Revitalizing Your Life: My Personal Odyssey with a 7-Day Fast and Why It’s a Journey Worth Taking
Over the span of my quarter-century long medical practice, I’ve always had an insatiable curiosity about the human body and its resilience.
Recently, I turned that curiosity towards an experiment: a 7-day fast, which I perform several times a year. More than just a physical challenge, it became a journey of self-discovery and deep introspection.
Through fasting, I’ve explored how deeply entwined my thoughts are with my eating habits. As I let go of regular meals, a vast inner landscape unfolded. My focus sharpened, my mind activated, and I found myself delving into problem-solving with renewed vigor. This, I postulate, is an ancient survival mechanism hardwired into our biology — our brain activating all resources in the absence of food, a primordial problem to solve.
Fasting has also altered my dream patterns dramatically, even triggering lucid dreams occasionally. But not every change was dreamlike. At times, I found myself overwhelmed with thoughts, edging into mild depression, although not rooted in sadness. My vision, both literally and figuratively, appeared narrowed. Yet, fasting ultimately proved to be a remarkable tool to hit the reset button and regain equilibrium, especially during challenging tasks such as writing this article.
Fasting, like any journey, requires preparation. Starting your fast, I’d suggest laying off excessive sugar, carbohydrates, and alcohol the day before and, naturally, throughout the fasting period. There are various fasting methods, each different, not necessarily superior. When I embarked on my first fast, I chose the Buchinger juice fast method, which prescribes drinking 1–2 glasses of juice twice a day.
However, I observed that this method often impedes reaching deeper levels of ketosis, limiting the positive effects of autophagy. The advantage is that having juice or clear soup to look forward to makes the fast less daunting.
The initial days of the fast often pose the biggest challenge due to the significant metabolic shifts that occur.
In the span of 6–24 hours after starting the fast, your body undergoes a fascinating transformation. When food intake ceases, the body turns to stored glycogen for energy. Blood sugar levels drop, prompting the pancreas to slow its release of insulin. After 8–12 hours, the liver’s glycogen stores deplete, and the body starts breaking down protein and fat for energy — a process called gluconeogenesis.
By the 24-hour mark, the liver metabolizes fatty acids to produce ketone bodies, an alternative fuel source, leading to a metabolic state called ketosis. As the fasting period extends, ketone levels in the blood surge, reflecting the body’s increased fat metabolism.
Now, let’s explore the myriad advantages fasting offers:
Increases Human Growth Hormone (HGH)
Breaks down and balances metabolic hormones
Improves anti-aging effects
Boosts energy levels
Enhances detoxification
Bolsters the immune system
Induces autophagy
Promotes weight loss
Each of these benefits deserves an in-depth exploration, for they together contribute to an overall improvement in health and wellness.
While fasting, elevated HGH levels induce several changes including improved tissue repair, speedy wound healing, and muscle building. A profound increase in HGH levels during fasting — up to 2000% in men and 1300% in women — is noted in various studies. This is especially beneficial for athletes due to their frequent injuries. However, the rise in HGH levels through fasting can impact everyone in the form of anti-aging effects, decreased inflammation, and improved health conditions.
Fasting also balances metabolic hormones, crucial for weight loss. When imbalanced, these hormones can make weight loss nearly impossible, despite rigorous workouts or calorie restriction. Achieving this balance makes weight loss significantly easier.
Decreased inflammation, another fasting advantage, is key in preventing chronic diseases such as allergies, cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, atherosclerosis, and fibromyalgia.
Anti-aging is another major fasting benefit. Fasting triggers cellular renewal, making you appear younger and delaying the aging of arteries. This, in turn, helps prevent age-related chronic diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, and Alzheimer’s.
Fasting also puts your body into fat-burning mode, providing long-lasting energy instead of the highs and lows experienced when burning sugar for energy. This energy boost is especially noticeable during fasting, as less energy is required for digestion, and more can be allocated for brain function.
Moreover, fasting enhances detoxification. In our daily lives, we encounter numerous toxins, from pesticides and household cleaners to stress and plastics. These toxins impact our cell receptors and trigger an inflammation response in the body. Fasting allows our body to relax and reset itself, aiding detoxification.
Lastly, fasting improves the immune system, crucial in avoiding autoimmune diseases. An estimated 80% of the immune system resides in the gut. Hence, a resting gut during fasting allows the immune system to recuperate.
However, fasting is not for everyone. Pregnant and nursing women, those suffering from adrenal fatigue, or those on certain prescription medications should consult their medical provider before fasting.
As you venture into fasting, remember that it’s a personal journey, a profound exploration of your body and minds resilience. Through this practice, I’ve discovered a deeper sense of self-awareness and a renewed appreciation for the extraordinary machine that our bodies represent. So, why not embark on this journey? You never know what revelations await you on the other side of hunger.
