We as species have evolved to consume a varied diet, but limiting it to specific foods choices leads to chronic health problems. Due to this, the burden of foodborne diseases is on the rise for the past couple of decades. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 5.6 million children died in 2016.
Today, the vast majority of the world population is dependent on highly processed, salt, sugar, and oil-laden, animal-based foods. When consumed for an extended period, these foods contribute to developing numerous chronic diseases, such as autoimmune and inflammatory disorders, cancer, diabetes, neurological diseases, and rheumatoid arthritis.
Over time, such foods build-up toxins and harmful chemical substances in our body, and it becomes essential for us to remove these toxins from the body for optimal health. Water fast helps in weight loss, detoxification, and rejuvenating our body. The harmful toxins are eliminated from the body as the oxygen in the water triggers the liver and also aids the digestive system.
What is Water Cleansing and How it Improves Health?
Fasting with water is also known as water cleansing as it improves the natural detoxification process. Our body has a complex detoxification process that consists of vital organs, such as the liver, kidneys, digestive system, lungs, and skin. When you start developing more toxins than it can flush out, it leads to chronic health complications.
The burden of toxic substance on our body is because of the following reasons:
- The quality of your diet and the amount of detox supporting nutrients. Animal-based foods lead to developing more toxins in the body.
- The internal and external exposure sources contributing to the number of toxicants.
- Your body’s ability to develop detox enzymes.
Water supports the overall process of flushing out the harmful substances from the body.
How to Water Fast?
The process of restricting yourself from food sounds easier than actually practicing it. Even reducing the number of meals is a big ask. So, keeping yourself to drinking water for days is not an easy thing to do. Therefore, you have to be mentally ready before starting water fasting.
Linking the activity to a goal should be next on the plan so that you can keep track of your progress. Doing all this under expert supervision is strongly recommended. Also, once the water fasting is over, it is equally essential to resist the urge to eat a big meal. It can lead to digestive discomfort or nausea.
Benefits of Water Fasting
Water fasting has multiple health benefits, as discussed below:
- Effective Weight Management
One of the primary reasons that people tend to water fasting is the magical results it has on weight management. However, for better results, extended water fasting under expert supervision is advised as single-day water fasting may not yield the desired results.
The actual weight loss happens once your body has utilized all the stored sugar, and it starts burning fat tissues. At this time, ketone bodies start suppressing hunger, which ultimately results in weight loss.
- Autophagy
It is a natural process in which our cells clean and recycles themselves. The process also improves the liver function, which in turn recovers the detoxification process. Water fasting activates autophagy and also stimulates hormone growth.
- Regulating Blood Pressure and Diabetes
The research has shown that medically supervised water fasting is clinical in treating hypertension. Similarly, fasting improves insulin sensitivity, which prevents type 2 diabetes.
Disadvantages of Water Fasting and the Role of Plant-Based Whole Foods
Along with multiple health benefits, water fasting has some drawbacks too; such as:
- Nutrient deficiency– restricting caloric intake means you are keeping your body deficient in vital nutrients, such as vitamins, minerals, fatty acids, amino acids, and electrolytes.
- Dehydration– 20% of your daily water needs come from the food you eat. Therefore, even though you are consuming a lot of water, still you may subject your body to severe dehydration.
- Hypotension– while water fasting regulates your blood pressure, one can experience unsafe changes in the blood pressure. Hypotension is the opposite of hypertension, where your blood pressure may experience sudden drops.
- Hyponatremia– it is also called water intoxication, the process in which you lose only water through sweating instead of water and salt.
- Dizziness and fatigue– you may experience severe fatigue and dizziness due to not consuming enough nutrients to keep you active.
It is where plant-based whole foods come into play due to their myriad health benefits. Foods derived from plants are rich in all essential nutrients with no health disadvantages. Therefore, whatever you are trying to achieve through water fasting can be achieved by consuming a diet that consists of vegetables, fresh fruits, legumes, nuts, and seeds.
The plant-based whole foods have the following benefits:
- Plants reduce inflammation as they are rich in phytochemicals and antioxidants.
- They help achieve and maintain a healthy weight.
- The plant-based diet reduces the risk of chronic diseases.
- They have natural detoxing properties.
Conclusion
Our body heavily relies on water for multiple bodily functions, and water fasting is an effective way of getting rid of harmful toxins, pollutants, and chemical substances. The process has numerous health-related benefits, including effective weight loss, regulating blood pressure and diabetes, and detoxification.
However, it has several disadvantages, as well. Living your life on plant-based organic whole foods is the answer to all health problems.
