Water fasting
 | This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these messages)
|
Water fasting is a type of fasting in which the practitioner consumes only water. One may water fast for a variety of reasons, including medical[citation needed] and religious requirements.
Religious requirement
Jainism
Jains maintain a strict water-only fast for 8 to 10 ( Swetambar & digambar ) days, during the days of Paryushan.
Roman Catholicism
Roman Catholics must engage in the eucharistic fast[1] before receiving the Eucharist during the Mass. While no nutritional or caloric sustenance is permitted, practitioners may take medicine if required, and those whose health problems impede them from fasting are dispensed of the obligation.
Up until the reforms of the Second Vatican Council, this fast was required from the previous midnight, as it is in various Orthodox Churches. However, under Pope Paul VI, the obligatory fast was reduced to only one hour before receiving the Eucharist.
The Catholic Church has also promoted a Black Fast, in which in addition to water, bread is consumed. Typically, this form of fasting was only used by monks and other religious individuals who practice mortifications and asceticism, but all Catholics are invited to take part in it with the advice and consent of their spiritual director.
Potential Health Benefits
Pre-agricultural humans endured regular periods of fasting for thousands of years[2]. Only in the last 12,000 years or so have humans been more accustomed to constant caloric availability. Thus, it is logical that the human body developed mechanisms in evolution to survive during periods of caloric restriction. Researchers continue to conduct studies to determine potential health benefits and risks of prolonged water fasting.
Weight Loss
Following 12-36 hours of fasting, the body enters a state of ketosis, which allows the body to burn fat for energy in lieu of glycogen from the liver (sometimes referred to as "flipping the metabolic switch")[3]. Of relevance to weight management, this switch represents a shift from lipid synthesis and fat storage to mobilization of fat in the form of free fatty acids (FFAs) and fatty-acid derived ketones.[3]
Autophagy
Autophagy is the natural, regulated mechanism of a cell that removes unnecessary or dysfunctional components. It allows the orderly degradation and recycling of cellular components. Water fasting has been shown to enhance autophagy and apoptosis, thus removing damaged cells and allowing for the regeneration of new, healthy cells[4]. The mechanisms for triggering autophagy were just recently discovered by Yoshinori Ohsumi, which earned him the Nobel Price in Medicine in 2016[5]. He first discovered the process for autophagy in yeast cells, and later showed a similar process occurred in human cells[6].
Aiding in Cancer Treatment
Fasting may also protect patients against the harmful side effects of chemotherapy or radiation therapy. Fasting for up to five days, followed by a normal diet prior to treatment may reduce side effects from treatment, without causing chronic weight loss or interfering with the therapeutic effect of treatment. Older cancer patients (n=10), who voluntarily underwent short-term fasting before and/or after chemotherapy reported fewer side effects[7]. Furthermore, it is theorized that cancer cells do not respond to the protective signals generated by fasting, thus leaving them vulnerable to both the immune system and cancer treatment. This process is known as differential stress resistance (DSR). Short-term starvation (STS), fasting for 48 hours, causes a rapid switch of cells to a protected mode, which is capable of protecting mammalian cells and mice from various toxins, including chemotherapy[7].
See also
References
- ^ [1] Canon 919 §1 of the Code of Canon Law of the Catholic Church
- ^ Crittenden, Alyssa N.; Schnorr, Stephanie L. (2017-01). "Current views on hunter-gatherer nutrition and the evolution of the human diet". American Journal of Physical Anthropology. 162 Suppl 63: 84–109. doi:10.1002/ajpa.23148. ISSN 1096-8644. PMID 28105723.
{{cite journal}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ a b Anton, Stephen D.; Moehl, Keelin; Donahoo, William T.; Marosi, Krisztina; Lee, Stephanie; Mainous, Arch G.; Leeuwenburgh, Christiaan; Mattson, Mark P. (2018-02-26). "Flipping the Metabolic Switch: Understanding and Applying Health Benefits of Fasting". Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.). 26 (2): 254–268. doi:10.1002/oby.22065. ISSN 1930-7381. PMC 5783752. PMID 29086496.
- ^ Longo, Valter D; Fontana, Luigi (2011-02-11). "Calorie restriction and cancer prevention: metabolic and molecular mechanisms". Trends in pharmacological sciences. 31 (2): 89–98. doi:10.1016/j.tips.2009.11.004. ISSN 0165-6147. PMC 2829867. PMID 20097433.
- ^ "A 3-Day Water Fast | Benefits of Going Foodless". Logging Off. Retrieved 2020-05-17.
- ^ Devlin, Hannah; Sample, Ian (2016-10-03). "Yoshinori Ohsumi wins Nobel prize in medicine for work on autophagy". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2020-05-17.
- ^ a b "Cancer and Fasting / Calorie Restriction". UCSF Osher Center for Integrative Medicine. Retrieved 2020-05-17.
Further reading
- Leiper JB, Molla AM, Molla AM (2003). "Effects on health of fluid restriction during fasting in Ramadan". Eur J Clin Nutr (Review). 57 Suppl 2: S30–8. doi:10.1038/sj.ejcn.1601899. PMID 14681711.