I can’t fast. My body just won’t do it. I pass out… I don’t feel good… I….. I….
Enough excuses. Our bodies naturally fast for at least 8 hours every day, when we are sleeping! We used to be hunters. We’d go days without a meal and our bodies knew how to use our excess food stored in our bodies to detox and get us through to the next meal.
We are not meant to eat hearty breakfasts, lunches and extravagant dinners with snacks in between. Our digestive systems need to rest. Research on fasting is proving this.
Water fasting can be extremely beneficial, and the longer we can go, the more beneficial it gets. When it gets tough for me to fast, I like to turn to this list and review what hour I’m at and what my body is doing so I can push through the hunger and cravings and allow my body to do what it naturally does…. heal itself!
Breakdown of benefits by hour:
This is different for everyone depending on their eating habits previous to fasting and their size. But for the most part, this is what you can expect.
12 hours
- Glucose in your body begins depleting, decreasing insulin
- Digestive system begins to rest
- Your body begins the healing process
- Your body begins to produce growth hormones
14 hours
- Once all the blood glucose has been depleted, your body begins burning fat
- Growth hormones begin to increase to increase rapidly
18 hours
- Cortisol levels increase giving you more focus
- Growth hormone increases significantly
- Fat burning increases
- Your liver drains all glycogen
- Your body begins breaking down protein and fat stores for energy instead
24 hours
- Your body begins autophagy – the cleaning out dead or mutated cells before they become cancer
- You body starts healing the digestive system
- Fat cells are broken down for energy
- Ketones are released into the blood stream
36 hours
- Inflammation decreases
- Your adrenals start to repair from stress damage
- Your antioxidant levels increase
- Autophagy increases
48 hours
- Your body begins producing stem cells for repairing damage to the body
- You start to grow more brain cells
- Autophagy increases
- Energy increases
- Your immune system resets and regenerates
72 hours
- Immune system cell keep producing
- Your body suppresses inflammation
- Your body produces even more stem cells
- Decrease tumor growth
- Substantial anti-cancer and anti-aging benefits
- Your body becomes more resilient to stress and toxins
The great thing about fasting is, you can do a little of a lot, but any amount of fasting will give you health benefits. Always consult with your doctor before you start a fast, for some people, their body cannot fast for 3 or more days. You do need fat to burn. Be sure and fast safely.
I try to do at least a 3 day fast quarterly. Give it a try and see how great you can feel!
