Do you need fasting days

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Lifehacker found out what evidence-based medicine thinks about quickly getting rid of toxins and extra pounds.

I spent a day on kefir, apples, bananas or water - drove a couple of extra pounds, cleansed the body of toxins and generally felt healthier.

Sounds delicious. Only absolutely unscientific.

What are fasting days

Fasting days are usually called a significant restriction of calories per day. Someone achieves this by eating exclusively apples, someone allows themselves only kefir, someone focuses on buckwheat, the most desperate even sit down on one water …

But in general, no difference. Whichever product you choose, the effect will be zero. More precisely, negative in the long run.

There are many ways to make your body healthier, but fasting days are not one of them.

Michael Smith Medical Resource Expert WebMD

Only a couple of nuances change things a little, but about them a little later.

Do you need fasting days at all

To answer this question, you need to understand why they are being held. Arrange, so to speak, detox on the shelves. And then analyze whether the expected result is being achieved.

There are usually only three goals.

1. Cleanse the body (intestines) from toxins

Result: negative.

At the word "slags" doctors begin to smile sympathetically and somewhat maliciously. Because the existence of certain toxins in the body is more of a myth.

Some scientists even consider 'Detox': science or sales pitch? "Detoxification" is a purely commercial project aimed at siphoning money from gullible patients.

In any case, to this day there is no Detox diets for toxin elimination and weight management: a critical review of the evidence. authoritative research that would prove the benefits of detox diets.

Separately, it must be said that the human body has a whole set of natural "cleansing" systems. This includes the liver, kidneys, gastrointestinal tract, and even skin. If these organs are healthy and functioning normally, they do an excellent job of removing all that is superfluous and harmful outside the body. It is not worthwhile to arrange additional stress for them by refusing to eat.

If we are talking about some kind of violations, then it is all the more impossible to experiment with fasting days. Any dietary restrictions should only be imposed on the advice of your healthcare professional.

2. Lose weight quickly

Result: controversial.

If your goal is to lose a couple of kilograms, then after a fasting day, the scales will really delight you. However, not for long. With a high probability, very soon you will get the same pounds back. The Truth About Detox Diets. And perhaps with "friends".

The fact is that weight loss after a fasting day is often associated with fluid loss. As soon as you return to your usual diet, the amount of moisture in your body and, as a result, body weight increases again.

The second factor is a slowdown in metabolism. Frightened by sudden restrictions, the body first begins to consume as little energy as possible, and then, as soon as food is resumed, it begins to actively store fat for the future. And he can overdo it.

3. Feel lightness, become more energetic

Result: controversial.

Typical side effects of fasting days are:

• drop in blood sugar levels;
• dizziness;
• weakness;
• fast fatiguability;
• headaches and muscle pains.

Some people, however, claim to feel better during and immediately after fasting days. Experts from the American Mayo Clinic explain Do detox diets offer any health benefits? this is due to the fact that foods high in sugar and solid fats are excluded from the diet. However, the same effect can be achieved without tormenting yourself with hunger. It's enough just to revise your daily menu.

Does this mean that fasting days are useless

Not really. There are two cases in which dietary restrictions are truly warranted.

1. Medical recommendations

A number of diseases - for example, disturbances in the functioning of the digestive system, cardiovascular system, diabetes and pre-diabetic conditions - require a special approach to nutrition. Your doctor may recommend a low sugar diet. Or, for example, only from products ground into gruel to give rest to the inflamed intestines.

But such diets cannot be called fasting days. As a rule, they last long enough, and in some cases they have to be observed until the end of life.

2. Intermittent fasting

In order for fasting days to really benefit, they should be spent not whenever you want, but regularly. That is, with a certain quite definite and clearly observed frequency. In this case, fasting days become an element of the so-called intermittent fasting (Lifehacker wrote about it in detail here), which improves health - and this has been scientifically proven.

There is an important aspect to this. Unlike fasting days, which involve restricting calories, intermittent fasting is an alternation of "full" periods with absolutely hungry. If you are not eating, then you are not eating at all, limiting yourself to water or diluted vegetable juices. Only in this case, dietary restrictions will bring obvious benefits.

But again, we note: any food experiments should be coordinated with your therapist. This is the best way to avoid hurting yourself.