Many studies show that water fasting can bring some health benefits such as reducing the risk of some chronic diseases and inducing autophagy - the condition of older parts of cells being broken down and recycled. However, fasting to lose weight also has certain benefits and dangers.
1. What is water fasting for weight loss?
Water fasting is a regimen in which one cannot eat or drink anything but water. Each period of this method lasts from 24 hours - 72 hours.
People use this method for some reasons:
Religion;
To lose weight ;
Detoxify the body;
Health benefits;
Before having a medical procedure.
In fact, some studies have shown that fasting everything except water can bring many health benefits such as: Reducing the risk of certain cancers, heart disease, and diabetes.
There are some popular diets that resemble water fasting for weight loss such as lemon detox. This type of diet only allows you to drink a mixture of lemon juice, water, maple syrup, and cayenne pepper a few times per day, for up to 7 days. However, water fasting carries many risks and can be very dangerous if one follows this regimen for long.
2. Benefits of water fasting to lose weight
2.1. Induce Autophagy - the breakdown and recycling of old parts of the cell
Autophagy is a process in which the body's old cells are broken down and regenerated. Several animal studies suggest that autophagy may help protect against diseases such as cancer, Alzheimer's, and heart diseases. They also have consistently found that water fasting helps prolong life.
2.2. Lower blood pressure
Patients with high blood pressure who experience this method under the supervision of nutritionists are expected to have blood pressure lowered. At the end of a study on 68 people with high blood pressure who fasted for nearly 14 days under medical supervision, 82% of these people had their blood pressure drop to a healthy level (120/80 mmHg or less). In addition, the mean reduction in blood pressure was 20 mmHg in systolic blood pressure and 7 mmHg in diastolic blood pressure.
In another study, 174 people with high blood pressure fasted water for an average of 10-11 days. At the end, 90% of people had blood pressure below 140/90 mmHg, the cut off point for diagnosing high blood pressure. In addition, the mean systolic blood pressure decreased significantly by 37 mmHG.
2.3. May improve insulin and leptin sensitivity
Insulin and leptin are hormones that play an important role in the metabolism system. Insulin helps the body store nutrients from the blood, while leptin helps people feel full longer.
Your body is more sensitive to leptin and insulin after fasting. Great sensitivity makes these hormones work more efficiently.
2.4. May reduce the risk of certain chronic diseases
Water fasting is proved through research that it can reduce the risk of chronic diseases such as diabetes, cancer and heart disease. After one study in which 30 healthy adults fasted for 24 hours, they significantly reduced two risk factors for heart disease which are blood cholesterol and triglyceride levels.
Or another animal study has also found that water fasting can help the heart fight damage from free radicals, which are unstable molecules that can damage parts of cells.
3. Risk of water fasting to lose weight
3.1. Unhealthy weight loss
Although water fasting helps lose even 0.9 kg per day by drinking water in 24 to 72 hours, this loss is only from water, carbs and even muscle mass, not fat.
3.2. Being dehydrated
You might feel strange with this fact but fasting for weight loss can make you dehydrated. The reason is that 20-30% of your daily water intake comes from food. If you only drink water but do not eat, your body will not receive enough water.
Symptoms of dehydration you may have: Dizziness, nausea, headache, constipation, low blood pressure. So, people should drink more than usual.
3.3. Lower blood sugar when standing for long
Low blood pressure when standing is common in many people following this diet. This condition makes you dizzy, lightheaded, and easily fainting.
3.4. Can aggravate some medical conditions
Even if you have this diet for short, there still can be some aggravation of existing conditions:
- Gout : Water fasting can increase uric acid production, so it is one factor that causes gout attacks.
- Diabetes: Fasting may increase the risk of side effects in type 1 and type 2 diabetes.
- Eating disorders: There is some evidence that fasting may worsen the disorder like bulimia (ravenous hunger).
4. Does drinking only water really help you lose weight?
Like other types of fasting, this kind of fasting can help you lose weight. However, it comes with a lot of health risks. Instead of a complete water-only fast, you can do intermittent fasting or alternate days fasting. These methods both help to lose weight effectively and are not harmful to health.
5. How to fast for healthy weight loss?
In fact, there is no scientific guide on how to fast for weight loss. Experts recommend that you do not apply this method without the supervision of a nutritionist. Especially for cases such as: People with gout, diabetes (both types 1 and 2), eating disorders, the elderly, pregnant women and children.
If you have never fasted before, you should start with spending 3–4 days to prepare your body for complete fasting. You can eat smaller portions at each meal or do intermittent fasting during the day.
During the process, you cannot eat or drink anything but water. Most people will drink 2-3 liters of water per day during the fast. One period may only last 24 hours - 72 hours.
Some people will feel weak or dizzy. Therefore, in the process of fasting for weight loss, you need to avoid operating heavy machinery and driving to avoid causing an accident.
At the end of this process, you should take measures to fight cravings after 3 days of complete fasting such as:
- Drink a smoothie;
- Eat small meals throughout the day;
- Eat larger meals throughout the day when cravings decrease.
- Fasting water to lose weight is not a strange method for those who are suffering from overweight and obesity.
However, most of the health benefits of water fasting that have been observed in animal studies will not have the same effect on the human body.
In addition, this method can carry many risks. Therefore, you should consult with nutritionists and consider before doing so.
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Reference source: healthline.com
