Basics about Fasting

1.What is fasting?

Fasting can be defined as a 'willful abstinence or reduction from some or all food, drink, or both, for a period'. Fasting is dependent on the cultural habits and the climatic condition where the individual resides. However, fasting these days is done to reduce weight, detox, etc. Alternative medical streams like Ayurveda and Naturopathy have included fasting as a form of treatment as well.

2.What are the types of fasting?

Types of fasting include:

Cleansing fast: The aim of this fasting is to cleanse the colon and clear the toxins. Here, lemon juice or a laxative tea is used once or twice daily up to 14 days. This fast requires a doctor's supervision.
Diagnostic Fast: This is for diagnostic purpose where an individual is asked to drink only water for eight to twelve hours before testing (example, fasting glucose tolerance test, to measure the blood glucose levels to diagnose diabetes).

Intermittent or short term fasting: During intermittent fasting, one will start to fast after breakfast on day one until the breakfast time on a subsequent day (after 24 hours) or until the second day (after 36 hours).

A juice fast: Here, people take vegetable or fruits juices two to three times a day, ranging from one day to 15 days.

Liquid protein fast: This fast is observed by obese people (moderate to severe) to lose weight. This medically supervised weight loss plan is supposed to make a person lose weight up to 3-4 pounds in a week.

Long-term fasting: This is a prolonged fasting which can last from 48 hours to 30-40 days without food. This type of fasting should be done only under medical supervision.

Partial fast: This is also called as selective or modified, or single food fast or a mono-diet which includes some solid food in a limited quantity. For e.g. a mono-diet apple fast (having few apples per day), Daniel fast (meat, wine and other delicacies are forbidden and wholesome foods like grains, vegetables and fruits are consumed).

Religious fast: Hindus fast every once/twice in a week or once a month (example Ekadashi). Muslims fast for 28-30 days every year during the month of Ramadan. Christians may fast for 40 days before Easter (Lent). Jains fast either having no food for 8-10 days a month or limit having their food. Sikhs may fast during a full moon or specific holidays. Buddhists fast during retreats for intense meditation etc.

Water fast: This fast involves consuming 2 litres of water in a day. This fasting has to be followed under doctor's supervision only.

3. What are the benefits of fasting?

Assist in healing: Fasting is touted to help in getting rid of the diseased cells.

Balance hormones: Diabetes and obesity are due to the insensitivity of hormones such as insulin (which normalises sugar) and leptin and ghrelin (which tells you when you are full and when to eat). 

Fasting is believed to help in increasing the sensitivity of hormones and could be helpful for people with diabetes and obesity under medical supervision.

Increase immunity: During fasting, the body will clear fat deposits, and reported to expel toxins. This process is said to be helpful in restoring the function of the immune system and optimise the metabolism.

Give deep rest: Fasting is said to foster a deep physiological rest to the digestive organs due to which the energy that is spent for digestion is now is believed to be used for the purpose of self-healing.

4. Who should not fast?

Following are not candidates for fasting:

• Intermittent fasting is not advised for pregnant and breastfeeding women.
• People with diabetes.
• People who have a general weakness (e.g. anaemia), diagnosed with an acute/chronic illness (e.g. tumours, bleeding ulcers, cancer, blood diseases, heart/kidney/liver-related disease, etc.).
• People on medication, diagnosed with behavioural disorders (e.g. anorexia, bulimia), should do fasting under the supervision of a health care provider.
• Fasting is not recommended for malnourished, very old or very young individuals.

5. What are the side effects of fasting?

Fasting is a process where the body tries to remove toxins, metabolic by-products, etc., and adjust physiologically to a health promoting diet. During this transition, an individual may initially experience symptoms like nausea, vomiting, heartburn, diarrhoea, fatigue, headaches, skin rashes, abdominal pain, bloating, joint pain, irritability and depression. However, this is a temporary phase where the body is trying to cope with the changes, and one can gradually overcome it.

6. What are the things to be restricted while fasting?

Each type of fasting has its rules of food and drinks to be consumed.

Consume these:

Legumes: Dried beans, split peas, and lentils.

Fruits: Apple, banana, apricot, figs, grapefruit, grapes, guava, kiwi, lime, mango, papaya, peach, pear, pineapple, plum, prunes, raisins, strawberries, watermelon, etc.
Vegetables: Asparagus, beet, broccoli, sprouts, cabbage, carrot, cauliflower, cucumber, eggplant, garlic, ginger, lettuce, potato, radish, spinach, sprouts, nuts, sweet potato, tomato, turnip, yam, sprouts.

Liquids: Water, herbal (caffeine-free) tea, unsweetened soy milk, natural fruit juice (without sugar) and honey.

Avoid these:
White rice, foods containing preservatives or additives, fried food, coffee, tea, meat, poultry, fish, carbonated/caffeinated beverages, refined sugar or sugar substitutes, white flour, margarine, high-fat products, all bread, dairy products (milk, butter, cheese, yoghurt, etc.).

7. How to break the fast?

You can break the fast by drinking freshly prepared mixed fruit juice (melon, grapes, apples and pears) or organic vegetable juice (carrot) or by eating a bowl of mixed salad (broccoli, lentil, cabbage and mung bean).