Water fasting, intermittent fasting, water diet, the methods and names are varied, and the goal is the same... to lose weight. Certainly what brought you to this article is your desire to lose weight, and we will tell you in Smartly all the information you need, the pros and cons, about water fasting.
What is water fasting?
Water fasting means fasting from eating various types of foods and only drinking water alone, in a process called cleansing the body of toxins through pure water, as the oxygen present in pure water helps the digestive system and stimulates it to get rid of these toxins.
Water fasting is also called water cleansing. Thus, no calories enter your body, which helps you lose weight faster than other types of diets. This fast may be for a short period not exceeding 24 hours or for a period exceeding 72 hours.
Water fasting method
In fact, there is no method or system for this type of fasting, but there are a number of basic things that it is preferable to adhere to in order to avoid health harm to the fasting person, especially since this type of fasting is considered somewhat stressful.
It is preferable to drink abundant amounts of purified water, ranging from 2 to 3 liters per day. This means between 9 to 13 cups of water, meaning that men drink about 13 cups of purified water and other liquids, while women drink about 9 cups. Taking care to choose the purest and purest water.
In this system, you must never eat food, and rely only on drinking water. The ideal duration of this fasting ranges from 24 to 72 hours maximum, and if you feel hungry during the daytime hours, all you have to do is drink glasses of water, lie down, and rest.
If you are following this fast for the first time, we advise you, before you cut off food immediately and begin fasting, to reduce the food over the past several days, so that your body gets used to smaller amounts of food and more water gradually, and thus you do not cause harm to yourself.
Likewise, when you finish fasting, do not start eating immediately and introduce foods high in calories, high sugars, and fats into your body all at once. On the contrary, it is preferable to do so gradually and in small quantities. It is preferable to start eating fruits first because they are rich in fluids, and not to start with solid food to protect your system. Digestive.
Benefits of water fasting
Water fasting has many benefits, including:
1- Reducing blood pressure: Consuming pure water in sufficient quantities and reducing salt intake will control high blood pressure to a very great extent.
2- Cell recycling: Scientists and researchers have noted that fasting in general helps in the process of disintegrating and recycling old cells in the body, and this would help in resisting serious diseases such as Alzheimer’s, cancer and other diseases.
3- Improving sugar levels: Pure water is very important for maintaining the health of the body. Therefore, water fasting helps stimulate the functions of the brain and other organs, and thus reduces the risk of chronic diseases, including diabetes, cholesterol, and triglycerides. This is because drinking pure water helps in the body’s ability to absorb Insulin is necessary to regulate sugar levels.
4- It helps in losing weight: You have certainly resorted to water fasting to lose weight in one way or another, and this fasting will lead you to strong and direct results, as the body does not access carbohydrates and uses its fat reserves as a large source of energy.
That is, the body moves the accumulated fat and thus destroys it and derives energy from it, and this greatly enhances the nutritional distribution in your body.
5- Delaying aging: One of the most important benefits of water fasting is that it has a significant positive effect on combating aging. Fasting makes your body in a state of activation from the inside and outside, and drinking pure water will enhance the longevity of youth that everyone dreams of.
6- Resisting infections that enter the body.
7- Improving metabolism and increasing fertility.
8- It gives the body the physical fitness required to have an ideal body.
9- Promoting heart health, protecting and stimulating the brain.
10- Resistance to oxidative stress.
Harmful effects of water fasting
Certainly, this type of fasting not only has benefits, but it also has harms and risks, and we will mention to you the most prominent of them, as relying on water fasting for very long periods may lead to:
1- Dehydration: Yes, what you just read is true, and you may wonder how you will become dehydrated when you only drink water. Well, we will tell you that the body works to obtain approximately 20 to 30% of its water needs through foods rich in fluids, meaning in clearer terms that the body does not depend on Water is the only source of water.
2- Refeeding Syndrome: Water fasting increases the risk of this syndrome, which occurs when eating foods after fasting for a long period, which makes the body suffer from rapid and sudden changes and confuses the digestive system, and it can unfortunately be fatal.
3- Healthy weight loss: Your body does not know which fat you want to get rid of, and where it is concentrated, and therefore fasting may cause you to lose weight from the wrong places, and these places are often from muscle and stored water and not from fat directly.
4- Reducing orthostatic blood pressure: This explains the feeling of dizziness when you try to stand, which may lead to fainting.
5- Severe malnutrition.
6- Water poisoning.
7- Poor digestion as a result of eating large and immoderate quantities immediately after fasting, which causes intestinal upset and great and sometimes unbearable pain.
Can you start water fasting?
Of course, water fasting may not be suitable for all people, and someone may recommend it to you because he found amazing results, but remember that your body is different from his body and it may cause you mild, moderate, or even severe health damage. There are some cases in which we advise against following water fasting, as it is not suitable for them and may cause She has health problems, including:
- People with type 1 and type 2 diabetes.
- Children are definitely prohibited from this type of fasting.
- Pregnant and breastfeeding women.
- the elderly.
- Those who suffer from migraines.
- Who needs periodic blood transfusions.
- Who suffers from malnutrition, absorption, or various eating disorders.
- Heart patients.
- Those who suffer from excessive thinness.
- Gout patients.
- Who takes certain medications periodically and regularly during the day.
Conclusion
Pure water in particular is very necessary to maintain the functioning of various organs, especially the brain, which consumes approximately 25% of the body’s energy on a daily basis, while most of this percentage goes to the process of digestion and getting rid of toxins.
Therefore, when we maintain the digestive system and help it get rid of toxins and relieve it of solid foods, this will help cleanse the body and renew itself, and the cleansing process begins from the blood through the liver.
Therefore, drinking adequate amounts of water helps increase energy levels and physical activity during daily life, and helps in skin cell renewal and hair growth, especially since Smartly offers products and devices that help you obtain pure water rich in vitamins that will certainly help you in these tasks.
Do not forget that water fasting is a arduous and tiring process and is not as easy as you expect. It helps cleanse the body from the inside and outside. Whatever your goal is, follow it with caution and start gradually until you get used to it. It is preferable to follow up with a nutrition expert who knows your health condition and can evaluate it and monitor your body’s performance. And its interaction with water fasting