People fast to cleanse the body and to lose weight. Some say it also clears the mind. The most common claims made for fasting are that it improves glandular, metabolic and nerve function; speeds up toxin elimination; encourages cell generation; enhances cell-oxygenation and gives the internal organs a well-deserved rest. Opinion differs on whether water fasting or juice fasting is better for you, and which gets the best results.
Water Fasting and Ketosis
Water fasting is more extreme. During a water fast, your body initially uses up calories provided by the food you have recently eaten. If the fast continues, the body turns to glycogen stored in the liver to meet its energy needs. When you deplete your reserves of glycogen, the body begins to metabolize fat, a process called ketosis. Advocates of water fasting claim you will have a greatly reduced appetite by this stage and that weight loss will accelerate. However, according to The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, ketosis is not a desirable state and can be a serious condition.
Fasting and Weight Loss
In juice fasting, ketosis does not occur because glycogen levels never get too low. Nor is the body depleted of vitamins and minerals during a juice fast as it may be during a water fast. Therefore, juice fasting may provide more energy for exercise, a key component of weight loss. Proponents also claim the body's metabolic rate, the rate at which it converts fuel into energy, remains higher on a juice fast than a water fast, leading to greater weight loss.
Cleansing and Healing
During a water fast, the body does not waste energy digesting calories. Therefore, advocates believe, the body may direct its energies toward body cleansing and healing instead. As well as aiding dramatic weight loss, water fasting increases energy and mental clarity. Believers claim it helps conditions including osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes and obesity. Advocates also see it as good for the immune system, cleansing the respiratory, circulatory, digestive and urinary tracts, eliminating uric acid and reducing levels of bad cholesterol, called LDL, while increasing levels of good cholesterol, or HDL. Juice fasters make similar health claims, however, due to the above-average amounts of vitamins and minerals consumed in a juice fast.
Fasting and Toxins
The basis for fasting diets is the idea that toxins build up in the body and you can remove them by eating, or not eating, certain things. Proponents of water fasting believe this is the quickest and most thorough way to rid the body of toxins completely. For this reason juice fasting is seen by some as more of a "compromise cleanse." However, according to dietitian Ursula Arens, there is no evidence that toxin build-up occurs in the body at all
Conclusions and Warnings
In summary, while advocates consider water fasting a purer form with quicker results, juice fasting is gentler with fewer side effects, and may actually be a healthier way to detoxify the body and lose weight. Doctors do not recommend fasting for people with certain health conditions. Consult your health practitioner before commencing any fasting program.
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