In water fast, all consumption is limited except for water. It has recently grown in popularity as a fast and effective means of weight loss. Weight reduction, detoxification, and lowered blood pressure are advantages of water fasting.
Water fasting has been linked to positive health outcomes in research. Autophagy is a mechanism that aids in the breakdown and recycling of old cellular components. This may be prompted by this reducing the risk of certain chronic illnesses.
This post will discuss six things that happen to your body and mind on a 7-day water fast.
How do you water fast?
There are no specific rules based on scientific research for beginning water fast.
However, we do not recommend water fasting alone for some of you, including those in the following categories:
Suppose people suffer from gout, eating disorders, and diabetes. These include types 1 and 2. Also, people of advanced age, pregnant women, and youngsters are all included in this category.
If you have never done a water fast before, let alone a 7-day fast, it is a good idea to spend three to four days getting your body ready for the experience of not eating anything.
Eating fewer calories or abstaining from food for some section of the day might help you achieve your goal.
6 things that happen during a 7-day water fasting
It is essential to make both your body & your mind ready for what is about to happen in the next 48 to 36 hours before beginning the water fast.
Your body should be able to fully capitalize on the advantages of the fast and make the most of this experience for autophagy & cell regeneration. So, consume light meals containing whole foods (fruits and vegetables) and avoid ingesting processed foods.
During a 7-day water fasting, you are not permitted to consume anything other than water; this includes food and drink. Usually, during this period, the average amount of water a person consumes in a day is between two and three liters.
Avoiding potentially dangerous activities like driving and running heavy equipment is a good idea for anybody who is fasting on the water since they may feel weak or dizzy.
Keep in mind that introducing meals at any time throughout the seven days will cause insulin secretion to begin and break the fast.
At 12 hours
After around 12 hours without eating, your body would enter a condition called ketosis, which will begin to metabolize fat for fuel and break down its stored reserves.
Ketosis is the primary physiological process through which weight is lost from the body in response to fasting. The metabolic state of ketosis makes it easier to shed extra pounds because, during this state, the body’s fat stores are metabolized rather than its protein source from muscle.
The body goes through a “metabolic switch” procedure when it transitions from utilizing glucose, which is readily accessible for energy, to using ketones, which are created via the process of ketogenesis (known as the G-to-K switch). The suppression of activity along the mTOR signaling pathway is responsible for this.
After 12 to 16 hours of abstaining from food, glucose & insulin levels in the body begin to drop. Since glucose seems to be the primary energy source inside the body, our body is forced to either swiftly create additional glucose via a process called gluconeogenesis or depend on its stored fat reserves.
At 18 hours
At this point, your body has gone into fat-burning mode and is producing considerable amounts of ketones that replace glucose as the principal energy source. This occurs at the 18-hour mark.
As the fasting process progresses, the body may begin to prepare for ketosis by breaking down muscle protein & amino acids into glucose. This is done in preparation for the metabolic state known as ketosis.
However, because gluconeogenesis is an expensive process that consumes valuable calories that the fasting body doesn’t have, the body would instead start the procedure of ketosis and produce ketones that are oxidized by the brain as just a source of energy. This provides the brain with a continuous supply of fuel.
When ketones replace glucose as the predominant source of fuel for the body, the metabolic state of ketosis is reached.
At 24 hours
During the 24-hour mark, your cells are recycling old components. They also break misfolded proteins, including those connected to disorders such as Alzheimer’s. So this procedure, known as autophagy, kicks off the process of immune system renewal.
Autophagy is a catabolic process. In the process, cells recycle their damaged organelles to renew in response to nutritional stress. It protects against illnesses like diabetes, cardiovascular disease, & cancer.
Autophagy is highly active for most kinds of cells, in which it performs a housekeeping function. This up-keeps the intracellular organelles & proteins. Yet, starvation may also promote autophagy since it is an essential mechanism in the adaptive response cells undergo in response to nutritional shortages.
At 48 hours
At this point, your body’s growth hormone level could have increased by as much as five times if you had been fasting for the previous 48 hours.
At 54 hours
After 54 hours of drinking water, your insulin levels will decrease to their lowest point. And your body will become more sensitive to its effects.
At 72 hours
During the 72 hours, your body will start the process of immune cell destruction and produce new immune cells.
After seven days, you must plan what foods to consume when you break your fast. Eating excessive food in a short period might put you at risk for refeeding syndrome. This is a potentially life-threatening collection of symptoms by sudden shifts in your body’s electrolyte & water balance.
Conclusion
Fasting is a time-honored tradition that has been used for centuries because of the physical and mental benefits it provides. So, the power of a 7-day fast could be incredible.
There is a multitude of advantages to water-only fasting. For optimal results, try going on a fast consisting only of water once or twice a week. Yet, if you suffer from conditions such as diabetes & hypoglycemia, you should avoid this fasting. And the same goes for nursing mothers and pregnant moms too.
