Fasting is one of the most popular ways to detox. Many people detox to cleanse the body particularly if they have been frequently unhealthy. Fasting is one of the best methods used for a detox because it involves having no food. Detoxes work most efficiently when the body has liquid (mainly water) only. This helps to flush all bad chemicals out the body.
Why Detox?
Detox has great health benefits. If you have been very unhealthy, eating a lot of food. In particular, bad food as well as drinking large amounts of alcohol, a detox helps the body cleanse itself. A detox helps to improve bodily functions and eliminating toxins found in the liver, kidneys, lungs, and skin. The longer a detox lasts, the stronger the cleanse of the body is as this gives more time for the body to get rid of toxins stored deep in the body. A detox is often similar to a diet, where people decrease the amount of food and drink they consume.
Fasting
A detox by fasting uses the fasting technique to detox the body. Fasting involves no consumption of food and replacing food with water or liquids, although most fasting methods involve drinking water only. Religious and medical fasting is very strict on the body only consuming water, to keep hydrated. Fasting often occurs for 24 hours up to a number of days. It is rated as one of the effective ways to help weight loss, cleanse the body and has a number of other health benefits. Research has found that fasting has helped to improve medical conditions such as arthritis, chemotherapy response, Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease.
Fasting can be dangerous if carried out for a long time and although it can be beneficial, be sure to research how to fast properly and seek medical advice if necessary.
How Does Fasting Work?
All types of fasting require a reduction or complete abstinent of food and water for a period of time. Fasting is not a starvation diet but is a way to give the body time to cleanse itself. During a fasting diet, the body cleanses all cells and tissues except vital tissue. Nutrients are stored in fatty parts of the body and it is enough for the body to survive at least a week and up to 2 to 3 months without food. This shows that doing a detox fast is perfectly safe for a number of days or a week.
When someone is fasting, they use the stored fat to help the normal function of the body. This helps to detox the body and also help weight loss. Underfeeding the body has been found to prolong life and helps promote better health. Known as Hormesis, it is the process of fasting or underfeeding that is full of benefits to the body.
A detox by fasting is one of the most effective ways to detox the body. Fasting activates the body’s natural self-cleaning system, which helps improve the immune system. Diets are good for the body, however, a detox can give the body a ‘spring clean’, revitalize the body’s system and wash out any harmful bacteria.
Detox by fasting for weight loss is a very successful way to lose weight quickly. In a water, fast weight loss can occur in the first few days with up to pounds dropping per day.
Water Fasting
Many people detox by fasting to help their weight loss journey and to improve their health. Water fasting is the most popular and most effective way to fast because it allows the body to only consume water.
For a water fast, it is important to prepare so that your body doesn’t go into shock when it goes from consuming food and drink all day to nothing the next day. Preparing the body gently will help make the body ready for a water fast. A week before you plan to do a water fast, slowly eliminate the amount of food and drink from your diet. This is particularly important for addictive based food and drinks including fatty foods, sweet treats and high caffeinated drinks such as energy drinks, coffee, and tea.
Once you start your fasting you will start to feel hungry. This is a psychological form of hunger which is a desire to eat food. As the ‘hunger’ feeling can occur after the first snack or meal has been missed, it can be difficult to get through this. However, if you have enough mental strength and drink plenty of water, you will get through this stage. The ‘hunger’ feeling tends to disappear after 3 days or so.
Acidosis is another part of fasting process that you may encounter. As most diets in western society contain lots of acid forming foods once the body stops getting what it is used to, it can trigger the release of acidic liquid in the body. This can have side effects including fatigue and bad breath but this will pass just like the ‘hunger’ phase.
Keep Going
If you’ve successfully gotten through the first 7 days of your fasting, you will start to feel more normal from now on. This is because the adicity in the blood starts to level out and the detoxification and healing really begins. Throughout the next stage of a fast, you will feel an increase in well-being levels which can often be interrupted by small amounts of discomfort.
The final stage is known as the healing crisis when the faster will experience a number of bad symptoms. Although this will not be fun, it is a positive sign. The healing crisis occurs to show the success of the fast thus far. It pushes the last of the bad toxins that have been found in the body out through the nose, lungs, stomach, and skin which can cause fasters to have pains and flu-like systems. After experiencing the bad side effects of this stage, your body will have flushed out all of the toxins and healing starts on the body. For many spiritual fasters, this final stage is where they will engage in meditation whilst the body is repairing and regenerating.
Once you are ready to break the fast and start eating food again, it is important to take it easy. The body will not be used to the food and might reject food to start with. Many fasters slowly introduce food back to the body through juice diets before introducing raw food and building up from here.