History

For a large part of mankind's evolution as hunter gathers when food was found and consumed the body would use all its spare energy to digest the food, and for periods without food any spare energy was used to improve the immune system and repair cellar damage. Yet in our modern world meals and snacks are consumed most of our waking life and this signals our body to be constantly directing energy into digesting food rather than into improving health.

Earlier civilisations and cultures over thousands of years understood that breaks in eating and water fasting promoted health and this is now being rediscovered.

Process

Intermittent water fasting is the easiest way. Food is consumed during a timed window each day, typically eight hours that can be reduced towards four hours if practical. It could be eating a late breakfast or the last meal earlier, or just having two rather than three main meals a day. Snacks between meals are fine its just important that nothing other than water is consumed during the water fasting window or the body will automatically switch out of the body repair mode.

Intermittent daily fasting has a profound effect on promoting immune system homeostasis, partly by stimulating the clearing of damaged cells (autophagy), damaged mitochondria (mitophagy) and misfolded and foreign proteins. Fasting also improves mitochondrial health and increases stem cell production.

Medical doctor Eric Berg gives a video on intermittent fasting for beginners.

Tips for Doing Intermittent Water Fasting

Start gradually and reduce the eating window slowly to a practical level.

Drinking plenty of water is important. Hydration helps control hunger and flushes out toxins.

Tips for Doing Longer Water Fasting

Longer duration water fasts of 24 hour, 36 hour or longer can be done occasionally and this gives a big boost for autophagy.

Consider doing intermittent fasting before a prolonged water fast as it trains your body to seamlessly enter a deep, prolonged fasted state. Eat nutrient-dense foods for at least two to three days before your long fast such as meats, fish, animal fats and full fat dairy. By consuming these foods you’re supplying your body with the ideal nutrients to sustain its physiological functions and nourish fasting-induced stem cells. At the same time, eating fattier foods and reducing carbs prepares your body for a fasted state, reducing side effects of the metabolic transition. Taking electrolyte with the water helps balance the body.

After a long fast consume much smaller than normal meals and chew your food completely. For a 24-hour water fast, you only need to gradually re-introduce food for the following day. But after longer fasts, a gradual refeeding period can be good to maintain for up to three days.

Water Fast Benefits

The main benefit is autophagy which is the process of cellular recycling and repair where old and worn out intracellular parts are cleared out and refashioned into fresh and functional cell parts. This is an incredibly important process that has been shown to offer protection from viruses, bacterial infection, and numerous diseases.

Although still in its infancy medical research has show the benefits of water fasting in these areas;

• Longevity
• Improves gut health by stimulating intestinal stem cells
• Reduced inflammation
• Anti-cancer effects
• Cardioprotection
• Brain health
• Increase fat burning

Are There Any Risks?

There are very few risks with intermittent fasting because it is a natural way for the body to heal itself. For longer duration water fasting there can be a depletion of electrolytes so some will need adding to the water and those with diabetic or low weight problems will need medical advice.