The three-day fast: what do you think?
Hippocrates is said to have said that “one must be measured in everything, breathe clean air, exercise every day and cure one’s small ailments by fasting rather than by resorting to medicines”. Since ancient times, therefore, fasting was advocated and practiced. Today, fasting is extremely popular, in all its forms: intermittent fasting, OMAD diet, 5:2 fasting… But some people swear by three-day fasting, which would be excellent for health, and should be practiced at least twice a year, in spring and fall. So what about this fasting rhythm, and is it really beneficial?
What is fasting?
It is a deprivation of food, with or without a deprivation of drink. We therefore distinguish water fasting from dry fasting. The voluntary practice of fasting is ancestral: it was often advocated in a spiritual context, for purgatory purposes and atonement for sins. Even today, partial fasting orintermittent fastingare followed, as part of religious practice. This is the case of Christian Lent or Muslim Ramadan.
What is the principle of the three-day fast?
When it comes to the three-day fast, the perspective is significantly different. Its primary goal is a deepdetoxificationof the body. The first to defend its benefits was Otto Buchinger, a German doctor. The latter, as early as 1935, published a “guide” to therapeutic fasting, today often cited by followers of the practice.
The three-day fast is therefore ashort fast. It involves:
- Complete absence of food intake
- The intake of drinks, water andherbal teasthroughout the day and, possibly and depending on the school, alemonjuice with water in the morning and vegetable broth without salt or fat, in the evening.
- Stopping stimulants such astea,coffeeand tobacco
In addition, during the fasting period, it is strongly advised to:
- Do stretches and gentle exercises (like yoga ) to activate the circulation of blood and lymph.
- Walk and get as much oxygen as possible, to avoid some of the side effects (including migraines) and activate theMetabolism .
- Avoid stress and focus instead on reading, meditation, self-care.
Is it necessary to prepare before embarking on a three-day fast?
To practice the 3-day fast without risk, it is advisable to plan three days of preparation. This preparatory phase aims to gradually accustom the body to do without its common sources of energy, to begin its detoxification.
- On D-3, it is advisable to remove all products of animal origin: meat , fish, but also eggs, dairy products, products containing one of these ingredients. It is also recommended to stop all stimulants: coffee, tea, tobacco, alcohol.
- On D-2, it is a question of eliminating all forms of carbohydrates from your diet : fast sugars but also slow sugars (bread, pasta, rice, etc.), legumes, oilseeds (walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts, etc.) and potatoestag. We must continue to eat vegetables cooked as.raw , accompanied by a small quantity of cold-pressed virgin oil (olive, sesame, sunflower, grapeseed, etc.).
- On D-1, solid food should be excluded. We content ourselves with water, herbal teas, vegetable juice without salt and at will and fruit juice in moderation.
How to resume eating after a three-day fast?
Feeding should be done gradually. Indeed, the digestive tract having been completely emptied, it is important to give it time to readjust. Also, it is advisable to resume the preparatory phase for fasting, in the opposite direction:
- For the first few days, reintroduce fruits and vegetables, in small quantities. Take the time to chew each food well, because digestion begins in the mouth. Stop before reachingFor the first few days, reintroduce fruits and vegetables, in small quantities. , to spare the digestive system.
- Then, start eating whole grains, legumes and oilseeds again, while giving pride of place to fruits and vegetables and drinks.
- Finally, after a few days, reintroduce animal proteins into your daily diet, favoring healthy and low-fat cooking methods.
- Avoid the resumption of “toxic”, such as salt, sugar , alcohol.
What are the purported benefits of three-day fasting?
The premise is as follows: from three days of total fasting, the body detoxifies deeply. In any case, the proven physiological phenomena are as follows:
- Glycogen stores are depleted, so blood sugar levels drop.
- The body, to find energy, will draw on its lipid reserves (fat), to produce the glucose necessary for its proper functioning. This process is called gluconeogenesis.
Followers argue that total fasting also helps to renew your immune system, because all toxins would be completely evacuated from the body. Thus it would completely clean the emunctory organs:
- Digestive purge to put your liver, pancreas and stomach at rest, and to rebalance your intestinal flora
- Skin regeneration with sebum reduction and deep oxygenation
- Improved cardiovascular health health
- Serenity and mental peace regained, after the normal phase of fatigue
- Weightloss
Finally, and still according to its supporters, an “ideal” fast should last 7 days (we then speak of prolonged fasting). Indeed, between the fifth and seventh day, the body would adapt: protein loss (causing muscle wasting) would slow down and the body would go into “survival” mode.
What do the studies say about the three-day fast?
Many studies have been conducted about the purported benefits of fasting.
Many claim in any case that the starting postulate of fasting, namely “detoxify the body” is wrong (1)tag. And for good reason: the toxins accumulated in the body are naturally eliminated by the emunctory organs, since this is their primary function(2)tag. Also, the primarymotivation for fasting would have no basis.
According to the French Ministry of Health, “there are currently no sufficiently numerous and rigorous scientific studies to draw conclusions about its therapeutic or preventive efficacy” (3)tag. This assertion is based on a review of the various studies conducted since the 1960s, as well as on the conclusions of INSERM.
Other rumors lend fasting anti-cancer properties. However, no study has proven the benefit of 3-day fasting or intermittent fasting on the prevention or treatment ofcancer (4)tag. The same goes for the “anti-aging” benefits of fasting: there is no evidence today that it can slow downaging (5)
One thing is certain: fasting is still subject to controversy and study, in order to determine the real healthbenefits . And if you want to embark on the adventure of three-day fasting, it is better to consult a doctor beforehand.
What are the contraindications to the three-day fast?
Some people, by virtue of their constitution or state of health, must refrain from practicing the three-day fast. These are:
- People whose BMIis too low – state of thinness
- People withdiabetes,thyroid disorders, hypotension, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis
- Renal, hepatic, cardiac or cerebrovascular failure
- People on corticosteroid, antihypertensive, antidiabetic, psychotropic, anticoagulant, antiepileptic, etc.
- women
- Children and Teenagers
- OldPeople
They run many risks, including worsening of their symptoms, undesirable exhaustion and/or undernutrition.
Stephen Paul is the lead author and founder of My Health Sponsor. Holder of a diploma in health and well-being coaching with more than 200 articles in the field of health, he makes it a point of honor to offer advice based on reliable information, based on scientific research, and verified by health professionals.