Common Questions about Water Fasting

There are many different aspects of any type of fasting, including water fasting. As a result, there can be hundreds of questions in people’s minds about fasting. In this post, we have tried to answer five of the most common questions related to water fasting to remove any ambiguity you may have.

1.    What Is Water Fasting?

Water fasting is a type of intermittent fasting in which you have to stop food consumption and drinking any kind of beverage, except water. Some other types of fasts, like a juice fast, may allow you to drink different fluids, but on water fast, you can only drink water. Since water is the only thing you will be consuming water fast, so it is important to drink lots of water throughout the day.

2.    How Long to Water Fast?

There is a lot of confusion among people about the duration of water fast. Typically, water fast lasts for 24 hours to 72 hours. The majority of the people water fast for a day or two. If you want to go beyond the 72-hours recommended duration of water fast, you should contact your doctor or a medical expert as longer fasts should be conducted under medical supervision.

3.    What is the longest recorded water fast?

The most extended water fast was performed in 1971 by a man for a period of 382 days. He drank water and few supplements during this timeframe. As a result, he lost 276 pounds.

4.    How Does Water Fasting Work?

Water fasting can produce immediate effects in your body as you stop consuming any kind of calories. The basic concept behind water fasting is as same as the rest of the types of fasting. Glucose is the primary component from which our body gets energy. It is stored in the form of glycogen stores.

During a water fast, your glucose reserves are finished, and the body starts burning fats to get energy from an alternate source. When your body is deprived of calories for a long period of fasting, the body starts burning fat at a very quick rate, and hence weight loss starts taking place.

5.    What is Ketosis on a Water Fast?

Ketosis is the quickest way of burning fats in your body while fasting. It means the production of ketone bodies due to a lack of carbohydrates. Ketone bodies are responsible for triggering fats to be used as the primary energy source.

The amount of time it takes for your body to enter ketosis is dependent on the levels of glucose stores in the body. If you have a lot of glucose reserves, you may have to wait for a period of two to three days before ketosis occurs. Experienced fasters usually reduced their glucose intake outside the fast, which allows them to enter ketosis quickly on water fast.

Conclusions

These are some of the very important questions associated with water fasting. If you have any other questions related to the fasting or health conditions, you should consult your physician or doctor to find out the best fasting plan for yourself.