Table of Contents
Dry fasting, the practice of abstaining from both food and liquids, has gained significant attention for its potential to induce autophagy – a crucial cellular process that helps the body recycle damaged proteins and eliminate toxins. This article delves into the science behind dry fasting and autophagy, exploring the optimal duration, timeline, and stages of this transformative practice.
By understanding the mechanisms and benefits of dry fasting, individuals can make informed decisions about incorporating it into their health and wellness routines.
Is drinking a lot of water healthy?
now the one thing that we all know is a hundred percent true is that drinking a lot of water is very good for our bodies and dehydration is very bad for our bodies. we know that we’ve been told that by everyone. but why is it that when you over water a plant uh it dies? in fact the number one cause of plant death plants in your house is over watering them.
- Drinking water is essential for our bodies
- Dehydration is harmful
- Overwatering can kill plants
we also know that to make a really good wine you have to not put too much water. in fact certain really good wine makers found that if you don’t over water if the plant or the Grapevine goes through a short period of no water The Roots will go deeper and the flavor of the wine is greater. you have a lot more phytochemicals because that plant adapts.
- Limited watering can improve wine quality
- Grapevines develop deeper roots with less water
- Water stress increases phytochemicals in grapes
and we also know that nutrition is good for our bodies right? vitamins and minerals that act as cofactors to help all the biochemistry the biochemical reactions in our body to make us healthy. but the time restrictive eating the fasting also at the same time greatly benefits the biochemistry of your body.
- Nutrition is crucial for bodily functions
- Vitamins and minerals act as cofactors in biochemical reactions
- Time-restricted eating and fasting benefit body biochemistry
Water fasting vs. dry fasting
and the two main types of fasting is water fasting okay and dry fasting. when you do water fasting you’re basically not eating but you’re drinking liquids. when you do dry fasting not only are you not eating food but you’re not drinking water. so that is a topic I want to touch on and just explain something that’s actually quite fascinating and you may want to consider doing a short dry fast.
- Two main types of fasting: water fasting and dry fasting
- Water fasting: no food, only liquids
- Dry fasting: no food, no water
Benefits of fasting
one of the biggest benefits of fasting is something called autophagy. autophagy is a condition where your body is recycling damaged proteins okay and it’s turning those into new biochemical enzymes and structural proteins things like that like your hair now skin bones muscle Etc. and fasting is a potent stimulus of this autophagy. autophagy also helps you clear out intracellular pathogens microbes viruses very interesting.
- Autophagy: body’s process of recycling damaged proteins
- Fasting stimulates autophagy
- Autophagy helps clear intracellular pathogens
now if we take a look at the importance of getting nutrients versus the importance of detoxification they’re pretty close as far as benefit to your overall health and in some cases detoxification might even be a little bit more important.
one of the big purposes of sleep is to detoxify your cells and this is why when you don’t sleep you might feel kind of very toxic and sluggish especially in your head. well when you do fasting especially dry fasting you mimic a lot of the benefits to sleep you’re getting rid of toxicity inside yourself.
- Detoxification is as important as nutrition for overall health
- Sleep plays a crucial role in cell detoxification
- Fasting, especially dry fasting, mimics sleep’s detoxification benefits
now to explain this I need to explain another thing about eight to ten percent of the water that you get is produced by your own selves in the mitochondria as the last step of the mitochondria.
if you’re burning fat you’re changing that fat into water and oxygen roughly about eight to ten percent of the water in your body is produced within your body it’s called endogenous Water Production or metabolic water.
- 8-10% of body water is produced by cells in mitochondria
- Fat burning produces water and oxygen
- This process is called endogenous Water Production or metabolic water
I mean even in nature animals especially those that live in the desert have a higher function of this they can make water from within and one of the big benefits of your body making this water is you get this internal water flushing from the inside out so you enhance the detoxification process. but if you’re drinking all this water the body never gets a chance to produce this metabolic water.
- Desert animals have enhanced ability to produce water internally
- Internal water production enhances detoxification
- Excessive water intake inhibits metabolic water production
this is why when you do a water fast okay you don’t get the benefits from a dry fast because you’re actually drinking water water and that water inhibits the production of your own body’s water.
so a dry fast really is enhanced autophagy it’s just a better way of your cells taking out the trash and getting rid of all the extra metabolic waste and the benefits are very similar to sleeping as far as the detoxification of your cells.
- Water fasting doesn’t provide the same benefits as dry fasting
- Dry fasting enhances autophagy
- Dry fasting improves cellular waste removal
and I think a lot of people um don’t realize how much extra waste that we generate in our cells through the day especially if we’re not eating well so anything you can do to remove extra waste is a very good thing especially for a longevity.
- Cells generate significant waste, especially with poor diet
- Waste removal is crucial for longevity
- Dry fasting can help remove cellular waste
Benefits of dry fasting
so let me just kind of summarize the benefits in a little bit more detail for you.
number one dry fasting can help remove intracellular toxicity more than water fasting.
number two dry fasting actually strengthens the biochemical enzyme Pathways the whole biochemistry the machine that runs your body.
number three and this is very very important most diseases are related to the mitochondria mitochondrial dysfunction and doing dry fasting can help improve mitochondrial function because when you go through autophagy you also clean up damaged mitochondria and that’s called mitophagy which is the recycling of mitochondria as well as improving damaged mitochondria themselves.
- Dry fasting removes intracellular toxicity better than water fasting
- Strengthens biochemical enzyme pathways
- Improves mitochondrial function through mitophagy
because I would even venture to say that probably 80 percent of all disease including cancer is related to a problem with the mitochondria.
if you add exercise with dry fasting during that period of time which I’ll explain the details in a minute you can really take your mitochondria to the next level because exercise as a stimulus by itself can increase the number of mitochondria and the health of the mitochondria as well as the capacity for the mitochondria to handle more stress and also produce more energy.
- 80% of diseases may be related to mitochondrial problems
- Combining exercise with dry fasting enhances mitochondrial benefits
- Exercise increases mitochondrial number, health, and capacity
number four you know we have different epigenetic factors okay epigenetics are above your genes the genes really do not control anything
it’s the epigenetic lifestyle actions like eating and even not eating short-term starvation or fasting is a very potent stimulus for survival and so is cold therapy because our bodies have evolved not in very comfortable environments but environments that were very very cold and environments
that we didn’t always have a lot of water and so if we inhibit the production of water at certain parts of the day it just may be very therapeutic to the cells just because we’re going back to how our bodies were originally adapted they did not involve with constant food Constant Comfort a lot of water all day long.
- Epigenetic factors influence gene expression
- Fasting and cold therapy are potent survival stimuli
- Our bodies evolved in challenging environments, not constant comfort
number five dry fasting can mimic some of the benefits of a deep rejuvenating sleep.
I mean sometimes I’m wondering if someone’s really tired because they’re tired or they tired because the accumulation of metabolic waste that has accumulated through the day or from some of the things that they ate.
I personally know when I fast I don’t get tired as much as when I’m eating and I feel better and I don’t need as much sleep and even the real deeper purpose of sleep is detoxification of metabolic waste.
- Dry fasting mimics deep, rejuvenating sleep
- Fatigue may be due to accumulated metabolic waste
- Fasting can reduce tiredness and improve overall feeling
How to do dry fasting
and the last point I want to bring up is is just there’s not a lot of people who do any type of dry fast and it’s one thing that we’re told you must always drink so much water to be hydrated but dehydration as an epigenetic stimulus is something that I think you should just test out for yourself.
yes there are people that do three day dry fast or even longer I’m not suggesting you dive into that what I am suggesting you test the waters on no pun intended is
let’s say for example you’re fasting for 16 hours okay or 18 hours just try not to drink any water in that period of time then when you eat okay your eating window that’s when you start getting your liquids and I do suggest you drink a lot of water right like maybe two and a half liters to get all your fluids within your eating window okay.
- Dry fasting is not common but may have benefits
- Start with 16-18 hour dry fasts
- Consume fluids during eating window (e.g., 2.5 liters)
now I’m not saying to force yourself to drink but the point is that for example if you have a weakness with kidney stones or you’re gonna have to get more fluid in your body
but you should just see how you feel if you can go 16 or 18 hours or even 20 hours without drinking any water while you’re fasting. what about the coffee in the morning?
well you could actually take a green coffee extract okay it has caffeine in it so you get the benefits of the caffeine like so you don’t have withdrawals from your coffee yet you’re not drinking the fluid of that coffee so you get the feeling of coffee but without the fluid.
- Listen to your body and adjust based on individual needs
- Consider green coffee extract for caffeine without fluid intake
it’s just an extra thing to look at if you want to enhance the epigenetic factors you may want to consider or look into doing a dry fast a shorter one to start out and then experiment a little bit longer.
- Start with shorter dry fasts and gradually increase duration
Summary
- Water fasting is when a person only consumes liquids for a period of time. When a person does dry fasting, they’re not consuming food or liquids.
- One of the biggest benefits of fasting is autophagy. Autophagy is a condition where your body recycles damaged proteins and turns them into new enzymes and structural proteins. Autophagy also helps you get rid of pathogens.
- Detoxification is just as important, if not more important, in some cases, as getting plenty of nutrients. One of the big purposes of sleep is to detoxify your cells. Fasting, especially dry fasting, mimics a lot of the benefits of sleep.
- It’s important to note that about eight to ten percent of the water you get is produced by your own cells, which also enhances detoxification. But, if you drink a lot of water, your body doesn’t get a chance to produce metabolic water.
- Dry fasting is essentially enhanced autophagy. Anything you can do to remove extra waste from the body is a great thing, especially for longevity.
Top benefits of dry fasting:
• It can help remove intracellular toxicity
• It can help strengthen biochemical machines
• It can help improve mitochondrial function
• It’s a strong epigenetic stimulus
• It can mimic some of the benefits of a deep sleep
You may want to test out a dry fast and do it gradually to see how you feel. A good place to start would be not consuming any water during a 16-hour fast. Then, when you eat, drink plenty of liquids.
DATA
Get my Free Guide on Autophagy
FAQ
How long to dry fast for autophagy?
Dry fasting, which involves abstaining from both food and liquids, can be beneficial for autophagy. Autophagy is a process where cells recycle damaged proteins and turn them into new enzymes and structural proteins. It also helps eliminate pathogens. The duration of dry fasting for optimal autophagy benefits is not entirely clear, but studies suggest that significant autophagy occurs within 36 hours of dry fasting[5]. However, it is crucial to note that the optimal duration may vary among individuals[5].
How many hours of dry fasting is beneficial?
Dry fasting for at least 14 hours is generally recommended to induce autophagy. This period allows the body to prepare for autophagy and break down recent food consumption. Prolonged fasts of 24-48 hours may provide even bigger benefits, but safety considerations should be kept in mind, especially for those taking insulin[2].
Why is dry fasting so powerful?
Dry fasting is considered powerful because it allows the body to starve cells more quickly, enhancing autophagy. This process helps remove intracellular toxicity, strengthens biochemical enzyme pathways, and improves mitochondrial function by cleaning up damaged mitochondria[1][2]. Additionally, dry fasting mimics the benefits of sleep by detoxifying cells and enhancing internal water flushing[1].
How many hours fasting for autophagy?
Autophagy can occur after at least 14 hours of fasting. However, the exact timing of autophagy initiation during fasting is not entirely clear, and it may take time for the body to prepare for autophagy[2].
3 days dry fasting results
Dry fasting for three days can lead to significant autophagy and detoxification benefits. This duration allows the body to undergo deep cellular cleansing, which can result in improved overall health and potentially even weight loss[4].
Dry fasting autophagy timeline
The timeline for autophagy during dry fasting is not entirely clear. However, studies suggest that significant autophagy occurs within 36 hours of dry fasting. The optimal duration may vary among individuals, and prolonged fasts of 24-48 hours may provide even bigger benefits[5].
Dry fasting stages
Dry fasting involves several stages:
- Initial Stage: This stage typically lasts for the first few hours of fasting. During this time, the body begins to adjust to the lack of food and liquids.
- Autophagy Stage: This stage occurs after the body has adjusted to the fasting period. It is characterized by the body’s ability to recycle damaged proteins and eliminate toxins.
- Detoxification Stage: This stage involves the body’s natural detoxification processes, which are enhanced during dry fasting. This stage can last for several hours or even days, depending on the duration of the fast[1][2].
Spiritual benefits of dry fasting
Dry fasting has been practiced for thousands of years by various religious groups. It is believed to help reset the immune system by removing damaged cells and promoting spiritual growth and self-reflection[4].
21 days dry fasting
Dry fasting for 21 days is not recommended without medical supervision. Prolonged dry fasting can lead to severe dehydration and other complications, including seizures, brain swelling, heat injury, kidney failure, and even coma or death[3][4].
Signs of autophagy fasting
Signs of autophagy during fasting include:
- Increased energy levels
- Improved mental clarity
- Weight loss
- Reduced inflammation
- Enhanced detoxification
These signs can vary depending on the individual and the duration of the fast[2][4].
Dry fasting vs. water fasting benefits
Dry fasting is considered more effective for autophagy because it allows the body to starve cells more quickly, enhancing the detoxification process. Water fasting, on the other hand, can inhibit the production of metabolic water, which is essential for internal detoxification[1][2].
Dry fasting weight loss
Dry fasting can lead to weight loss, especially if it is done regularly. The body’s ability to recycle damaged proteins and eliminate toxins can result in a reduction of body fat. However, dry fasting should be done under medical supervision to avoid dehydration and other complications[3][4].