Prolonged Fasting Boosts Your Health (A Shocking Guide)
Why I'm such a strong advocate for prolonged fasting
Prolonged Fasting: Defined
It’s a period of time in which an individual consumes no food for an extended period, typically following the 24 hour mark in my opinion.
This practice has been implemented into most, if not all, cultures around the world for thousands of years.
Hinduism
Buddhism
Christianity
Islam
Judaism
Taoism
Native American cultures
Ancient Greek and Roman cultures
Traditional Chinese Medicine
Ayurvedic Medicine
European folk medicine
The Evolutionary Perspective
Prolonged fasting has been around since the dawn of time. Every creature in the midst of survival must go through an extended period of not eating, including human beings.
As we hunted and foraged for food, there were inevitably times where food was scarce which is why evolution instilled this beautiful process into our biology.
During prolonged fasting, the body burns through stored glycogen (sugar) within 24-36 hours. It then begins to break down stored fat for energy. The liver converts some of this fat into ketones, which can then be used by the brain and other tissues as a source of energy.
This is how we survived times where food was scarce.
The Undeniable Science
There’s an incredible amount of scientific literature on prolonged fasting. We’ll cover 6 incredible studies which give you a taste of what it has to offer:
"Fasting and cancer treatment in humans: A case series report" (2016): This study reported on the outcomes of ten cancer patients who underwent a 5-day fast prior to receiving chemotherapy. The researchers found that the fast was well-tolerated and appeared to increase the efficacy of the chemotherapy treatment.
"Prolonged fasting reduces IGF-1/PKA to promote hematopoietic-stem-cell-based regeneration and reverse immunosuppression" (2014): This study found that a 48-hour fast in mice increased the production of hematopoietic stem cells and boosted the immune system.
"Fasting enhances the response of glioma to chemo- and radiotherapy" (2014): This study reported that fasting increased the effectiveness of chemotherapy and radiotherapy in mice with gliomas, a type of brain tumor.
"Effect of fasting therapy in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus" (2016): This study investigated the effects of a 7-10 day fast on blood sugar control and other metabolic parameters in patients with type 2 diabetes. The researchers found that the fast resulted in significant improvements in glucose control and insulin sensitivity.
"Effects of fasting on body composition and health markers in humans and mice" (2017): This review article summarized the findings of several studies on the effects of prolonged fasting on body composition and various health markers, including insulin sensitivity, inflammation, and cellular aging.
"Fasting for three days can regenerate the entire immune system, study finds" (2014): This study reported that a 3-day fast in mice increased the production of new immune cells and resulted in a regeneration of the entire immune system.
My longest fast so far has been 96 hours and I’ve racked up a lot of experience with varying times including 24, 48, 72.
It’s important to say that this is a tool that can be abused if you use it recklessly.
If you follow these guidelines, you’ll learn how to do a prolonged fast the correct way.
Before the prolonged fast
Start slow: If you have never fasted before, start with intermittent fasting which general follows an 18:6 approach (18 hours fasted, 6 hour feeding window). Only after you’ve practiced that for a good amount of time can you transition to 24 hours fasted. After that, you can experiment with an even longer duration.
Don’t fast more than 5 days (120 hours) without supervision: Listen, you can go more than that, but most of the autophagy benefits max out at about the 4th day. Going for longer than that just adds more risk to the process.
Focus more on a higher fat diet from saturated and monounsaturated sources the week before the prolonged fast: This will allow your body to shift into ketosis through diet so that you’ll have an easier time when you’re in the fast. Cut out the processed “food.” Stick to nutrient dense whole foods.
DURING THE PROLONGED FAST
A true prolonged fast only involves the consumption of water. No food or supplements whatsoever.
Choose spring water or remineralized reverse osmosis water: During a prolonged fast, get either glass bottled spring water or water run through a reverse osmosis system and remineralize both options with either Concentrace mineral drops and/or unrefined mineral salt.
Double down on unrefined mineral salt: Your electrolyte balance must be prioritized during a prolonged fast which means you need to stay on top of unrefined mineral salt intake, especially when you feel lethargic during the beginning stages.
Do not exercise intensely during the prolonged fast: It only adds more risk, especially with the electrolye balance. I suggest only walking during this time.
Expect to feel like crap the first couple days: This is a normal part of the process while your body shifts from burning glucose (sugar) as its primary fuel source to burning ketones (fat). Eventually, you’ll go through a shift where you feel like a million bucks. That’s when your body has fully transitioned to burning fat for fuel.
BREAKING THE FAST (RE-FEEDING)
This is by far the most important part of the process.
For this, we’ll refer to a fantastic article brother
wrote below.It goes into all the detail you need and it’s particularly great because I haven’t seen anybody else cover this topic to the level of depth he did.
That’s pretty much most of what you need to know.
I must emphasize that prolonged fasting is a tool. It’s important to routinely stay well-fed with nutrient dense food, but this is something to have in your back pocket when necessary.
Much love,
Zaid