Water Fast

My sister recently started a water fast, where she will only drink water; no food whatsoever for 10-20 days. I haven't found anything that shows the health benefits of doing this, and am worried that she will be hurting herself. Any advice? Thank you.

[caregiver222]

Not a good idea. Plan stupid. Yes. She could jeopardize her life. What imbecile suggested this? There are health benefits to short fasts.

[steve80]

while 10 days might not be a problem if she is stable with her circulatory system so far (altough, how old is your sister?), I mean, not regularly has problems because of low pressure, like dizzyness or weakness etc, and of course isn't strongly underweight already (anorexic)
I think 20 days are a bit extreme, at least without monitoring by a (proper) doctor. And I am not sure whether 20 days could be more beneficial than 10, and not the down sides aren't greater. I knew some persons who do 14-days fastings a few times a year, they are pretty healthy, but I see no proof for them being healthy because, or rather despite of the fasting ;-)

What are the reasons for your sister to do the fasting?
Maybe we can convince her of other solutions for the goal she want's to achieve.

[michcas]

She's 22 and it's for weight loss...she's not anorexic but definitely has an unhealthy relationship with food, and an obsession with the gym. She's very healthy, fit and intelligent, so I don't believe she would anything that would potentially harm her. I think she's simply misinformed, but she tends to get overly excited about new things....I was trying to find medical proof that showed it was not such a good idea. I'll suggest to her that she sees a nutritionist. Thank you all for your help...

[caregiver222]

I didn't mean to be overly sarcastic, howver there are genuine dangers in such a prolonged fast drinking only water, especially if not supervised by a physician. I doubt any M.D. would agree to supervise a patient under such a protocol.

[honey1982]

i am a certified medical assistant. and the fast is unhealthy.you can get water poisoiniing from drinking to much water and if you only drink watser your system will shut down and you wont be abler to function properly and your muscle will shut down causeing muscle failure thats is not a smart plan. you shouldn't do fast track diet because of all of the after effect it has on the body and those type of diets are only quick fixes. once of those type of diets and fast the personmn is more prone to gfaining more wait then what they were weighing before thy started the diert. medical . and lack of nutrients your breath will stink, and your body will stink, as well as other helath issue. well goodluck and try to do some jogging, and eating fruit like grapefruit and yogurt, green veggies, lean meat like turkey or baked skinless chicken . those are healthy diet foods.

[smarthealth]

It's hard to believe you would be a certified medical assisant considering the nonsense you have written about water fasting in your comment. As long as you're in good generally good health, a 10-day water fast is very beneficial. None of your claims is true.

[kmn3276]

are you guys really so ignorant of long term fasting? it is EXTREMELY HEALTHY. 28 days is especially beneficial. your body will not shut down, there will be no "muscle failure." during the fast, the body works to expell toxins. it takes about 21-28 days to complete this huge task and by the end of it the faster will feel completely revitalized. do some research, please.

[lilcindarella]

i agree with kmn3276, but i personally prefer the master cleanse a.k.a the lemon diet

[D977]

Fasting is great for the body as above mentioned. Clearing the organs and giving them a rest. Also not mentioned is when you come back off the fast is to do it very gradually  drinking a little juice and eating a little fruit. Then some salad and so on putting heavier things like meat if you eat meat way at the end. Otherwise it ruins the fast especially short fasts.
D

[syndicate22]

Who ever is claiming that going on a water fast is unhealthy is an idiot!  Water fasting is the GREATEST thing you can do for your body!  The people that are putting it down obviously haven't experienced it.  I water fast once a year for 14 days.  Anything over 20 days is pushing it...but still possible to do and very healthy.  You can go up to 40 days on a straight water fast.  There are cases of people curing theirselves of cancer from water fasting.  Water fastng has unlimited benefits to healing the body.  And if you are wondering why people dont talk about water fasting much there are two basic reasons.  One..water fasting is VERY hard to do for most people.  You have to have an extreme amount of self control and courage to get through it.  I would say being able to complete a water fast is very similar to quiting smoking. The second reason is...pharmacutical companies and doctors dont make money on perscribing people to a water fast.  I am on the third day of a water fast right now, I have acid reflux (gerd).  Water fasting is going to cure my acid relux for good if I can get up to 20 days and maintain a healthy diet thereafter.  

If you are planning a water fast, make sure you only drink distilled water.  When fasting, most of your senses increase by 20% or more.  Vision, smell, taste, ect.  Make sure you get plenty of rest.  I would recommend doing very light excerises each day of your water fast.  I going for a walk around the block in the morning and at night.  This is good to keep your heart rate up.  Remember, human beings are supposed to fast naturally.  Its part of our existance!  

[neanderthal]

There are lots of doctors who think it's okay to do it on a short term 3-10 days. Not sure about long term. Maybe if you have a lot of junk in the trunk (i.e. fat) lol then you can go on for longer since the initial reaction in your metabolism will be to increase glucagon, decrease insulin, and find energy sources from fat due to the lack of free glucose and stored glycogen in the liver will be reverted back to glucose and gluconeogenisis will take place starting with glycerols in your fat and lipolysis-breakdown of fat to glucose. After all your fat and glycogen stores are depleted, then the muscles will take a hit and revert protein to glucose. You should stop before this point, otherwise your health will deteriorate. So if you have a little junk in your trunk, you should be fine and not worry about muscle loss. Not sure how long glycogen stores last for someone who's already fit. The safest thing to do would be to take some protein powder and vitamins if your thinking long term (over 10 days).

[croberts119]

You know nothing about a water fast. Your a so called certified medical assistant and you can not even spell HEALTH... For someone that has no weight or health issues a water fast is not by any means the way to go. But a water fast is not unhealthy. However, it does has it's dangers like anything we do in life does. Do the research. It cures more then it harms. And the odor you are talking about with your breath and body has to do with the body detoxing. Read, Learn and research. And also talk to a medical Doctor that has a personal experience with fasting and also a nutritionist who has experience fasting. You will also get a better response to your answer with a medical Doctor that has experience fasting and also the same goes for a nutritionist that has experience. See a Dr does not have to know anything to be a doctor about nutrition. Its not a qualification that a Doctor needs. That's why if your serious about doing a 21 day or more water fast consult both that have experience in doing it. This way you will get a fair reply from an actual doctor that also has experience in fasting along with a nutritionist with the same experience. No experience with consulting both that do not you will never get a fair reply on health issues and what you really need to watch out for or how to safely go about going into a long water fast on how to prepare your body. This isn't something you just quit eating and just drink water. You need to step up to that b4 doing it. Or you could get yourself in trouble. But there is a safe way of doing this.

[CharlieBrown55]

Very interesting debate. I have heard both sides of this and have always been pondering doing a short term fast myself. I want to cleans my body but my friends seem to think it is not a healthy thing to do. I'm going to have to do some more research on this and give it a try myself. Thanks for all the great information everyone!