What Is Prolonged Dry Fasting
Prolonged dry fast is when you go without food or water for 24 hours or longer. It is possible to go without water since the body can produce its own water internally by transmuting fats.
This body accelerates the burning of fat in order to get water. This is one of the reasons dry fasting can burn more fat than intermittent fasting.
/6types Of Dry Fasting
Dry fasting can be easily done with intermittent fasting, alternate-day fasting, eat-stop-eat or periodic fasting. Generally, dry fasting is of two types- soft dry fast and hard dry fast.
Soft dry fast: In soft dry fast, dieters are allowed to use water to brush their teeth, take a shower and wash their faces.
Hard dry fast: In this type of fasting, dieters are not allowed to come in contact with water at all.
The Water Levels That Cause Dehydration Can Vary
Short-term water restriction is not likely to dehydrate you. According to the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine , the slight drop in hydration that happens when you restrict fluids for a few hours is compensated by the day-to-day fluid intake .
This is what happens in an intermittent dry fast.
You also might not need as much water as you think. The average recommended daily water intake is 2.7L for women and 3.7L for men, however, the National Academies explain that as with AIs for other nutrients, for a healthy person, daily consumption below the AI may not confer additional risk because a wide range of intakes is compatible with normal hydration.
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What Is Dry Fastingand Is It Safe
Home » Eat Empowered » What Is Dry FastingAnd Is It Safe?
It seems like nearly everyone has either heard about intermittent fastingor perhaps even tried it themselves. But what about the newest buzz in this eating strategy that follows the clock: dry fasting?
With intermittent fasting, you eat during a set window , then abstain from food during the other hours. Dry fasting takes things a step further by not allowing any liquids to be consumed during the fasting window.
While intermittent fasting does have some scientifically-proven health benefits, weve been pretty clear about the fact that there are only certain populations who should even consider trying it. And all of those benefits only last for as long as you can stick with it, which is often difficult to do for the long haul.
Dry fasting, though currently rising in popularity, may be even harder to stick with. So what is dry fasting all about? Why are people so jazzed about it and, most importantly, is it safe? Read on for all those answers and more, as we dish about the science of dry fasting.
You Remove Toxins In The Body
Many people think of fasting as a type of reset button for your body. By fasting with water, you can flush toxins out of your system, especially those in your intestines and your digestive system. As this happens, you might notice you feel more energetic. Thats because water fasting causes your body to make more human growth hormone or HGH through the pituitary gland. When this happens, the body takes your fat and transfers it to energy.
Also, you could see changes on your tongue of all places. Youll develop a coating thats very white and thick. This is normal, so dont panic.
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Mistake #: Ignoring Your Body
Ignoring your bodys signals is the worst mistake you can make on any fast.
Pay attention to how youre feeling throughout the dry fast and dont hesitate to break the fast if you feel somethings not right. You might need to shorten the length of your fast or adjust some other lifestyle factors like exercise or caffeine.
Preparing For The Dry Fast Weight Loss
Preparing for dry fasting is one of the most important things you can do. You are embarking on one of the hardest fasting experiences of your life. It goes without saying that dehydration is something that needs to be taken seriously. No food AND water is harder on the body than simply no food. Thats why hydrating before you start the dry fast is critical. Youll want to make sure that you top up on your electrolytes. Most people do this by consuming Sodium , Baking Soda Potassium , and Magnesium in a 1:2:2:1 ratio. A very common home-made electrolyte drink is called Snake Juice and the recipe includes:
- 1/2 teaspoon Sodium Chloride
- 1/2 teaspoon Magnesium Sulphate
Remember not to drink this electrolyte drink too quickly or you may have to run to the washroom! You should drink this throughout the day before starting the fast.
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Is Dry Fasting Healthy And What Results Should You Expect From Dry Fasting
Many people believe that dry fasting is dangerous, and one shouldnt move to attempt it at all. Yet, this method of fasting does have quite many fans that believe this is the best approach to fasting and the one that brings the fastest results.
If we look at science, theres not much underlying research done to either support or contradict the statement. Most of the research regarding the topic of dry fasting was done in connection to Ramadan, where the following dry fasting results were observed:
- reduced inflammation
- lower blood pressure
Yet, theres not enough scientific evidence to confirm whether dry fasting results would have been much different from regular water fasting or any other type of fasting.
In general, dry fasting benefits are very similar to the ones of water fasting and/or regular Intermittent Fasting, where non-caloric beverages are allowed.
Besides the above mentioned, the most common dry fasting benefits include:
How Much Fat Can You Lose On A 24
Its important to remember that your first day will be a lot of water weight that will be lost. Something similar occurs when you start water fasting as well. However, with water fasting the decline will be much more gradual, as you are still refilling your internal water reserves. If you continue to take electrolytes during the water fast, you will minimize water loss even more.
With a dry fast, your body starts to balance the electrolytes better, which is a blessing in disguise, since you do not really have a way of ingesting them anyways. The amount of fat loss on a 24-hour dry fast would be minimal, but still something. Considering my total urine weight was around four pounds, it seems I had lost around one to two pounds of a mix of glycogen and fat just on the first day. I performed some work around the house and went on two long walks with my dog which sped up my glycogen depletion. Remember, the glycogen needs to be used up to go into deeper ketosis and autophagy.
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Health Benefits Of Dry Fasting
There are some potential benefits of dry fasting.
However, bear in mind that these benefits are also found in studies of other intermittent fasting methods, and there are no studies that compare regular intermittent fasting methods with dry fasting.
Just as with weight loss, we cant know whether dry fasting offers any benefits beyond those of intermittent fasting in general.
The Benefits Are Numerous As Luke Puts Them Down Here Are Some Of Them:
1. Sugar and caffeine cravings drop
2. Expect appetite to come down, resulting in weight loss
3. You would want to eat meals at regular intervals since you are training your body to follow a cycle
4. Energy levels shot up.
5. Expect better clarity and focus
6. Meditation practices can improve
6. Skin and hair problems start to resolve themselves
7. It lowers inflammation levels which helps patients with arthritis and other inflammatory conditions
Also read: Intermittent Fasting: Increased Cravings And Other Side Effects You Cannot Ignore
However, there are cases where this shouldn’t be followed. Luke suggests you observe and listen to your body to understand whether dry fasting is working for or against you. For people with severe auto-immune system and thyroid gland issues, jumping into 12-hour dry fasting may be detrimental. So, start with 8 hours and increase it according to the comfort level.
Luke’s recommendation is to be gentle on your system and find your niche that helps your body and mind the best.
Disclaimer: This content including advice provides generic information only. It is in no way a substitute for qualified medical opinion. Always consult a specialist or your own doctor for more information. NDTV does not claim responsibility for this information.
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The Best Way To Prepare For Dry Fasting
To prepare yourself for dry fasting, there are a few steps you can take.
Before you start, talk to your healthcare team about dry fasting. They will have some insights on how this might interact with your health, and can guide you on whether its safe for you to try it.
Start by following a regular intermittent fasting protocol for a few days or weeks. Practice drinking enough and eating plenty of fruit and veg during your eating window, to help you get used to:
- eating fewer calories
If this is where youre at, we can help. Head to our SIMPLE quiz to get started with an easy intermittent fasting protocolwell recommend the one thatll work best for you.
Before you start dry fasting, focus on being fully hydrated, by:
- drinking plenty of water
- cutting out caffeine and alcohol
This will make sure youre in a good place to kick off.
The Reported Benefits Of Dry Fasting
The majority of studies about the benefits of dry fasting have focused on individuals participating in Ramadan. That means these people eat and hydrate normally for 11 months of the year, so long-term benefits of dry fasting are difficult to pin down. For religious populations, dry fasting is meant to create deeper faith, more community and a heightened sense of gratitude. For the rest of the population who participates in dry fasting as part of their intermittent fasting, theyre generally seeking weight loss.
As you study up on the research about dry fasting benefits, know that most studies are fairly short-term and small in size.
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My Observations During And After The 72 Hours Hard Dry Fasting Period
The body is a marvelous thing that can run without water. I felt like I had broken through a barrier set by society. How many times have I heard that you cant survive for longer than 3 days without water. I do believe that if one were to exercise continuously during the dry fast, they may cause permanent damage. But doing it mindfully and limiting physical exercise not only let me stop drinking water for 72 hours, but I felt like I could easily continue. My longest dry fast so far has been 120 hours at which point the dry mouth became unbearable and I decided to break the fast.
Not brushing your teeth for multiple days feels gross. But boy is it ever worth it! Once you take that first sip of water youre ready to cry tears of joy. Suddenly water has flavor and you become a temporary water snob. The accomplishment that you feel after completing a dry fast is on another level. You feel your brain rewiring. I felt like my brain was clean and firing on all cylinders. I also felt like my mental health improved. Much fewer negative thoughts and they were replaced with happy thoughts that revolved around the simple things in life. The joy of just sitting there content that youre alive and that youll be able to taste food again.
Be Wary When Exercising As You Are Dry Fasting
Excessive sweating can result in a disruption to the bodys ability to maintain a water balance, so you want to be careful when exercising during this period and be especially wary of increasing the amount or intensity of your workouts during this time. Not only are you more apt to be dehydrated, but you might faint as well.
After the Dry Fast is Over
Be careful of how much you eat after it ends as it can feel natural to overeat. Notably, if youve combined your dry fast with a ketogenic diet, you may be tempted to consume too many high-carbohydrate foods at this time. As a result, youre more likely to experience painful stomach aches, bloating issues, and rapid weight gain.
So if you have fat to burn off or a health issue to solve, and youre looking for one of, if not the most powerful natural healing methods in the world, I recommend you try intermittent dry fasting. As I said above, ease into it, be careful, especially during your first dry fast, and pay attention to the signals your body is giving you.
But it should be noted that many seemingly bad side effects could actually be the Herxheimer reaction, meaning the healing effect or detox effect of the fast. You may still want to stop the fast if the negative effects are too strong for you, and do a proper refeed with a small meal. Then you can eat normally for a day or two and try the fast again.
Continue to follow my blog for more information on intermittent dry fasting and fasting in general.
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Zen And The Art Of Zero
AN INTRODUCTION TO DRY FASTING
A dry fast is an absolute, true fast in which you abstain from both food and water. This is the type of fast that was practiced by Moses , Ezra , the Nation of Israel , Elijah , the Ninevites and their animals , most likely Jonah himself when he spent 3 days in the belly of the whale , the Apostle Paul , and Jesus Christ . More than likely, dry fasting has been practiced by many cultures and religious traditions throughout history.
Dry fasting has been practiced by the Russians for a very long time. There is quite a bit of literature available on dry fasting in the Russian language. However, none of these writings has been professionally translated. I was first introduced to the concept of dry fast by Tanya Zavasta in her book Quantum Eating. I found the information fascinating, but did not really know where to go with it. Then I discovered the web community forum The Fasting Connection where I met Milena Albert who had been practicing dry fasting and was in contact with Dr. Sergei Filonov, a Russian medical doctor who has been conducting dry fasts with his patients for 20 years. Then, I was referred to a Google translation of his 400 page book Dry Medical Fasting: Myths & Reality. While the translation leaves much to be desired , enough of the essence comes through to make it a very worthwhile read for anyone who in interested in embarking on this path.
Which Is Easier: Dry Fasting Or Water Fasting
Once you have some experience with both water fasting and dry fasting, it becomes easier to fast from everything: complete fasting. However, initially, you must start by fasting on water. You need to allow your body to adapt, however, it is your mind that needs real adaptation.
Once you decide to abstain from food, youll face a dark battle with yourself, your food addictions, your eating history, your childhood memories, your emotional trauma from the past, and other things, which are well-hidden in the deep and dark dungeon of your soul while youre constantly eating. What we all want is to feel loved, which is very hard, so it is easier to eat away our emotional pain and emptiness.
Once you stop eating and start fasting, your open a can of worms, Youll struggle and suffer, then, you will experience healing. But if you take away water and stop drinking Oh my! Its going to be so tough! The culture is against you. Additionally, you will also at some point be against yourself and begin persuading yourself to quit.
Physically, fasting on water is easier.
Emotionally, dry fasting is very difficult at first.
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Dry Fasting In The Ketogenic Diet
Dry fasting on the keto diet is easier because youll experience less hunger, less thirst, less discomfort, and your body can produce more metabolic water from fat.
One study compared the effects of eating a meal high in fat, protein, or carbs before a traditional 12-hour dry fast.
People who ate fat before fasting had the lowest amount of discomfort compared to people relying on carbs or protein, and they also experienced less hunger and thirst compared to the high-protein group.
People relying on the high-protein diet had the most discomfort and side effects .
Eating fat before the fast also provided these perks:
- Post-fasting systolic and diastolic blood pressures decreased significantly.
- Post-fasting glucose also decreased.
Fasting while on the ketogenic can also improve brain function and energy, because the blood-brain barrier becomes more permeable to ketones during any type of fast.
Heres how a combining the keto diet with a dry fast can protect your brain:
- The fast makes your brain more receptive to ketones through a permeable blood-brain barrier.
- Having fewer liquids in your system means more fat burning to create metabolic water.
- More fat burning means more ketones in your bloodstream.
- Having more ketones in your system means more energy available for your brain.
A third advantage of dry fasting on the ketogenic diet is that fat can help suppress your perceived need for water.
