Water fasting is an extreme technique that involves not eating or drinking any calories for a determined amount of time. However, it can have several benefits, ranging from weight loss to slowing aging. Read on to find out all you need to know about water fasting.
What Is Water Fasting?
Water fasting is when you purposely stop eating food and drink only water for a determined period. Most water fasts last less than 24 hours, although some more experienced people may extend it for a week! During this period, the person avoids any caloric intake from food or liquid.
Although it may sound a bit extreme, surprisingly, this type of fasting has been linked with several health benefits. In fact, several other diets stem from water fasting, such as fruit-only intermittent fasting and some detox plans.
Yet you'd be surprised to know that water fasting isn't the most extreme type of fasting, as it pales in comparison to dry fasting — which doesn't allow for any liquid intake. But, when deciding on dry fasting vs. water fasting, most people will find the latter much easier to manage.
How Does Water Fasting Work?
There’s not much mystery behind how to water fast. The most common (and most manageable) way to water fast is by doing it intermittently. For example, many people choose to take on a 16/8 fasting — meaning you can eat during an 8-hour window, but you only drink water for the rest of the day.
More experienced people may opt for a 3-day or 7-day water fast. However, water fasting for a week can have significant side effects, such as hypoglycemia, and you should only perform it under the supervision of your healthcare provider—even if you don’t have any related medical conditions.
During the fast, there’s only one rule to follow: you must drink only water. And that doesn’t mean liquids in general—sodas, juices, and other drinks besides water are out of the question.
Once you complete the fast, you can return to your usual diet. However, you should take a few precautions, as the body needs to adapt back to normal. And, of course, you should also keep your body hydrated!
Benefits of Water Fasting
Now, before we go into the benefits of water-only fasting, it’s important to reiterate that completely restricting your caloric intake can have serious health consequences. If you’re about to attempt a long water fast, check with a doctor first!
Naturally, the potential benefits of water fasting are similar to those of regular fasting. A 2023 study from Nutrition Reviews found that prolonged caloric restriction can reduce blood sugar levels while boosting insulin levels and lowering insulin resistance.
Similarly, some scientists claim fasting can protect heart health by reducing overall LDL cholesterol blood levels while improving HDL levels. At the same time, it can lower blood pressure, which could potentially help people with health conditions such as hypertension. But maybe the most important benefit of water fasting is that it promotes autophagy.
Autophagy is a biological process through which your body discards old, damaged, or dysfunctional cells, allowing healthy ones to grow instead. Researchers claim that this can slow aging while preventing chronic diseases such as cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, and heart disease. [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8320652/]
Practical Tips for Successful Water Fasting
Just because water fasting is simple doesn’t mean it’s easy. There’s probably no harder diet than water fast — completely restricting your food intake can shoot your cravings through the roof, and many people will want to give up.
But don’t worry! We’ve compiled a few tips to help you get the best water fasting results:
Manage Hunger and Cravings
The most important aspect to tackle when going through a water fast is, naturally, managing your hunger. Due to the absolute lack of food, your cravings will become insatiable — which can quickly lead to you failing your original plan.
Usually, you would satiate your cravings for unhealthy food with wholesome options such as nuts, but that’s out of the question here. Instead, your priority should be to distract your mind from hunger.
Engaging in activities such as exercising, working, or even relaxing while watching a movie can tone down the urgency of your cravings. Avoid staying idle while on a water fast!
If you feel really hungry, you could try drinking a bit of extra water to fill your stomach. Otherwise, you could try brushing your teeth—sometimes, the flavor of mint can trick your mind into thinking you’re about to go to sleep instead of eating.
Stay Hydrated and Monitor Your Health
You’d think it’s impossible to get dehydrated while on a water fast — but you would be wrong. Some people may assume that water fasting means that you should fast as much as possible, water included. But you should never reduce your water intake — even more so if you’re fasting!
Always keep an extra eye on your water intake while restricting your caloric intake. Drink at least one liter of water a day, but be careful not to overhydrate.
Water fasting isn’t to be taken lightly—severe caloric restrictions can lead to significant adverse events. [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8369953/] Make sure you closely track how you feel mentally and physically, and always note if you notice any out-of-the-ordinary symptoms.
Reintroduce Foods Safely
We get it: there’s no bigger temptation than eating a large nutritious meal after you finish your water fast. Yet, contrary to what many would think, introducing big meals right away can be harmful. This is because of something called the “refeeding syndrome” — a phenomenon in which your body can’t handle the sudden changes after stopping a period of fasting. As your body adapts to not eating, eating a large meal right away can induce sudden shifts in electrolyte and fluid balances.
Refeeding syndrome can severely damage your liver, heart, and lungs, as well as induce several symptoms, such as nausea and hypotension.
You’ll want to reintroduce foods in a controlled manner by eating small meals at first. If you feel that you can handle those, you can then increase the size and frequency of the meals until you’re back to your usual balanced diet.
Make Water Fasting Easier With Piurify
To boost water fasting benefits, try hydrogen-infused water — a new-found elixir that can improve mental clarity and energy.
The Piurify Water Hydrogenator will help filter tap water from impurities and balance its oxygen and PH levels. It will enrich your water with active natural antioxidant hydrogen molecules, promoting your well-being, boosting your immune system, and easing your water fast.
Moreover, Piurify ensures you always have hydrogen-infused water within hand's reach. Choose our hydrogenator as a jug and a bottle, and you'll be able to make this healthy water at home and on the go.
Contact us for more information on the benefits of Piurify Water Hydrogenators.