Fasting has long been used for many reasons. There are those who use fasting as a way to lose weight, as a method of detoxifying the bod and for religious and many other personal reasons. Fasting was even used as a means of political protest.
But what happens to your body if you eat nothing for seven days? Is it all bad? Is it all good? Can it be both? And are there different ways of fasting? This article will explore all of those things.
1. Your body will break down glycogen
OK, OK, we know this isn’t bad because this is what your body does to convert it into energy. So when you begin your fast, particularly in the first six hours, it will do what it normally does so you can function with enough energy until the next meal.
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But, when that next meal doesn’t come after about six hours, your glycogen stores will begin to deplete, and you will become hungry and most likely have a significant drop in mood. Needless to say, with the lack of glycogen, you’ll be hungry and ornery, and nobody will want to be around you … leading to loneliness.
2. Ketosis will begin
When your body loses the ability to break down new glycogen that enters the body, it starts to starve and go on a search for other things to convert into energy. It will start breaking down fat into fatty acids, using them for energy instead of carbs.
Again, this is not always a bad thing, especially if you’re using fasting as a method to lose weight if you are obese. The problem here is that the brain cannot use this broken down fat for fuel.
Due to this, your brain turns to ketone bodies for energy. This works for a small time because ketone bodies can’t replace glucose.
After about four days these ketone bodies can begin to build up, forming acetone which is a volatile and reactive substance. When this happens, it can lower the pH of the blood, developing into a condition called acidosis that could lead to coma or death if not reversed.
3. You’ll have cognitive function impairment
During the process of ketosis and acidosis, the brain starts to break down your body’s protein. This happens because proteins release amino acids which can be converted into glucose. Due to this, you will lose much of the simple brain functions that help you remember things, and even carry out simple tasks.
4. Your body starts to cannibalize itself
If you’re not eating, then your body will start to eat itself. This is simply because it is searching for energy sources from anything. When the fat stores are gone, it will start to destroy muscle mass, and it won’t stop there, moving on to your bones if you continue to starve yourself.
5. You will be more susceptible to infections
After one week, you won’t have sufficient body stores to fight of infection because by now your immune system is too weak. You haven’t been feeding it crucial vitamins and minerals to help your body defend itself.
According to research that studied the impact of nutrition on mice infected with common viruses or bacteria, immunobiologist Ruslan Medzhitov, observed the following that was published in Tale News:
“During a viral infection, eating provides glucose, which may be necessary for survival,” Medzhitov said. Conversely, fasting leads to the production of ketones another type of fuel which may help animals tolerate a bacterial infection.”
The findings help bolster the old adage “Starve a fever, feed a cold.”P