Water Fasting: Benefits, Safety & How-To (2024 Guide)

Fasting is an excellent way to cleanse and detoxify the body. In a true fast, no food is eaten. A 1-day fast can easily be done without harm to most people, but longer fasts, including 1 month fasts, should only be done at a clinic with doctors supervising the fast. Water fasting provides a few important health benefits.

Types

• Water fasting is a way to give the body the fluids it needs for proper functioning. Unlike fruit or vegetable juice fasting, there are no calories or nutrients digested with water fasting.

Function

• By drinking only water doing the fast, the accumulated wastes, chemicals, toxins and other harmful materials are flushed out of the cells, tissues and organs, which reduces the risks for disease.

Benefits

• By not eating food, the energy used for digestion is instead used for self-healing and self-cleaning the body naturally.

Warning

• Fasts are not for everyone, and a doctor should be consulted before beginning a fast, especially if medications are taken. Some prescription drugs need to be taken with food.

Considerations

• Ii is best to go on a 1-day fast at first and slowly build up to fasts lasting 2 days to a week. The longer the fast, the more toxins and wastes are removed from the body.