Developing great habits is the most important aspect of skin healing and natural healing In general. You need to discover practices that undoubtedly benefit your body and do those things everyday.
One of the most impactful habits you can develop is fasting. While many people who are unfamiliar with fasting may cringe at the idea, it’s not about starving yourself. it’s about learning how to get the most out of your nutrition by optimizing your eating schedule.
So, does fasting help psoriasis, eczema, and dermatitis? Fasting is one of the most powerful practices you can add to your skin healing regimen. Naturally treating your autoimmune skin disease is all about revitalizing your body and essentially rebuilding immune health. The health benefits of fasting are are extremely effective in creating an environment within your body that will induce this immune rejuvenation.
What is Fasting?
Fasting is the practice of refraining from eating for a designated period of time. This is usually done for health and/or spiritual purposes. This idea of time restricted eating is as old as time and is a part of our biological makeup.
Technically, we all fast every night when we go to sleep. The first time we eat is referred to as breakfast because we are literally breaking our fast. With that said, most people are not spending enough time in a fasted state. Learning how to monitor your fasting and feeding windows is one of the most impactful habits you can develop if you wish to heal your body and boost your overall health.
Having food available to eat at all times is a rather new concept. For thousands of years, our ancestors went through life eating far less often than we do. Do you think the hunters and gatherers had an abundance of food around at all times? Of course not. They spent most of their lives in a fasted state and ate when they had food. This meant eating once a day or even just a few times a week.
Learning how to incorporate fasting into my life has had a major impact on the state of my overall health. If there is one habit that I would recommend to anyone attempting to improve their health or heal their disease, it would be fasting.
I wrote this post with the intention of creating an easy to follow and complete guide for anyone who is interested in learning about the healing power of fasting. When I was in a tough spot, fasting helped me out tremendously. I hope that this guide can assist you in finding success as well.
Why Fasting is So Important
The reason why fasting is so important is that it gives your body some time to relax and repair. We aren’t meant to be constantly consuming food 24/7. By not allowing your body a sufficient amount of time to repair itself, you are promoting toxin build up and leaving yourself susceptible to disease.
There are some amazing things that take place within your body during a fast. When your body is freed from the chore of having to break down and digest food, it goes into rejuvenation mode. This rejuvenation mode can be referred to as autophagy.
What autophagy means is that your body begins to seek out and eliminate unnecessary or dysfunctional components. When in a fasted state, the cells in your body literally shrink and essentially shed off anything that they do not need and only keep the fully functioning healthy components of the cell.
Once the fast is broken and you begin to eat, the cells in your body then use the nutrients that you are consuming to reassemble themselves. What’s interesting is that during this process, your body truly does seem to seek out the bad cells for elimination.
So while it can be easy to overlook the benefits of fasting, doing so will cause you to miss out on one of the most fundamental methods of self repair and rejuvenation. The thing is, fasting is a very simple and convenient thing to do. It doesn’t take a lot of time or money. It just takes some discipline.
Fasting Benefits
Now that I’ve covered a little bit of what happens inside of your body when you fast, let me dig a little deeper into the myriad of benefits that accompany these positive bodily reactions.
Improves brain function
This benefit is something that became apparent to me very fast. When I am in a fasted state, there is no question that I feel sharper between the years. When fasting, your body goes into a sort of survival mode which causes your brain to increase its level of focus. There is also a certain feeling of lightness and relaxation that comes along with fasting. By uplifting your brain, you are taking a crucial step in creating a healing environment within your body.
Increases stress resistance
When you fast, your body is placed under a certain amount of stress. Without having any calories in your system, your body must find other ways to produce energy. Although stress is generally seen as a negative, this is a positive form of stress. This kind of stress ultimately assists your healing process and makes you more capable of healing other more negative stress in the future.
Boosts immune system
As I stated previously, fasting initiates a sort of rejuvenation process in your body. When your body is working to clear itself of unwanted and unnecessary toxins, it is in turn boosting your immune system by re-establishing the health of your microbiome. By eliminating negative cells from your body, you are lifting a giant weight of the metaphorical shoulders of your immune system.
May aid in cancer prevention
Fasting has proven itself to be effective in treating cancer and other deadly illnesses. This is also very closely tied to the rejuvenation process. When you are in a fasted state and your body seeks out unhealthy cells to eliminate, cancerous cells are certainly a priority. Your body wants to rid itself of these harmful things. Fasting creates the perfect environment for allowing that to happen.
Increases growth hormone levels
Many people think that fasting or intermittent fasting will cause them to lose muscle. That is not necessarily the case. Fasting has been shown to increase growth hormone levels and actually promote muscle gains while also burning fat. Who doesn’t want to increase muscle mass and burn fat at the same time? Although what you eat certainly plays a major role in the composition of your body, fasting can be an extremely powerful primer and ensure that you are getting the most out of your food.
Improves insulin sensitivity
The key to regulating your blood sugar is improving your sensitivity to insulin. Fasting can be extremely effective in doing this as it not only decreases the amount of insulin in your body while fasting, but it also assists in keeping your insulin levels low when you do start eating again. Also, nutrient absorption is essential when attempting to heal your gut. By making your body more sensitive to insulin, fasting assists in optimizing nutrient absorption.
Different Types of Fasting
Water Fasting
Water fasting is the most basic and fundamental form of fasting. This is where you drink nothing but water for x amount of hours or days. The only way to remain in a truly fasted state is to refrain from consuming any calories.
Long vs. Short Fasts
The longer you fast, the more time you are giving your body to repair itself. People can choose to fast anywhere from just 15 hours or so to 30+ days. Both long and short fasts are great for your overall health. With that in mind, they both sort of serve their own purpose.
Long fasts are great for deep cleaning and occasional maintenance. Sort of like an oil change. If you feel like you want to give your body a full reboot and stimulate the healing process, then you may benefit from embarking on a longer type of fast.
Shorter water fasts are often part of a intermittent fasting regimen, which I will cover in the next section. They can also be used for occasional maintenance but are most effective when they are woven into the fabric of your healing regimen.
Can you drink tea or coffee?
There is some debate on whether your not you can still be considered to be in a fasted state after you consume coffee or herbal teas. It is said that while some of these products may have zero calories, they may start the processes of the liver and therefore put a halt to your fast.
While there may be some truth to that, I don’t think that having a cup of black coffee or herbal tea is going to wipe away all of the benefits of your fast. If you really want to include some herbal tea or black coffee into your fast, then I say go ahead. With that in mind, I definitely believe that herbal tea is the healthier option.
Best Way to Water Fast
The way you choose to spend your water fast is also something that you should consider. In order to get the most out of your healing, it is best that you keep yourself as relaxed as possible. If you are going on a water fast for any longer than a day, I would suggest that you clear your schedule as best as you can. Kick back and relax. Watch movies, read books, work on a project, draw a picture, etc..
Some people are more busy than others and may find it hard to schedule time for pure relaxation. If you are one of these people, just do the best you can. Try to work around participating in anything stressful and refrain from any strenuous activity such as weightlifting. Allow your body to focus on healing and eliminate any distractions or unnecessary stressors.
Intermittent Fasting
Intermittent fasting is especially important because this is the type of fasting that you can carry over and incorporate into your day to day life. Although longer fasts can be a great option for many people, they are really just an occasional thing. Developing a consistent fasting pattern at the foundation of your diet will produce amazing results. There are three major types of intermittent fasts: the 16:8, the 5:2, and the alternating days approach.
16:8
I personally follow the 16-8 intermittent fasting protocol. This means that I fast for 16 hours a day and consume all of my calories within an 8 hour window. On any given day, I have my first meal at noon and my last meal at 8 pm. Sometimes I even make my feeding window shorter than that (maybe 6-7 hours). To me, this was such a simple adjustment to make. All it really takes is the discipline to follow the plan.
Another thing to consider is that you can modify this approach to suit your own needs. If you want to make your feeding window even smaller, then go for it. Many people out there are having a lot of success following fasting schedules that have feeding windows of just 2-4 hours. Find a time pocket that works best for you.
You can also cut your fasting time as well and create a bigger feeding window for yourself. With that said, you do want to keep the feeding window as small as you’re comfortable with.
5:2
The 5:2 is another popular method in which you eat for 5 days out of the week and fast for 2 of them. While this approach can also produce some good results, it is probably not quite as popular as the 16:8 due to the fact that there is a full 2 day fast included every week.
Although it may be challenging for some, 2 whole days in a fasted state gives your body a fairly long amount of time to heal and rejuvenate. If this kind of schedule appeals to you, then give it a try.
Alternating Days
The alternating days approach is exactly what it sounds like. You alternate days on and off of eating. In my opinion, this is more of a short term approach. Many people might find it hard to refrain from eating any food every other day and for that reason it may not be sustainable for many.
While this is definitely a more challenging approach, it can yield some great results if you can abide by it. I’d say keep it in the back of your mind as you’re following a more conventional time restricted diet. If you ever want to speed up the repair process within your body, experiment with something like this.
Juice Fasting
Juice fasting is the practice of consuming nothing besides water and fresh juice for x amount of time. If you are not familiar with juicing, juicers and blenders are not the same thing. While blenders blend all of their ingredients together, juicers actually extract the pure juice from the ingredients and eject the pulp out into a separate container. Both blenders and juicers are great appliances that I definitely recommend. With that said, I just wanted to point out the difference for those who may not know.
While juice fasting is technically not a true fast because vegetable and fruit juice do contain calories, you can still experience some of the benefits of fasting with this method. Also, considering that fresh juice is a power bomb of gut health restoring micronutrients and is one of the greatest ways to clean out your body and nourish it at the same time.
Juice fasting is the first type of fasting that I experimented with. About 3 years ago I decided to go on a 25 day juice fast. I have always considered this a major turning point in my healing journey. The first time that I ever consumed a freshly made juice, I knew that this was something I needed to include in my diet as I could feel the positive effects instantly.
What to Drink on a Juice Fast?
In my experience, it is best that most of the juice that you consume during your juice fast is vegetable juice. Fruit juice can prove to have some great benefits as well, but the juice of fresh vegetables is what you really want if you are looking to heal your gut.
I do occasionally make a simple orange or apple juice. But for the most part, I just use select fruits to give my vegetable juices some added sweetness. You really don’t want to be mixing a bunch of fruit into your vegetable juices as you want to keep your veggie juices as alkaline as possible.
I typically only add green apples, lemons, limes, and occasionally some pears to my green juices. These fruits will not interfere with the alkalinity of your juice like some other more sugary fruits will.
I don’t want to discourage anyone from drinking fruit juice. Just try to separate your fruit juices and your vegetable juices with some exceptions. They can both prove to be great for your health but should probably be consumed separately for the most part as they serve different purposes in a way.
How much juice should you drink?
Honestly, you can drink as much juice as you want on a juice fast. Some even refer to their juice fasts as “juice feasts”. With that in mind, just know that the more juice you consume the more calories you are consuming, which ultimately pulls you further away from a fasted state.
Personally, I like to combine intermittent fasting within my juice fasts. For instance. I will limit my juice intake to a specific time window. This will really assist you in getting the most out of your fast. I typically would consume 3 juices a day on a juice fast. But as I hinted, you can certainly tailor this to fit your own desired approach.
While the details are certainly important, the real key is just to get that juicer and start juicing. You will learn and develop your approach as time goes on. Click here to view some juicers on my recommended juicers page.
Below I’ve included two of my favorite juices to make. You can certainly search around for more recipes. But these juices are staples in my diet and are a great place to start as they are simple, highly-nutritious, and tasty.
Green juice
-cucumber
-celery
-kale or spinach
-cilantro or parsley
-small piece of ginger
-green apple
Orange carrot juice
-oranges
-carrots
-lemon
-turmeric root
The Spiritual Side of Fasting
Fasting and healing in general is in nature a very spiritual exercise. Embrace the spiritual side. Look at this as an opportunity to reinvent yourself in some way and grow as a person. You are making an excellent decision by fasting and your body is going to respond positively to this challenge. Soak in this positivity and use it as fuel.
As your body is going through a rejuvenation process, so is your soul. Don’t go into this with a negative attitude. Study the process and remain engaged. Allow yourself to have a positive and enlightening experience.
Managing Hunger and Cravings
In my opinion, hunger management is very easy to control on an intermittent fasting regimen. Once you break through the initial adaptation phase, your body will get used to your new schedule and react accordingly. With that said, hunger management can really become a challenge when you stretch out your fast into a longer experience.
My best advice for fighting off feelings of hunger is to drink plenty of water and keep yourself busy mentally. Read a book, watch, tv, draw, color, build something… Anything that will keep your mind off of food. Also, I think it is important to note that as with anything, you will improve with practice. The more familiar your body becomes with fasting, the more favorably it will react to it.
Another aspect of fasting is that it has a way of bringing your dirtiest cravings to the front of your mind. When I first began fasting, my cravings were pretty strong. I think that the detoxification process played a major role in the manifestation of these cravings. As the toxins within your body begin to die off, they send signals to your brain and cause you to crave the unhealthy foods that they need in order to stay alive.
One thing that you’ll learn over time is that your taste buds will change. Your body craves what you feed it. The longer you resist the temptation the easier it will be to avoid eating the things that you know you probably shouldn’t be eating.
Possible Side Effects
While fasting is a scientifically proven health practice that can certainly have a major positive impact on your life, it is important to understand the possible side effects. Learning how to recognize and address these potential adverse effects is extremely important as they can be a good indicator of when you should end your fast. Below I have listed some of the possible side effects of fasting.
- Cravings
- Low energy
- Headaches
- Constipation
- Muscle weakness
- Dizziness
- Fatigue
Breaking the Fast
No matter what kind of fast you are doing, breaking the fast is just as important if not more important than the fast itself. While fasting is an amazing habit that can produce some great results, you’re only as strong as the food that you choose to build yourself with.
You don’t have to take as much caution coming off of an intermittent fast as you do with a longer fast. If you haven’t eaten in 10 days, you want to break your fast by eating something that is going to be very easy to digest. Fresh juice, smoothies, or fruit have always been my foods of choice for breaking a fast.
If you fast for 10 days and then crack and just eat an entire pizza, you’ve essentially ruined your fast and have really limited the benefits. Not to mention your body is not going to react well at all to processing something so large and frankly unhealthy. This can really do some serious damage. Being smart and slow about breaking your fast is incredibly important.
When it comes to intermittent fasting, the way you break your fast can really just be referred to as your every day diet. Building a nutrient rich healthy diet is absolutely essential to recovering from any disease and maintaining great overall health. Click here to check out my free guide on what to eat and what no to eat to heal naturally.
15 tips for successful fasting
- Drink plenty of water
- Work around your personal schedule
- Break your fast slowly if on a longer fast
- Build a highly nutritious diet to compliment your fasting
- Make it a fun experience
- Keep a positive mindset
- Make sure you’re getting enough sleep
- Don’t expecting one fast to fix everything
- Experiment with water, juice, and intermittent fasting
- Recognize side effects
- Drink natural spring water or filtered water
- Stay consistent in your intermittent fasting schedule
- On longer fasts, go for as long as you’re comfortable going
- Keep learning about the benefits of fasting
- Integrate fasting as a staple in your lifestyle
