1y ago

Study: Fasting Triggers Body-Wide Changes After 3 Days

www.sciencedaily.com

Study identifies multi-organ response to seven days without food

Fasting for a week:

Causes significant changes in protein levels across various organs.
May have health benefits beyond weight loss, but only after 3 days.
Switches energy source from glucose to fat after 2-3 days.
Average weight loss of 5.7 kg (fat and muscle), with most fat loss sustained after 3 days of eating.

Implications:

Provides insights into the molecular basis of fasting's health effects.
Paves the way for developing alternative treatments based on fasting benefits.
Confirms historical use of fasting for specific health conditions.

57 comments

5.7 kilo in three days? That sounds pretty bad (as in dangerous).
- Not to mention these results could provide some very dangerous ideas to those with eating disorders (diagnosed or not). Losing 5.7kg (12lb) in three days sounds insanely dangerous. Going for very long is hella dangerous because you're not getting necessary nutrition. That's why there's a minimum calorie intake for dieting and it is dangerous to go below that.
  
  Yeah as someone who is working on building a healthier relationship with food, this struck me too. It's absolutely super tempting to lose a lot of weight fast, but I'm firm in my belief that if I want to have results that stick, my attitude towards food needs to change. It's honestly going really well too.
  
  Medical professional here. This is crazy. This is starving your body, I do not recommend.
  
  Researchers followed 12 healthy volunteers taking part in a seven-day water-only fast. The volunteers were monitored closely on a daily basis to record changes in the levels of around 3,000 proteins in their blood before, during, and after the fast. By identifying which proteins are involved in the body's response, the researchers could then predict potential health outcomes of prolonged fasting by integrating genetic information from large-scale studies.
- The article says it was "fat and lean mass" not water weight. And while the "lean mass" (which I guess could be water) retuned after eating again, the "fat mass" did not.
  
  Lean mass is generally known as a combination as everything besides fat. So muscle, water, and shit would be my guess.
- You will drop a bunch of water at the start if you are eating carbs beforehand because of the water holding the glycogen in your muscles. As you use the glycogen the water holding it also goes, so it isn't fat loss, just water weight.
  
  The volunteers lost an average of 5.7 kg of both fat mass and lean mass. After three days of eating after fasting, the weight stayed off -- the loss of lean was almost completely reversed, but the fat mass stayed off.
  
  Right, that makes sense.
  
  Wait you mean no water? Don't you die of dehydration? That doesn't sound good.
- I think that's for the whole week, but even then, it depends on the person's weight to begin with.
- Looks like it's 5.7 kg loss in a week, the weight loss is sustained after resuming eating for 3 days
- Researchers followed 12 healthy volunteers taking part in a seven-day water-only fast. The volunteers were monitored closely on a daily basis to record changes in the levels of around 3,000 proteins in their blood before, during, and after the fast. By identifying which proteins are involved in the body's response, the researchers could then predict potential health outcomes of prolonged fasting by integrating genetic information from large-scale studies.
I can't imagine not eating for three whole days. I'd be a groveling mess switching between begging for food and raging at every little thing. How do people do this comfortably? Atleast without breaking the china?
Is there a way to train yourself vis a vis slowly building tolerance or something?
- Hunger is entirely a hormonal thing. It's basically a form of anxiety your body induces to make you want to eat. After about 18 hours without food your body switches itself into different hormone state where you just don't experience hunger the same way.
- I have done it quite a few times its actually not that bad. The first 24 hours is usually the worst and then the hunger goes away most of the time. You get reminders that you are hungry but it doesn't last. Its no where near as bad as people think it is from the first hunger pangs you just have to get over that initial hump.
  
  The biggest secret to losing weight is literally to just be hungry. Once you feel hunger, that's your body telling you that you are running a calorie deficit.
- You could do what I just did and get a horrible stomach bug that leaves you in bed for four days dreading the thought of food and barely able to suck down half a glass of water! -5/10 would recommend active effort to avoid.
  RIP myself, silver lining though lmao
  Edit: I did lose ~10lbs though likely a fair amount is water weight
- It really isn't a big deal. You do think of food, but after the second day it's not like you're hungry. If you start by intermittent fasting, eating one meal a day, or reducing carbs it makes it a bit easier. Honestly, I find scheduling fasts around family gatherings, etc. much more difficult than being hungry.
The only time I've gone that long without eating was when I was stressed beyond belief. It was excruciating and I cannot imagine doing that willingly.
Y'all need to read. NlThis was not a 3 day study:
Researchers followed 12 healthy volunteers taking part in a seven-day water-only fast. The volunteers were monitored closely on a daily basis to record changes in the levels of around 3,000 proteins in their blood before, during, and after the fast. By identifying which proteins are involved in the body's response, the researchers could then predict potential health outcomes of prolonged fasting by integrating genetic information from large-scale studies.
Anything but diet and exercise
- I mean, not eating is a diet? This seems to be directly addressing one part of that equation: you don't even 'need' exercise for simple fat loss. Though of course an actual balance you can keep up perpetually is much better, but this definitely directly touches diet.
  
  I can agree with that. Seems unsustainable to me though.
- I've heard on quite a few shows that exercising doesn't actually do much for losing weight. It's healthy for you but not a good way to lose weight, apparently. Pretty interesting.
  
  I lost 60lbs by sitting on my ass playing video games, counting calories (1500-1800 + one cheat day per week).
  
  Agreed. You can’t outrun the fork, however good habits stack on each other and there’s a lot to be said about mental health benefits. They tend to go hand in hand.
- I can't imagine human diets used to be as predictable as they are now, especially in winter. Attempting a diet that includes fasting doesnt seem unreasonable as part of a larger plan.
  
  At least we now get to decide when to stop fasting :)
- Doctors will recommend fasting, or at least intermittent fasting, for a variety of conditions. Particulaly it helps you deal with insulin resistance, which isn't just diabetes. It could be why you're carrying a lot of weight, and it could also have to do with anxiety.
  'Diet' and exercise don't always work for everyone, or for all problems, and insisting that it does really damages the people who have legitimately put a lot of effort into both those things without seeing meaningful results. Not only do they not see benefits from their hard work, they also start to feel like they're just not doing enough even if they are.
  You should really look into some of the actual science behind fasting, and also behind caloric reduction and exercise before you criticize it so dismissively.
  
  CICO is science.

57 comments