I’ve been dry fasting for several months, and my body already looks and feels 10 years younger. Move aside, Big Pharma, dry fasting is the ultimate anti-aging hack!
Can dry fasting help with anti-aging? Dry fasting increases metabolic processes such as autophagy, stem cell regeneration, and human growth hormone, recycling old cells and creating new cells, renewing your entire body, slowing down aging.
The miraculous dry fast has been recommended practice in many religions throughout history to reset our health. But how exactly does dry fasting make us younger?
How does dry fasting slow down aging?
Caloric restriction has long been linked to longevity, but only recently have the anti-aging benefits of fasting become widespread; mainly, through the growing popularity of intermittent (water) fasting. Prolonged water fasting has also been gaining traction, especially in the medical and weight loss arenas.
However, dry fasting is the uncontested winner of all self-induced anti-aging efforts—a dry fast reaps all the benefits of a water fast in just 1/3 the time. The metabolic processes usually start after 3 days (72 hours) of prolonged water fast in just 1 day (24 hours) of a dry fast!
Anywhere between 12- 24 hours of a dry fast, the reduced sugar and water intake triggers a massive shift in your body’s primary source of fuel; it’s like your car just switched from diesel to electric.
Your body is now running on superior, clean energy, called ketones: a chemical that replaces glucose or sugar as a fuel source for your cells. Ketones, or the state of ketosis, and other dry factors trigger metabolic changes that result in an internal recycling process, induced mainly by processes like autophagy, stem cell regeneration, and human growth hormone secretion.
First: Autophagy, which means ‘self-eating, consumes the unhealthy, unnecessary, old, sickly, and damaged cells during a dry fast, so only the healthiest survive.
Second: Stem cells regeneration and proliferation spikes during dry fasting, dividing and creating new cells to fill up the void of sickly cells that have been degraded by autophagy.
Third: Human Growth Hormone (HGH) spikes, increasing blood flow, giving you better sleep, improving brain function, decreasing body fat, and increasing collagen growth and lean muscle.
This array of metabolic self-renewal rejuvenates all your body’s vital cells, tissues, and systems, including your vascular system. Your vascular age is the age of your heart, arteries, and blood vessels; vascular age determines biological age.
Vascular age can be influenced by many factors and is higher if you’re a smoker, have high cholesterol, or have a history of heart problems in the family. That’s why some young people look much older than their biological age and why heart attacks can suddenly happen to a 30-year-old.
The body is an intelligent organism and knows what is needed most for its own well-being. Your vascular system is vital for your overall health, which means it gets VIP treatment. A dry fasting housekeeping service throws out all the old, damaged, and useless blood vessels, arteries, and heart tissues giving you new walls and a fresh coat of paint to be stronger, healthier, and younger.
Can dry fasting make you look younger?
Your skin makes up about 16% of your total body weight which means it’s the largest organ in the body. Dry fasting causes metabolic processes that remove old cells to replace them with healthier, younger cells. Since the skin is an external marker of internal wellness, skin looks younger too!
The decrease in skin’s elasticity and bounciness results from the loss of two major proteins: collagen and elastin. During a dry fast, autophagy’s cellular recycling mechanism removes all the unnecessary, unhealthy proteins and cells, leaving only the healthiest, most vital cells.
As a result of stem cell proliferation, more fibroblasts are being generated to further increase the collagen production in the skin – which removes fine lines and wrinkles.
Human Growth Hormone (HGH) is also being secreted into the system. HGH increases collagen production—tightening skin while decreasing fat and increasing muscle mass – which can help fill out loose skin, making the skin appear younger.
Research has shown that HGH also makes skin thicker. HGH also improves sleep, combatting a significant reason for poor skin health.
This article shares more on how Dry Fasting helps with Ageing Skin.
Can dry fasting reverse aging?
If you could dry fast consistently, ridding yourself of unwanted cells, and create new stem cells (which are immortal—able to regenerate into any cell in the body and never cease dividing and proliferating), then theoretically, you could reverse aging.
If we consistently use the mechanisms in dry fasting, there is a chance that we could, in fact, live forever. Scientists have experiments to prove this is possible, such as the study was done on mice, where they reverse wrinkles and hair loss, and the study on worms, which lived up to six times longer as a result of fasting.
Many experiments have been conducted on lower life forms that strongly indicate that fasting extends life and the quality of life. Professor M. Child of the University of Chicago researched insects that ordinarily only live 3-4 weeks, but when their food was reduced and insects had to fast, they stayed active and young for 3-4 years.
An experiment by physician Suren Arakeylan (1928 -2002) studied caged hens that had stopped laying eggs but started laying eggs again after fasting. Another of his experiments tested fasted hens; an average hen lives 6 years, but fasted hens lived up to 18 years, with 1 particular hen living up to 21 years. For a human being, this life extension would equal 250 years!
Since consistently not eating or drinking may not be sustainable, science has also been working on creating substances that mimic the effects of extreme fasting. Some include a ketogenic diet, where ketones are being used for fuel in the body.
Although the scientific community is still cautious about dry fasting and aging, advocates on online forums strongly champion the age-reversal effects of dry fasting and intermittent dry fasting.
Can dry fasting tighten aging skin?
Loose or saggy skin is caused by many factors, from aging to lifestyle to extreme weight loss.
The basis of the skin losing its tautness and bounce, however, boils down to a decrease in collagen, elastin, and generally unhealthy skin cells, which reflects your body’s overall health.
As dry fasting increases autophagy, your body degrades and ‘eats’ the proteins that aren’t needed, organelles, and cellular structures in your body. This process also eats unhealthy skin cells as your skin is a significant organ.
We see differences between previously obese people who have lost weight through fasting and those who lost weight through caloric restriction or dieting. In most cases, prolonged water fasting or dry fasting allows the body to ‘eat’ the excess skin.
The increase in stem cells caused by dry fasting also generates new proteins such as elastin and collagen to boost skin health. This proliferation of healthy new cells also creates more fibroblast, supporting collagen’s growth. Elastin, a connective tissue, is also being produced, giving our skin that glorious bounciness that helps it spring back into shape.
Human Growth Hormone will also help tighten skin, make it stronger, and produce more collagen, making your skin tauter.
If you’re buzzing about how dry fasting helps you get younger, it’s your lucky day. Because that’s precisely what I teach in my new video course, 25 Again! The Dry Fasting Lifestyle For A Younger, Slimmer You. Go check it out!
***Disclaimer: I am not a doctor/ physician, and although I have a bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Science, I cannot and do not hold myself to be a medical professional (“Medical Provider”). This article does not contain medical /health advice. The medical/ health information here is for general and educational purposes only. It is my opinion, based on my research and personal experience, and not a substitute for professional advice by your health care provider. Please consult with a professional before acting on the information here, and do not disregard medical advice or delay seeking medical attention because of anything you read in this article. THE USE OR RELIANCE OF ANY OF THE INFORMATION ON THIS WEBSITE IS SOLELY AT YOUR OWN RISK.***
References
- Morris Leider, On the Weight of the Skin**From the New York Skin and Cancer Unit, Department of Dermatology and Syphilology (Marion B. Sulzberger, M.D. Director) and the Post Graduate Medical School of the New York University, Bellevue Medical Center.,Journal of Investigative Dermatology, Volume 12, Issue 3, 1949, Pages 187-191, ISSN 0022-202X, https://doi.org/10.1038/jid.1949.28.
- Dunning, August. The Phoenix Protocol Dry Fasting for Rapid Healing and Radical Life Extension: Functional Immortality. August Dunning , 2020.
- Coutinho, Luke. Dry Fasting Miracle. EBURY PR, 2020.
- Filonov, Sergey. 20 Questions & Answers About Dry Fasting . Translated by Vera Giovanna Bani , Siberika , 2019.
- Fung, Jason, and Jimmy Moore. The Complete Guide to FASTING: Heal Your Body Through Intermittent, Alternate-Day, and Extended Fasting. Victory Belt Publishing, 2016.
- Póvoa G, Diniz LM. Growth hormone system: skin interactions. An Bras Dermatol. 2011;86(6):1159-1165. doi:10.1590/s0365-05962011000600015
- Kann P, Piepkorn B, Schehler B, Lotz J, Prellwitz W, Beyer J. Growth hormone substitution in growth hormone-deficient adults: effects on collagen type I synthesis and skin thickness. Exp Clin Endocrinol Diabetes. 1996;104(4):327-333. doi:10.1055/s-0029-1211462
