‘Fasting is a fiery weapon.’ Mahatma Gandhi
Fasting has been used both as a religious and medical practice for thousands of years. Ancient Chinese, Greek, and Roman physicians suggested fasting for medicinal purposes. The great spiritual traditions recognize the merits of fasting. Today water diet (fasting) is recommended by physicians and therapists for physical, mental, and spiritual health.
As described in the Merriam Webster Dictionary, fasting is ‘to eat sparingly or abstain from some foods.’ That is, we do not eat some or all food and drink or both for a while. In that sense, we all fast some way or another during our lifetimes. For instance, fasting is recommended before surgical or other procedures or medical tests.
One of the early supporters of the water diet is the American writer Mark Twain. He wrote, “A little starvation can really do more for the average sick man than can the best medicines and the best doctors. I do not mean a restricted diet; I mean total abstention from food for one or two days.”
A water diet is a type of fasting in which you consume only water for a while. A water diet is a zero-calorie diet. Because during a water diet, your calorie intake is zero. Water fasting is a period when a person eats no food and drinks only water. A Water Diet plan may help you with weight loss, but is it safe, and do the effects last long-term?
Why Do People Do Water Fast?
People may undertake a water diet to lose weight, for spiritual or religious reasons, or to heal from particular health problems. Nowadays, water fast has become popular in natural health and wellness movements, often alongside meditation.
If you want to do a water diet, especially for medical reasons, you should take a recommendation from a health professional who is familiar with it. When you water fast under professional supervision following specific guidelines, it is also called therapeutic fasting.
The water diet is therapeutic fasting. Before you join a water diet program on a center, the health professional asks about your health history and make a physical examination. During water diet, patients are monitored daily, and if necessary, the health professional may terminate the fast. Compared to an unsupervised fast, a supervised fast has an increased probability of being successful, particularly emotionally and physically.
‘We live in disordered times, complicated, distracted, and demanding… Whether in prayer or meditation, in visualization, fasting, or song, we need to step out of our usual roles, out of the busy days on automatic pilot.’
Jack Kornfield, a Buddhist teacher, and psychotherapist
Benefits of Water Diet
Researches show that a water diet promotes autophagy. Autophagy is a process in which old parts of your cells are broken down, recycled and to prevent many medical conditions. It can lower the risk of many chronic diseases such as Type 2 diabetes, hypertension, cancer, heart disease etc.
Several animal studies suggest that autophagy may also help extend the life span. Autophagy also triggers the immune system to start producing new white blood cells. As we already know, white blood cells are a crucial component of your body’s immune system. So, water cleanse benefitshelp you reboot your immune system.
Researches also suggest that an extended and medically supervised water fast diet may lower blood pressure, which will help people with high blood pressure.
A water diet may also improve insulin and leptin sensitivity. Insulin and leptin are essential hormones that affect the body’s metabolism. Improved insulin sensitivity means that your body efficiently reduces its blood sugar levels. Meanwhile, being more leptin sensitive could help your body process hunger signals more efficiently, and in turn, lower your risk of obesity.
Is Water Diet Safe?
When you want to undertake a water fast, you should check with a physician whether you are suitable for water fasting. Although there are long term and short term health benefits of water fasting, those who should seek advice from a medical professional before water diet are who:
- have an eating disorder
- are underweight
- are pregnant or breast-feeding
- have heart problems
- have Type 1 diabetes
- have uncontrolled migraines
- are undergoing a blood transfusion
- are taking specific medication; seek the advice of a doctor
When You are Water Fasting
Fasting can be mentally and physically challenging, so people must prepare themselves by:
- eating well before the fast, with foods that are high in energy
- reserving a time that will allow for rest
- avoiding fasting if feeling unwell or very tired
- avoiding demanding exercise
- considering building up to a fast slowly, for example by reducing the size of meals and following a vegan diet for at least a week
- If you have not done a water diet before, you should consider doing water fasting under medical supervision.
It is essential to drink enough water during the fast, and you should spread this out throughout the day. However, you should not drink more than usual during water diet since it can be harmful rather than useful.
You may feel tired and low on energy since fasting deprives the body of the fuel it needs. Especially if you are taking a long-duration fast, you may feel dizzy, weak, irritable, or nauseous. Then, you should seek medical advice. If necessary, health professional would check your vitals and will terminate the fast.
Considering all these factors of feeling dizzy, weak, irritable, and nauseous, the purpose and importance of supervision during fasting become more evident. Being supervised by a health professional, especially experienced in fasting, will increase the participant’s chances of having a safe and successful fasting experience. The health professional will make the necessary adjustments according to the individual needs of the participant.
Breaking the Water Diet
When ending your fasting diet, you should ease back into eating to avoid potential digestive problems. Depending on the number of days you fasted, you can introduce your body to food gradually. For example, at TheLifeCo, we strongly recommend two days of fast-breaking for each week of water diet.
During fasting, your digestive system gets complete rest. Breaking your fast means restarting the digestive process. Therefore, you should consider starting with liquids, like green juice smoothies or vegetable broth to prevent a drop in blood pressure.
You may have melons that are nutrient-dense and essential for maintaining proper nutrition after water fasting program. Taking it slow and secure is not the only kind to your body. But this also allows you the opportunity to integrate your new-found clarity on your relationship to food. Download our free guide to prepare for water diet and detox here.
