Fasting: Is it Healthy or Harmful?

Fasting is a practice that’s been around for centuries. It’s often done as a religious ritual. It’s also been done to express political views or strong opposition to authority. Many people go on “cleansing” fasts to detoxify the body. Others go on intermittent fasts–alternating between days of eating and drinking nothing and days of eating normally–in attempt to lose weight.

There are different types of fasts:

• On a total fast, you consume no food or water for a certain period of time. It’s not a good idea to stay on this type of fast for too long. The body cannot last much longer than a week without water, and less than a week if you don’t drink enough water to begin with.
• A water fast is pretty self-explanatory. You only consume water for the duration of the fast. Doing regular activities during a total or water fast is probably not feasible, and you don’t want to do either one longer than three days.
• On a partial fast, you consume some foods and avoid others.
• Juice fasts have become a popular way to detoxify the body. You only consume freshly made juices during this type of fast.

Whatever your reasons for considering a fast, you need to keep a few things in mind. There’s no evidence to date that fasting detoxifies the body or that the body even needs periodic cleansing. Your body already has an internal detoxification system–your kidneys, colon and liver. Eating a healthy diet, watching your sodium intake and drinking plenty of water will keep them functioning smoothly.

Any weight loss accomplished by fasting is usually temporary. Your metabolic rate–the rate at which you burn calories–slows down to conserve energy. This results in less calories burned per hour. Once you resume normal eating habits, you will likely regain the weight you lost if not more. It may be harder to curb your appetite after a fast because your appetite–deprived for probably too long–comes back with a vengeance.

Fasting for one or two days probably won’t harm you, but fasting for longer periods might. Fasting deprives your body of essential nutrients it needs to function. You can experience dehydration, dizziness, fatigue, and other health problems. A fast can also be fatal if it lasts too long.

Fasting is not recommended if you:

• Are pregnant or lactating
• Have diabetes
• Have congestive heart failure or arrhythmia
• Have mental illness, chronic depression or anxiety
• Plan to have surgery or are recovering from surgery
• Have kidney or liver disease
• Are taking medications such as prednisone, anti-inflammatories, antidepressants, aspirin, diuretics or are on chemotherapy
• Are significantly malnourished or debilitated

Fasting is no substitute for a balanced, nutritionally-sound diet when it comes to weight loss. Talk to your doctor before you begin any diet that involves fasting. Your doctor can refer you to a nutritionist or dietitian who will help you set up a healthy eating plan that will promote weight loss without sacrificing nutrition or compromising your health.

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