Types of Fasting: Discover the benefits of fasting now!

Introduction

Fasting has been scientifically observed to reduce high blood pressure, arthritis, heart disease, and chronic pain. It’s also been scientifically shown to improve one’s quality of life. In this blog post, we will explore different types of fasting for you to explore.

The blog posts on fasting were derived from a free ebook that I prepared for you. This ebook goes into detail about what fasting is, the different types of fasting, how to successfully break your fast, and how to incorporate the Daniel fast to further detox your body! You can find that ebook here.
-Aiyaken Sarai <3

Types of fasting

In this article, we will explore the different types of fasting. The main fasting variations that you’ll see include dry fasting, water fasting, intermittent fasting, and partial fasting.

Dry Fasting

Dry fasting, also known as total fasting and absolute fasting, is when a person abstains from eating food and drinking any liquid. It is the most aggressive form of fasting. While on a hard dry fast, participants do not drink water, brush their teeth, shower, or wash their hands. While on a soft dry fast, participants brush their teeth and shower to aid in flushing toxins.

Reports of mental clarity, weight loss, and healing have been mentioned by those who have undergone dry fasts. There aren’t any rules for the length of time one undergoes a dry fast. However, there are a few common practices.

This photo depicts a table that is set with a plate, a fork and knife on the side. There is a shadow of a man on the plate, as if the man is the meal that is served. The photo alludes to the human body eating itself during a dry fast. While on a dry fast, the body will seek out fat cells and diseased cells to eat. — There are many types of fasting. Dry fasting is more intense than its counterparts because the body feeds off of diseased cells and fat cells.

Intermitted dry fasting- where individuals fast for a specified number of hours a day while eating and drinking within that time window. Muslims participate in intermittent dry fasting yearly during the holy month of Ramadan.
Prolonged dry fasting- where individuals fast for 24 hours straight or longer. Typically one to three full days of fastings.
Extended dry fasting- where individuals fast for longer than three days at a time in hopes of healing their bodies naturally.

Will you die if you don’t drink water?

Fair question! You may have heard it said that the body can survive weeks without food but that the body can only survive three days without water. Rest assured that many have put this statement to the test and have successfully completed dry fasting for multiple days on end. Did you know that our bodies are fascinating machines that can produce water? Yep! Our bodies create upward of 400ml of water daily through fat oxidation. When our brains sense that we need more hydration it ups its production of water.

Here is where it gets a bit sciency but stick with me.

When you’re eating regularly, your body has a lot of fuel in the form of glycogen in the liver and muscles. When you begin to reduce the amount of food you’re ingesting, your body begins to become depleted of that fuel for your cells. This makes your blood thicken, which makes your brain trigger your pituitary gland to release an anti-diuretic hormone ADH.

ADH then stimulates a gland in the kidneys called the adrenal medulla, which releases a hormone called epinephrine. This is where it gets interesting because now your body is breaking down fats through a process called lipolysis. Our bodies create water by breaking down fats! Long story short, no, you will not die from not drinking water for an extended period because while fasting your body is constantly breaking down fast and creating water for your body to run off of. This happens in both dry fasting and water fasting. Now, when you run out of fat for your body to consume, it’s safe to assume that you’ll die from starvation. In our day of age, most people can go a long time before that’s anything to be concerned about. I’ve written an entire blog post that goes more into detail on dry fasting and its benefits on the body. You can read that blog post here.

WATER FASTING

This photo showcases a beautiful black woman in her luxury kitchen holding a glass of water. This photo is used to depict the different types of fasting. This woman is on a water fast. — Water fasting is also an intense form of fasting. Individuals only consume water and herbal tea to promote healing within the body.

Water fasting is when a person doesn’t eat any food but drinks water, tea, and coffee. The water can be plain bottled water infused with herbs, fruit, and veggies. People undergo water fast to give their digestion system a break and invoke healing in the body. Typically after 3-7 days, the body enters autophagy and begins a self-cleansing mechanism. While the body is cleansing itself, it destroys diseased cells and promotes the regeneration of healthy cells.

Type of water to drink on a water fast

Dr. Alan Goldhamer is the founder and education director at TrueNorth Health Center in Santa Rosa, CA. His center has medically supervised over ten thousand individuals during therapeutic fasting. His center also trains other physicians to be able to get certifications in medically supervised fasting. Dr. Goldhamer along with many others encourages individuals to consume distilled water while fasting.

One could also argue that mineral water is also favorable to drink while on a water fast. To spruce up the water, you can add things like lemon juice, lime juice, mint leaves, infused with fresh berries, and hot herbal tea for added benefits. Coconut water is a personal favorite of mine.

What water fasting is like

While water fasting, one may feel the need to rest more than usual. Your body is working to pull fat from reserve and break down that fat into energy and water. Think of this time as sacred. A time when your body is healing itself from within. Some people may experience body aches, headaches, mood fluctuations, and disorientation. Many people experience feeling a sense of euphoria. May you be in the latter group 💚

INTERMITTENT FASTING

Intermitted fasting is when a person decides to forego eating for a selected period and only eats during a specific window. There are different schedules that people follow with the hopes of keeping their bodies in a state of ketosis. There is the 16:8 window where people abstain from eating for 16 hours a day and eat within an 8-hour window. People also follow the 20:4 window where they’re fasting 20 hours a day and eating within a four-hour window. Some people follow the 5:2 window where they fast for two days out of the five-day workweek for 24 hours straight. The goal here is consistency and working with a schedule that best fits your schedule.

This photo showcases a handsome black man standing in front of his kitchen counter that is filled with a delicious looking meal of meat protein, grains and a large salad. He is staring at his watch watching for his window to consume his meal. Alluding to him following the 16:8 fasting schedule while on an intermittent fast. — The most popular intermittent fasting schedule is 16:8. Where individuals only eight within an eight-hour window every day.

PARTIAL FASTING

A partial fast is a type of fasting where a person decides to eliminate certain things from their diet for a specific time frame. The perfect example of a partial fast is a Daniel fast. Participants eliminate meat and dairy from their diets, along with salt, sugar, alcohol, and processed foods for an allocated time frame. Typically people do the Daniel fast for 7 days, 21 days, or even 40 days to reset their pallet, gain self-discipline, and weight loss. Another popular partial fast is Raw Til Four where individuals consume raw fruits and vegetables from the moment they wake to four in the afternoon.

Summary

There are several types of fasting that you can incorporate into your routine. My best advice is to take a look at your lifestyle and see which is best suited for you. It’s also a good idea to have a purpose for fasting as well as a plan. If you’re interested in learning more about how to prepare for a fast I’ve written a blog post for you here. I’ve also written a blog post on how to successfully break your fast. The refeeding process is soOo important. These fasting blog posts are a compilation of the free ebook that I wrote for you. You can download that here! May you now have a better understanding of the different types of fasts and which are best suited for you.

Remember all things are possible, they are! The best is yet to come and the odds are always in your favor. Take care!

-Aiyaken Sarai <3

Sources

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