Fasting Your Way to Health

Fasting was a normal part of the human life until the Neolithic/Agricultural Revolution, around 12,500 years ago - a blink of the eye in evolutionary terms. Anatomically modern humans have existed for roughly 200,000-300,000 years and for the vast majority this time, we roamed across the Earth, living the nomadic, hunter-gatherer lifestyle. We were highly mobile and active, moving with the seasons and eating the freshest, highest quality (organic) foods each season had to offer. However; “Unlike today, our ancestors typically had to compete among themselves and with other species for a limited supply of food. In this context a survival advantage was conferred on individuals that were quick-witted, physically agile, and energy-efficient during periods of limited resource availability.”(2) In other words, we biologically adapted to experience periods of deprivation of both food and water, in times of limited resources. Archaeological data shows that the hardships and tests of physical endurance of the previous climate changes and the Earth’s wild and unruly nature, put us through our paces. We acclimatised and thrived. 

“If our ancestors couldn’t function when we were hungry, we wouldn’t be here”. - Peter Attia, Longevity Scientist

The transition to a more sedentary, agriculturalist lifestyle with it’s domestic produce-dependent and therefore less varied diet, combined with new and often unsanitary living conditions was sudden, and its negative impact on humanity profound. It’s impact on the environment was also devastating. Once populations had increased due to the over abundance of agriculturally-produced foods, man was trapped in a cycle, needing to produce ever more in order to feed the rapidly booming populations. Around this time, the Great Forgetting began; and with it a paradigm shift in mental attitudes; our understanding of our place in the world, our relationship to other animals and our environment, food and human mental and physical health. Prehistory is our history - it’s the human story. The westernised version of human history has been: “...reduced to the period exactly corresponding to the history of our culture, with the other ninety-nine point-seven percent of the human story discarded as a mere prelude.”(3) Thus our understanding of our history and context as a species on this planet has been severely distorted and limited, to the disservice of our understanding of ourselves and our environment.

“We have a lot to learn from hunter-gatherers about what constitutes a healthy lifestyle.”(4)

Numerous studies(5), (6), discuss agriculture and the consequential settlement into a stationary lifestyle and its impact on human disease, human biology and the decline in our overall health. They paint a picture of our pre-agricultural ancestors as having far better physical and mental health than the westernised people of today, which is unsurprising in many ways. Fasting and a healthier attitude towards, and relationship with food, played a key part in our well being for millennia. We are so much more than what we eat/absorb! The benefits of fasting are being revealed and the findings are revolutionary.

If you are as fascinated as we are about the dawn of civilisations and the influence they’ve had on the cultures, spirituality, our environments, psychology and philosophy of today, we highly recommend you watch historian and author Michael Wood’s 6 part documentary Legacy which can be found on YouTube. “What can the past teach us about the present?” In a sublime journey across the 6 major, earliest civilisations, Michael Wood delves into their philosophies to tell the story of their rise and fall. Each story reveals much about human nature, our shifting attitudes and parables which we can learn a lot from, especially today.

“The best of all medicines is resting and fasting.” - Benjamin Franklin

For the majority of our time on this planet, less food would have been readily available.  We would have had intimate knowledge of which foods were accessible where, and at which times of the year, which kept our ancestors constantly on the move. Their lifestyles would have revolved around the seasons and specific location-dependent food sources. However - and it’s hard to imagine now, that even with their intimate knowledge, ingenuity and creativity, food would not have been available all the time. The mass mono-culture agricultural farming of today keeps the supermarkets on every street corner, restaurants, cafes and refrigerators at home overflowing with food, and we grew up being told myths such as that you should be eating “3 meals a day” and that “breakfast is the most important meal of the day.” These ideas stem back as recently as either the Medieval Period or the Industrial Revolution - depending on which source you read - and evolved around the new working patterns dictated by societal shifts and new inventions such as electric lighting (which lengthened working hours) and enforced by institutions(7), (8). Before this, attitudes towards food was far healthier. For example, in Roman society, having more than one meal a day was considered gluttonous(9). Previously, we would have shifted naturally between cycles of fasting and feeding and caloric restriction and would have eaten when hungry or when food was available, rather than when we were told we should. 

“European(s)...changed the biological demands of eating and turned it into a forced food farce. Ignore the manmade routine and follow your own appetite for a healthier life.”(7) 

“When an animal, such as a dog or cat, is sick, its natural instinct is to refuse food.  When the crisis is over, and the internal healing work has been accomplished, the appetite will return naturally, of its own accord.“(10) 

“The human organism also has a fasting instinct, just like that of other animals.  Evolutionary adaptation has made our bodies very efficient at storing energy reserves, and drawing upon them when food supplies are scarce. Fasting is as old as mankind, perhaps even older.”(10) 

Rest & Repair Mode in Human Biology

We are biologically adapted to experience these fasting and feeding cycles and when we halt caloric intake, our bodies naturally shift from the “Go-Go” mode into the “Rest and Repair” mode. Having an abundance of food available and eating too frequently does not allow your body the time it needs to rest and repair, and undertake processes essential for the maintenance and optimal functioning of our internal systems. Dr Michael Mosley discusses on his site The Fast 800, how 21st century western populations’ eating-habits have been attributed to diseases which did not exist until very recently, such as the increasingly common 80+ different types of autoimmune diseases. Lack of fasting, over-feeding, stress and the Hygiene Hypothesis are all modern phenomena which have been directly linked to poor physical wellbeing and mental health conditions.

“Natural forces within us are the true healers of disease.” - Hippocrates 

The range of mental and physical benefits of fasting are vast so we’ve included only a few which we feel are most relevant below.

Put simply, water fasting is one of the safest and most powerful healing tools we have yet come across. It takes time to get fasting right - especially the re-feeding stage where it’s easy to make mistakes (see below). Once you are used to the fasted state and manage to fast regularly, the rewards are immense.

• Decreases inflammation levels. Chronic inflammation has been linked to microbiome imbalance/gut dysbiosis(10) as well as a multitude of other diseases
• Boosts cognitive function and improves mental clarity(11)
• Boosts metabolism by increasing levels of the neurotransmitter norepinephrine
• Balances and alters hormone production(12). Increases secretion of the anti-inflammatory hormone corticosterone
• Human Growth Hormone (HGH) levels skyrocket, increasing as much as 5-fold. This has huge benefits for fat loss and muscle, bone and cartilage growth, is necessary for the body to heal and repair itself(13), and much more(14)
• Longevity. Increases life-span/longevity and delays and protects the body from aging processes
• Cellular repair. When fasting, your cells initiate cellular repair processes. This includes autophagy, where cells digest and remove old and dysfunctional proteins that build up inside cells
• Gene expression. Fasting-induced changes in the function of genes can be related to longevity and protection against disease
• Gut Healing. Fasting regulates gut flora and allows the GI tract to go into “Rest and Repair” mode (see below for more info)
• Promotes metabolic balance and better sleep(15). Fasting may exert its health benefits through circadian biology, the gut microbiome and improved sleep patterns.

Read more about the benefits of fasting here.  

Research has found that restricting caloric intake turns on genes which tell your cells to preserve their resources. While in the fasted state, cells go into a preservation or “famine mode,” where they are much more resistant to disease or cellular stress. They also enter a process known as autophagy(16) where the body begins to clean out the old, unwanted, and unneeded cells, as well as fixing and recycling damaged parts of the body. While autophagy is very difficult to measure outside of a lab environment, many experts agree that the autophagy process initiates in humans after 18-20 hours of water fasting, with maximal benefits occurring once the 48–72 hour mark has been reached. 

Knowing what you can safely drink (that isn’t just filtered water!) while fasting and between meals so that you aren’t kicked out of autophagy can be tough. Most non-caffeine herbal teas are safe but not all are SIBO-friendly. Here some which are fasting and SIBO-friendly. Remember to only have max 3 a day. You will want to drink mostly clean water throughout the maximise the benefits of the fast - 

• Peppermint/fresh mint tea
• Rooibus/redbush tea
• Fresh ginger tea 
• Nettle tea
• ACV super drink, check out Thomas Delauer’s recipe
• ACV + ginger drink, Thomas Delauer’s recipe here
• For leaky gut healing, add L-Glutamine and vitamin C powder to your filtered water

Fasting for Medicine & Purification in Ancient Greece

“Spiritually, fasting helps us transcend our addiction and attachment to food, and to realize that man doesn't live by bread alone.  The mind gets clearer, and spiritual awareness deepens.  Freed from having to satisfy physical hunger, one can then turn one's attention to feeding the mind and spirit.  Spiritual masters like Pythagoras wouldn't admit any disciple into their higher teachings unless they had first purified themselves through fasting.”(31)

Food = Comfort & Safety

While undertaking an 11 days fast, Jeanette Winterson discovered that “...the very thought of not eating makes people anxious. Food is comfort. Food is safety. Food is plenty.” In this Guardian article, she reflects that what sets us apart from the rest of the animal kingdom is our sense that we are more than just our bodies; we are more than reproduction, what we eat and mere survival. We are spiritual, creative and curious beings which search for meanings beyond what we see. When we fast, we can connect more deeply with these other aspects of being human - the aspects beyond food. It’s hard to explain this freedom from food and the routine of meals in words to those who haven’t experienced this sense of liberation before, however, the quote above does a great job. Upton Sinclair described it brilliantly too, when he wrote; “I have found a new state of being a potentiality of life; a sense of lightness, cleanliness and joyfulness, such as I did not know could exist in the human body.” 

“Why are you Starving Yourself?”

Revealingly, Winterson notes; “When I decided to embark on an 11‑day fast, my friends decided I had gone crazy. Eleven days with no food? Why would anybody want to do that?” This is an attitude we are all to familiar with. ‘Won’t you die after a day without food?’ ‘Why are you choosing to starve yourself?’ etc. The best things to do to combat these unhealthy and uninformed attitudes is to become knowledgeable and informed in the science of fasting, and to write your intentions down so you know exactly why you are undertaking a fast and what you hope to achieve during and after. Listing your reasons for fasting serves as a great reminder and motivation throughout the fast.

Fasting - When Time Slows Down

“...as Leonard Cohen put it – humans are always looking for things to do between meals.”(9) 

When our time is freed up from shopping, thinking about food, planning meals, cooking and eating, we suddenly realise not only how time-consuming eating is but also how much it governs our thoughts, actions, daily routines and rules our lives in general. Fasting in this respect can be immensely liberating and the freedom exhilarating.

“Fasting can be one of the most powerful health interventions at your disposal but it’s only worth it if you break the fast properly.”(32)

Refeeding is just as - if not more! - important than the actual water fast itself. This is the final part of the fast and much of the magic and benefits from the actual fast begin during this phase, as we start to build up our bodies again. However, the benefits can all too easily be undone if we overeat or eat the wrong foods. Your body is super vulnerable after a fast and eating the wrong thing or too much too soon, can result in a huge amount of damage and a destroyed digestive system which can last for months(33)! Or until after your next fast(s). It’s so hard to get this part right and avoid undoing all the hard work and to not miss out on the benefits as a result. The worst thing you could do would be to start eating foods which are hard to digest, that cause inflammation or gastrointestinal stress. To avoid this heartbreak and disappointment, we give some advice below which we discovered after making many, many mistakes ourselves!

Safely Breaking Fast

“Every fool can fast. Only a wise man knows how to break a fast.“ - George Bernard Shaw(32)

There is a lot of conflicting information out there about how to break fast - such as with fruit juice or fruit or fermented foods - which are not gut dysbiosis and autoimmune friendly. Our recommendations on how to break a fast - which we still follow religiously - are below -  

Fasting-Refeeding Rule

The rule for water fasting and refeeding - 

number of days you water fasted for X 3 (times by 3) = number of days you should refeed 

While refeeding between long water fasts  of 7+ days, it is safe to undertake short water fasts of 72 hours and less but remember that this is your time to build up your body and strength so be sensible about how many short fasts you undertake during this time - once a week is fine. After gently breaking fast and refeeding for a few days, you can start up your favourite IF routine again and to concentrate on building up your body and your reserves (with good fats), stocking up on vitamins, minerals and refuelling with nutrient-rich, dysbiosis, gut and AI-friendly foods.  

Breaking a Water Fast & Refeeding

• After a water fast lasting 3-6 days - break with an organic cucumber or a clear broth made from vegetables and/or animals bones (keeping the broth as free of fat and sugar free (of course). Then after waiting a good few hours (4-6 so your digestive system has had time to fully process the broth), you can eat a small light veggie/vegan meal - a soup or salad. Of course, this depends on how many days or weeks you fasted for as the longer the fast, the more gently you will need to break it. 3 days on bone broth is one of the best, safest and gentlest ways to break any fast.
• After a water fast lasting 7-14 days - break with a diluted green juice (completely free of all sugars) containing nutrient-rich green veggies such as kale, spinach, cabbage etc. The cabbage adds a sweetness and naturally contains l-glutamine for gut healing. Chuck in some fresh ginger and ACV to wake up your digestive system. Drink the same diluted juice the next day in the morning and afternoon. By the evening, you can you make a wholesome light veggie soup - see our Recipes page for inspiration. Eat a small amount of the meal and wait for 30 minutes before finishing the portion. Remember not to over eat or eat too quickly - we can’t stress the importance of this enough. The shock to the system can cause GI distress and damage.

Breaking a Dry Fast

• After a dry fast lasting 24 hrs+ - break only with filtered water with a small amount of mineral (Himilayan) salts and apple cider vinegar added, or a herbal tea such as peppermint or ginger. We recommend you hydrate for at least 12 hours before eating a small, light meal such as a soup or salad. Drink plenty of ACV and ginger beforehand to wake up your digestive system and aid digestion.
• After a dry fast lasting 48-72 hrs+ - this is more difficult and you will need to be even more cautious. Follow the wise recommendations here.