will reduce hunger.
- Ease yourself into the habit. You don’t have to start with a 3-day fast. Start short at 24 hours, or less even, and increase gradually.
- Do your research. Before water fasting, you need to know the dos and don’ts, what you can eat, and the pros and cons of fasting.
- Prepare yourself mentally. Your mind can be an asset or a liability. A positive mindset will increase the success of your water fast.
- Prepare your post-fast meal. After you end your fast fast, small meals that are energy dense are better. Incorporating nuts into your meal, using avocado as a spread, and adding healthy oils as your salad dressing increases the calories in a rather small amount of your food. Identify what you want to eat, shop your ingredients in advance (you may not want to do so after the fast), and have everything set.
Disclaimer: This is not a one-size-fits-all situation, so what works for one person may or may not work for another. Consult a healthcare provider before starting a fasting practice.
Sample 24-Hour Water Fasting Schedule
For those curious about giving water fasting a try, this sample 24-hour schedule—created from the personal experience of Mwaka Mapenzi, mother, writer, and plant-based eater from Mombasa, Kenya. It offers a practical guide to structuring your day for a smoother fasting experience.
- 8:30 pm Friday: For dinner, I had spaghetti and stir-fried mixed vegetables. I most definitely overate because I knew I had to fast the next day.
- 10 pm: I had cucumber salad for a snack and went to bed after half an hour.
- 8 am Saturday: I woke up, had a glass of water, did my morning stretches, and took a bath. Although I had not had my breakfast, I was not feeling hungry (yet).
- 10:30 am: I did a guided meditation and had a glass of water. After this, I started feeling hungry.
- 11 am: Idling around made me fantasize about my post-fast meal. I kept myself busy with work and drank water frequently.
- 1 pm: I decided to take a nap. Usually, I’d be having lunch at this time. My mind kept telling me I should have been eating, although I wasn’t hungry.
- 2:30 pm: I woke up from my nap and drank a glass of water. At this point, I’ve made a lot of trips to the bathroom, as expected. With the amount of water I drank and ketosis working its magic, I’d be worried if I didn’t pee as much.
- 3 pm: I wasn’t sure if my body had adapted to being hungry, but I wasn’t fantasizing about food anymore. I sat outside to read a book and a few articles on water fasting (your girl needed some motivation).
- 5 pm: Being someone who struggles with drinking water, this is the most water I have ever had in my entire existence. I decided to watch my favorite movie.
- 6:30 pm: The cravings are back, and I’m experiencing a wave of hunger. I decided to take a walk, to catch a breath of fresh air and clear my mind. I ended my day at the beach.
- 7:30 pm: I got my son from his grandma’s, we walked home (it was quite an eventful day for the little fellow), took a bath, and got comfortable in our pajamas. It was almost time to break my fast, and I was looking forward to dinner.
- 8 pm: I started preparing dinner. Initially, I planned to prepare vegetable rice and mushroom stew but plans changed. Toddlers are in charge and very unpredictable!
More About the Science of Fasting
Our bodies are like machines, programmed to prioritize immediate and basic tasks (like digestion) over complex ones (like healing). The more we eat, the more our bodies focus on dealing with the inbound food and not the critical cellular repairs and physical maintenance of the body.
Digestion is a slow process that takesaround 4 to 6 hours and requires a lot of energy. So if you eat throughout the day, or late at night, there is little time or energy to heal.
It takes your body 8 to 12 hours to enter a fasting state. The moment you cease eating, many biological changes start to take place in the body. Eating causes an increase in insulin production to break down glucose in food, which takes almost 10 hours for blood sugar levels to drop.
Next, growth hormones are activated to help build muscle, break down fats, and, amazingly, help to reverse the signs of aging. Once your body realizes no more food is on the way, it transits from using glucose to breaking down fat for energy.
The breakdown of fats produces ketones in a process known as ketosis. The presence of ketones equals healing, and more ketones equal more healing in the brain and body. Ketones actually increase the number of mitochondria (the powerhouse of energy production) in your cells so after the fast you will be more efficient at making energy.
The next stage is called autophagy. Autophagy is simply your body cleaning its system: damaged cells out, new healthier cells in. This process is achieved 17 hours into fasting. At the 24-hour mark, the body’s major organs go into a rapid healing state.
