By Fasting has many benefits — one of them is renewing your cells
I was entirely ready for this theory, as I’m an advocate of fasting. I fast every single day for weight loss and health benefits. It can be pretty challenging when you exercise a lot, but ignoring your hunger grumbling becomes relatively easy after a while. Here I wanted to cover the metabolic changes that occur in a prolonged fast. This is a three day fast, drinking only water. You could also opt to eat only 200 calories per day because this is the optimal caloric intake to “reset” some of the intricacies of your immune system. This intense, fast triggers your system to start producing new white blood cells. These are key to your immune system. Fasting forces your body to recycle a lot of the immune cells that are not needed. However, once you start eating again, your stem cells begin to replenish the recycled cells. Now, for those who fast for some time during the day, we still get a wide range of benefits. But, to partially reset your immune system, you must completely deplete your energy reserves (glycogen), and that takes your body 24–48 hours (or more) to attain this state. So, although most people have the right idea, it can be challenging to fast for 2–3 days straight regularly, rather than doing it every other day. Valter Longo, known for studying ageing and longevity, compared fasting to long-term caloric reduction (which most of us have been known to do during our lifetime), which prolongs lifespan in mice and other animals. Valter Longo states in an article review:“Fasting has the potential to delay ageing and help prevent and treat disease while minimizing the side effects caused by chronic dietary interventions.” Cutting calories is very difficult for most people. You would have to starve yourself for years to gain the benefits. If you compare that to abstaining from food for three days only (regularly), then fasting seems like a better way to fast track your weight loss, longevity and immune system. Fasting is excellent for everyone, apart from those with health problems (like diabetes), and should exercise caution before trying a three day fast. Be sure to see your doctor or specialist before you make the decision.
Will I reset my metabolism after three days of not eating?
Think of three days as a mild cleansing of old cells — which is excellent. If you did this regularly or extended it to more than three days every so often, it may further induce your body to clean some of those old and stale immune cells while switching on the new ones. I’d love to hear from anyone who has taken on regular three-day fasts for this purpose. What was your experience, and how did it assist you with your goals? I’m contemplating this during my Christmas Holiday break — as I believe we all need to do a bit of a clean sweep at one time or another!