What Can Happen to Your Body If You Fast for 3 Days

Some scientists recommend eating 3 meals and 3 snacks per day, and others recommend eating none. Before panicking, hear us out: this is not a starvation mission. In fact, fasting is one of the most ancient practices in human history. For example, the therapeutic use of fasting dates back to at least the fifth century BCE, when Greek physician Hippocrates recommended it for patients exhibiting certain symptoms of illnesses.

There are many diets that advertise abstaining from eating and drinking anything but water for a certain period of time. And we at Bright Side wanted to investigate what happens to the body after a 3-day fast.

1. Your cells may self-renew faster.

An adult’s skin covers approximately 2 square meters of surface area and represents about 20% of total body weight. Water-fasting triggers the self-renewal of skin cells. Researchers suggest the process begins after 18-20 hours of fasting and peaks after 48-72 hours. Furthermore, the process of cell renewal may also protect against Alzheimer’s and heart disease.

2. It may lower your blood pressure.

Water-only fasting may help lower blood pressure, which is one of the most serious illnesses the modern world suffers from. Fasting shows promising results, even with people with borderline high blood pressure when they fasted under medical supervision.

3. It may boost your metabolism.

The hormones insulin and leptin play crucial roles in the metabolism of the body. Insulin helps store nutrients from the bloodstream, while leptin serves as a fullness hormone. Research shows that water fasting could make your body more sensitive to these hormones. A higher level of sensitivity increases these hormones’ effectiveness, meaning that your body will be able to reduce blood sugar and prevent obesity.

4. It may prevent some chronic diseases.

Water fasting is thought to lower the risk of chronic diseases, including diabetes and heart disease. Additionally, research on animals suggests that water fasting may suppress genes involved in cancer cell growth. This may make chemotherapy more effective too.

5. It may boost brain function.

Fasting was first prescribed as a treatment for epilepsy more than 2,000 years ago. Moreover, research indicates that fasting helps to clear the mind and recharge the senses while also stimulating brain function. Also, fasting may be able to improve cognitive function, halt the age-related cognitive decline, reduce neurodegeneration, reduce brain damage, and improve functional recovery after stroke.

6. You may shed some pounds.

The benefit most commonly associated with fasting is weight loss. The weight loss occurs once your body goes from a fed state to a fasted state. With no food to burn for energy, your body begins burning body fat (stored fuel) to keep running. On a 24-hour fasting day, you will lose about a third or half a pound of fat weight, not water weight.

Have you tried water fasting before? Would you ever consider following such a strict diet? If yes, how long do you think you would last? And which food or drink would you miss the most?

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