With the increase in social-media-driven trends, people are experiencing consumer fatigue as well as a growing distrust of influencer-recommended “wellness hacks”, according to clinical fasting expert and renowned expert in nutrition, biohacking, and fasting for longevity, Dr. Chris Rhodes.
“While society’s interest in living longer continues to increase, and their skepticism in gimmicks grows, more people are turning to nature-inspired, scientifically-backed, age-old, tried and true wellness practices, like fasting. But what actually takes place in your body when you fast? Below, Dr. Rhodes shares what happens to your body during an extended fast and which benefits you might actually feel.
What happens to your body when you fast?
“When we eat, normally our body has all the nutrients it needs to operate without having to put in too much effort. This causes our cells to be a bit lazy and “run dirty,” expending more energy and creating more waste than necessary, which can accelerate aging. In a fed state, your body doesn’t prioritize maintaining proper cellular health because if something goes wrong, there’s plenty of resources to make a new cell,” says Dr. Rhodes.
“However, when you fast, your body doesn’t have the resources required to make new cells whenever it wants and so flips into a powerful survival mode designed to optimize cellular functionality, improve metabolic efficiency, promote stress resistance, and reduce waste and damage,” Dr. Rhodes shares. During this fasting period, a variety of changes take place, including:
- Your metabolism shifts, burning through glucose and shifting to burning ketones to promote weight loss.
- Your body calms down, causing inflammation to drop and the immune system to heighten to fight off autoimmune attacks.
- Hunger control boosts, initiating a natural appetite regulation.
- Cell renewal, causing your body to go into a state of “autophagy”, a cellular state where your body starts cleaning up old, weak cells and creating new, strong, healthy ones.
- Improved energy, focus, & clarity, Fasting raises NAD⁺, helping your cells produce energy, promoting more mental focus, steadier energy, and an overall sense of vitality.
- New brain cells grow: Fasting encourages the growth of new neurons in the brain’s learning and memory center, helping to improve thinking.
Fasting benefits you might actually feel
Understanding fasting on a cellular level can be quite complex, but fasting offers many tangible benefits that you can actually feel. While the benefits you can feel do vary from person to person, Dr. Rhodes says most people who fast generally report improved hunger control, balanced energy levels throughout the day, improved cognitive function and memory, and less joint pain or discomfort from inflammation. During extended, long-term fasting, some people even report feelings of heightened mental clarity and euphoria.
For many people, hunger control is a major reason to fast, making it easier to maintain a healthy weight and reduce cravings. Fasting can cause a rise in appetite-regulating compounds in the body, acting as a “switch” that naturally kicks in when you’ve had enough to eat. Instead, during an extended fast, this compound comes into play to send a signal to the brain to reduce cravings.
“As you continue incorporating fasting into your lifestyle, many people find they naturally eat smaller portions and feel less hungry when they’re not eating. This can be attributed to changes in hunger-regulating hormones, which help recalibrate how your body perceives hunger and fullness,” he says.
How to get started
“The easiest way to get started with fasting is to start small and go slow. If you’re curious about the fasting lifestyle, but don’t want to dive in headfirst into a 24-hour fast, you can start by simply skipping breakfast and take it from there. Just see how long you can go without eating, and over time, add more and more time to that window until you’ve reached your fasting goals,” Dr. Rhodes recommends.
Over time, you’ll begin to learn how fasting affects your body and become more adapted, making it easier to fast longer. He also stresses the importance of drinking lots of water and liquids like tea or bone broth, helping to fill the stomach and keep you satisfied without food during a fast.
“The best type of fasting to do as a beginner is the fast that you can complete,” he says, as every person will have different fasting tolerances when starting. Starting small and building your way to longer fasts is the best way to make sure you’re not “getting in over your head” with fasting.
Are there risks?
Although fasting is generally safe, it’s always important to speak to your doctor before starting a new fasting routine. Dr. Rhodes says fasting can be dangerous for individuals with various underlying metabolic conditions. When done safely and under the guidance of a medical professional, fasting is generally safe for healthy people. Dr. Rhodes recommends finding a reputable fasting clinic in your area that can provide medical oversight to the fast and ensure adequate nutrition upon refeeding.
However, “Going too fast too quickly is a guaranteed way to burn yourself out on fasting. It’s much better to start small and go slow than to jump into a 5-day fast and fizzle out on hour 14,” he says. When taken too far, fasting can cause nutrient deficiencies and physiological stress.
