Benefits of Water Fasting for the Skin

Simply put, water fasting means consuming nothing but water. Water fasting has had a long religious and medical history; and people have practiced it for ages in order to perform penance, to detox the body and for other reasons. Water fasting is said to be good for promoting weight loss, for increasing energy levels, for ridding the body of waste material and is also supposed to be good for the skin. So is it really good for the body to avoid all food and drink only water for a certain period? Is this advisable?

How does water fasting work?

According to one theory, toxins or body waste is stored in extra fat cells of the body. When the body gets only water and no nutrition, it will derive required energy from stored fat. So stored fat cells will be released and utilized and the toxins will be flushed out of the body.

There is also the understanding that when the body is in a fasting state, consuming no solids, the body expends little or no energy on the process of digestion. The process of digestion places significant stress on the body, and when you don’t eat anything, this stress is relieved. There is extra energy which is then available to the body for other uses. This is also supposed to help in the process of detoxification, according to well known nutritionist Paul C Bragg. Bragg refers to this extra energy as the “Vital Force”.

How is it good for the skin?

It is thought that a period of fasting helps reduce the strain on the body’s organs and can help them work better. Water fasting could also help improve blood circulation, according to some experts. Proponents of water fasting claim that skin tone may improve as a result of the fasting. Since the skin is well hydrated, it may heal and renew itself faster. It is thought that water fasting could help speed up scar healing and may help with problems such as acne.

While many proponents to water fasting extol the many benefits of water fasting, there is not much clinical evidence to support these claims. Though the theories seem plausible, there are few studies to support the theories about water fasting being good for the body and the skin in particular. There is also the apprehension that water fasting for very long periods could slow down the body’s metabolic rate. So it is best not to undergo water fasting for more than 1 to 3 days at a time.