What Should I Be Aware Of During Fasting?
Fasting is an act of voluntarily stopping the intake of all or some foods (and sometimes drinks) for a certain period of time. Benefits Of Fasting can be categorized into a variety of types depending on duration, modality, and purpose, and can be either a religious ritual or a health management strategy.
Types of Fasting
Fasting can take many forms to achieve specific physical, mental, or spiritual goals. Fasting usually consists of stopping the intake of food and sometimes restricting the intake of beverages, but in some forms drinking water or low-calorie drinks is allowed.
1. Complete fasting (hunger strike)
Complete abstinence from any food and drink intake. It is usually done for a short time (e.g. less than 24 hours). This form is more extreme and requires careful consideration.
2、Intermittent Fasting (IF)
This is the most common form of fasting, in which food and fasting are taken at certain intervals.
Common patterns include:
- 16/8 rule: 16 hours of fasting and 8 hours of eating per day.
- 5:2 Diet: eating normally 5 days a week and drastically reducing calorie intake (e.g. 500-600 calories) on the remaining 2 days.
- Alternate Day Fasting: Fasting on one day and eating normally on the other.
3. Water Fasting
Drinking only water without any food intake. Usually used for short-term health adjustments or religious practices.
4. Juice Fasting
Drinking only fresh fruit or vegetable juices during fasting is designed to provide the body with some vitamins and minerals.
5、Religious Fasting
Includes the practice of fasting in various cultural or religious contexts, such as Ramadan in Islam, meditation fasting in Buddhism, or fasting on special festivals in Hinduism.
6. Restrictive Fasting
Allows the intake of small amounts of low-calorie foods or beverages (e.g. bone broth, herbal teas) with the aim of reducing energy intake but not completely cutting it off.
Mechanism Of Action And Benefits Of Fasting
During fasting, the body gradually depletes its reserve energy due to reduced food intake:
- Glucose depletion: Initially, glycogen stored in the body is used as the main source of energy.
- Fat metabolism: When glycogen is depleted, the body starts to break down fat reserves to produce ketone bodies for energy (known as “ketosis”).
- Autophagy: Fasting triggers the process of cellular autophagy, which helps clear cellular waste and repair damage.
Potential benefits of fasting:
- Improves insulin sensitivity and lowers blood sugar levels.
- Boosts fat metabolism and aids in weight loss.
- Potentially slows aging and reduces the risk of chronic disease.
- Improves mental focus and strengthens willpower.
Does Fasting Hurt Your Stomach
Whether or not fasting hurts the stomach depends on an individual’s health condition, the way the fast is done, and the duration. For most healthy people, moderate fasting (e.g., intermittent fasting) usually does not cause significant damage to the stomach, but it may negatively affect the digestive system if not done properly.
Conditions that may hurt your stomach:
- Hyperacidity: Prolonged periods of not eating can lead to an empty stomach, which may stimulate excessive stomach acid production. When stomach acid is secreted in excess, it may trigger a burning sensation in the stomach or aggravate stomach problems (e.g. stomach ulcers, gastritis). Especially for people with existing stomach problems, prolonged fasting may aggravate the symptoms.
- Improper diet: Eating a large amount of food at one time or eating stimulating food (e.g. spicy, deep-fried, high-sugar food) after fasting may increase the burden on the stomach and cause discomfort.
- Too frequent or extreme fasting: prolonged or complete fasting may lead to decreased gastric power, weakened digestive function, and even cause damage to the gastric mucosa.
Circumstances that will not injure the stomach:
- Intermittent fasting (e.g. 16/8): If the fasting time is moderate and care is taken to choose easy-to-digest foods when eating, the burden on a healthy stomach is usually less. This approach may also improve the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract, giving the stomach more time to “rest”.
- Regular eating habits: Maintaining a routine of drinking water and avoiding overeating during fasting can reduce stomach irritation.
What Should I Be Aware of During a Fasting Period?
Special attention needs to be paid to the following points during fasting to ensure safety and health:
1、Preparation stage
- Gradually reduce the amount of diet: In the days before fasting, reduce the intake of high-fat, high-sugar, and high-salt foods and gradually change to a light diet to reduce the body’s burden.
- Rehydrate: Ensure the body is fully hydrated before starting the fast.
- Avoid high-intensity activities: Reduce physical exertion and maintain adequate sleep to prepare for fasting.
2、During Fasting
- Maintain water intake: If it is a water fast (drinking water only), maintain adequate daily fresh water intake, but do not overdo it to avoid electrolyte imbalance. For dry fasting (total abstinence from water and food), make sure the duration is shortened (usually no more than 24 hours) and under professional guidance.
- Watch for signs: If you experience severe dizziness, weakness, palpitations, etc., stop fasting immediately and take the right amount of food.
- Avoid strenuous activities: Reduce the burden on the body and choose gentle exercises such as meditation and yoga.
- Maintain mental peace: Fasting may bring about mood swings, so staying focused and thinking positively will help you get through the fasting period.
3、End the fast
- Slowly resume eating: Do not eat large meals or heavy foods immediately after the end of the fast. You can start with liquid foods (e.g. vegetable soups, fruit juices) and gradually transition to solid foods. Avoid greasy, spicy, or processed foods.
- Replenish electrolytes and nutrients: Consumption of natural foods rich in electrolytes (e.g. coconut water, bananas) will help the body to regain balance.
4、Special Precautions
Health condition assessment: Before fasting, you need to assess your health condition. It is recommended that you do not fast arbitrarily if you have a chronic illness, are pregnant, breastfeeding, or are in recovery.
Professional guidance: Prolonged fasting or medical fasting should be done under the guidance of a doctor or dietitian.
Reasonable goal setting: Understand the purpose of fasting and avoid blindly pursuing too long a fasting period.
5、Possible side effects
- Minor discomfort: e.g. fatigue, headache, irritability, these symptoms usually subside as the body adapts.
- Serious reactions: e.g. hypoglycemia, dehydration, electrolyte disorders, and fasting should be stopped immediately and medical attention should be sought.
Health benefits can only be obtained safely by planning and implementing fasting wisely according to individual needs.