Transcription
We've been told the same health advice for decades: that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, to eat every few hours, never skip meals, and don't let your blood sugar get too low. But what if that's all wrong? What if staying healthy doesn't involve eating all day long, and healing doesn't happen while you're eating, but rather when you stop? And what if going a whole 36 hours without eating could actually reset your whole immune system and lower your risk of cancer by cleaning out damaged cells that could be dangerous, like precancerous cells?
I know a 36-hour fast might sound extreme, but stick with me. I'm going to walk you through a timeline of what happens when you stop eating for 36 hours. From burning fat, lowering insulin, resetting your metabolism, and regenerating brain cells, it's all actually pretty amazing what your body does on its own. And if you're a cancer survivor or you're just worried about your long-term health, this might just be the most empowering thing you hear all week.
And if you have questions about fasting, stick around to the end of the video where I'll be going over the most frequently asked questions I get, like, "What can I have while I'm fasting? Are water and coffee okay?" And what's the best way to break a fast? So stick around for that and let's get into it.
So for the first 14 hours of your fast, you likely won't feel that different. I mean, you may get hungry, maybe feel a little tired, but nothing dramatic. However, on the inside, something big is starting to shift. First off, your insulin levels begin to drop, and this is really important. Whenever you eat, your body releases insulin. And if you're someone who's constantly eating or snacking, you never really get a break from having high insulin. When your insulin levels are high, it keeps you from burning fat. But if they're consistently high, it creates inflammation in your body and over time you can become insulin resistant. And those are two big drivers of several types of cancer and other illnesses. So once you stopped eating for long enough and your insulin levels start to drop, your body finally gets the green light to go ahead and start burning fat for fuel. And that's when the real magic of fasting begins.
So after about 14 hours without food, you finally finished digesting and processing your last meal. And now instead of using a bunch of energy to digest food, your body can then redirect that energy towards things like healing, detoxing, and repairing. This is called energy diversion. So your body starts scanning for damaged cells, dysfunctional mitochondria, and precancerous mutations. And it either repairs those cells or destroys them completely. Imagine your body going, "This cell is junk. This one's damaged. This one's inflamed. Let's get it out of here." It's a process called autophagy. And it's something your body does naturally to protect you from getting sick. Now, obviously, you don't have to fast for your body to heal itself, but fasting is one of the best ways to enhance autophagy. It's like it ramps up deep cleaning on a cellular level. And once you hit somewhere between the 17 to 19 hour fasting mark, autophagy really starts to ramp up.
So, as you can imagine, by the time you get 24 hours into your fast, you've had at least 5 hours of some pretty deep healing. But at that 24-hour mark into your fast, your body reaches two big milestones. And these are the kind of changes you might even feel in your energy levels, your mental clarity, and maybe even your mood. Milestone number one is you get a surge of human growth hormone. And this isn't just a small surge. It's actually a massive hormonal shift. In men, your HGH levels can increase by up to 2,000%. And women, up to 1,300%. But why does that even matter? Well, HGH is your body's natural repair hormone. It's a fat burning, muscle preserving, anti-aging powerhouse. That's why it's the most talked about hormone in the world of longevity. People literally pay thousands of dollars for HGH treatments, but your body makes it for free when you're fasting. This hormone literally tells your body to preserve muscle, burn fat, protect your brain, repair your skin, and clean up damaged cells through autophagy. So, if you've ever worried about muscle loss during fasting, yes, you can lose muscle if you're not eating enough, especially enough protein when you're not fasting or if you're not doing any exercise. But the HGH that your body produces during fasting does slow down muscle loss.
Now, the second milestone at the 24-hour fasting mark is called gut stem cell activation. So, basically, your gut starts healing itself, too. Research has shown that the stem cells in your gut kind of kick into gear, especially in your small intestine. So, this means that your gut lining starts to heal and regenerate itself cell by cell. And this is so important because your gut isn't just where you digest food. It's actually where 70% of your immune system lives. It's your body's first line of defense against toxins and infections and inflammation. Your gut lining can get damaged, and it's pretty common and easy to do just from things like eating too much junk food, stress, taking medications, or being sick. And long-term damage to your gut lining can make you have food sensitivities, constant bloating, a leaky gut, or even autoimmune issues. All the things we don't want. So, by fasting for 24 hours or longer, your gut gets a real break. No food to process, no sugar, no irritation, just time to rest, reset, and repair itself and your immune system. And the next time you do eat, when you break your fast, your gut will have an easier time absorbing the nutrients and vitamins from the food you eat. That's why it's so important to break your fast with something healthy. And I will go over that more in a minute. But if a 24-hour fast is all you're able to manage, especially if you're new to fasting, the benefits can obviously be pretty significant.
And if you can make it to 36 hours without food, that's when even more amazing things happen. At that stage, your brain starts functioning differently. People often say they feel more mentally sharp or focused. So that's because your body doesn't know you're fasting on purpose. From a survival standpoint, it assumes that food is scarce. As cavemen, when food was hard to find, we needed to be at our sharpest to survive. Our brains had to be clear and alert and strategic enough to find food. So after 36 hours without food, your brain goes into high performance mode. It sharpens your focus and helps your nervous system to run more efficiently. So, you may have heard stories of actors who fast before their performances for this exact reason.
Now, if you're thinking, "This all sounds great, but I need my coffee in the morning. What can I have while I'm fasting?" You can 100% have black coffee or tea, but try to avoid the cream or sugar. A small amount of calories won't significantly break your fast. So, if you want to add a splash of cream or maybe a bit of unsweetened almond milk, you can still get most of the benefits of fasting if the calories are minimal. And something even better to have than coffee would be green tea. The EGCGs in green tea further improve your insulin sensitivity and have some amazing anti-cancer properties, too.
Okay, so let's say you make it through 36 hours with no food. Now, before you go running for a burger and fries, let's talk about the best way to break a fast. At this stage, your digestive enzymes are low. Your gut is sensitive. Your body is still in healing mode. So, the worst thing you could do is flood your system with sugar or heavy carbs or processed foods. You may even want to ease into it and break your fast with some bone broth to wake up your digestive system slowly. Then, you want a breakfast that balances your blood sugar, not sends it on a roller coaster ride. This means nothing sugary or high in carbs like cereal, a muffin, or granola bars. These will make your blood sugar spike fast, and your body will have to pump out a bunch of insulin to bring those sugar levels back down. And what goes up fast comes crashing down fast, making you feel lethargic and craving more carbs. So instead, you want a breakfast that's low in carbs and high in protein and healthy fats. Maybe some scrambled eggs with avocado or some greens or even a protein shake. When you start the day with protein and healthy fats, your blood sugar rises slowly and steadily, so your insulin stays low and controlled. Plus, you'll feel full for longer because protein and fat trigger hormones like GLP1 that tell your brain you're full, and your cravings for sugar and carbs later in the day will dramatically drop. I have a reference sheet on the 11 best foods to lower insulin resistance. So, you can download that using the first link in the description below.
So, let's go over more questions you might have about fasting, like how often should I be fasting or how often should I be doing extended fasts of 24 hours or more? Unfortunately, this isn't a one-size-fits-all answer. It depends largely on your overall health and what your goals are with fasting. Are you doing it to lose weight, reverse insulin resistance? A 45-year-old woman going through menopause will get different benefits from fasting than a 65-year-old man. Just like someone suffering from obesity or insulin resistance will get very different benefits from fasting than someone with an overall clean diet. Anyone who tells you that you have to do a certain length of fast x number of times per week is lying. The best approach for you is to do whatever you feel best doing. Test the waters and listen to your body. Some people thrive doing the 16:8 fast every day. It suits their lifestyle. Others like doing a 24-hour fast once a week. And some do even longer fasts like 36 to 72 hours every few months as a complete reset. One thing I will say though is being consistent over time is more beneficial than going extreme only once in a while. Time-restricted eating like the 16:8 or 18:6 method every day is one of the easiest ways to do intermittent fasting long term and it has been shown to significantly improve your blood sugar levels, lower insulin resistance, lower inflammation and even blood pressure. Alternate day fasting or the 5:2 method can produce similar results, especially fat loss and insulin sensitivity, but they're often harder to sustain. Some people love that structure, but others burn out quickly. So, the best fasting method for you is one you'll do consistently.
Another question I get often is, can I exercise while fasting? If you don't feel well while you're fasting, exercise can make you feel even worse. But if you feel fine and even more energized, then absolutely. For many people, it can actually enhance the benefits of both fasting and exercising if you do them together. When you work out in a fasted state, your body taps into stored energy more efficiently, especially your fat stores. It can also trigger deeper metabolic changes like improved insulin sensitivity and better muscle repair. But again, the key here is to listen to your body because everyone's different.
Question number three, can fasting cause gallstones? So gallstones can develop when bile sits in your gallbladder for too long. And this happens most often when people have a really high-fat diet or they're not very active for long periods of time or when they go long periods without eating anything at all. But these extended fasts aren't meant to be done every day. And if you're eating healthy food and staying active while you're not fasting, your risk of getting gallstones from fasting is quite low. But if you have a history of gallbladder issues, definitely check with your doctor before fasting. Even if your doctor may not be an advocate for fasting, they can at least still tell you if it would be safe for you to try. Just be sure to tell them that you're doing it in a structured, intentional way.
And although fasting can be very beneficial, it's not for everyone. There are other things you can do aside from fasting to enhance autophagy and prevent cancer. I go over some of them in this video, so you'll want to check that one out next. And I'll see you next week.