Dry Fasting: The Secret To Everlasting Beauty?

Fact: Your skin ages as you do. But does it really have to? Dry fasting might be the elusive skin hack we’ve all been looking for. 

Does dry fasting give you younger skin? Dry fasting triggers metabolic processes in the body that recycle old, unhealthy skin cells and create new, healthy skin cells, such as fibroblasts and dermal cells. Fibroblasts produce collagen, which also increases the appearance of younger skin. 

So it’s true, dry fasting can take a few years off your skin. How well it does that is another matter altogether. Here’s the 101 on dry fasting for skin renewal.

How does dry fasting make you look younger?

Your skin is one of the earliest markers of deteriorating health, being the biggest organ of the human body and taking up as much as 20% of total body weight.

The health of your skin is affected by a myriad of factors: smoking, alcohol consumption, skin injuries, chemical allergens, trauma, stress, diet, UV light, and genetics. Your skin is constantly regenerating itself to some degree but, as you age, your skin ages, losing its ability to spring back into shape, developing fine lines and wrinkles. 

Two main proteins give skin its youthful vitality: collagen and elastin. Collagen keeps skin healthy, free from wrinkles and fine lines; elastin is a connective tissue that gives skin its bounciness and elasticity. The decline in these proteins causes your skin to age.

Fasting, however, has reversed the status quo. Read any celebrity news, and some stunning 50-turning-25 starlet will tell you that fasting (16:8, 20:4, 5:2, 6:1, OMAD) is solely responsible for her shimmering skin. She’s not lying. Not by much.

Dry fasting is not just your everyday celebrity fasting; dry fasting is regular fasting on turbo drive: just a single dry day equals 3-5 days of water fasting days.

According to dry fasting expert Dr. Sergey Filonov, who has studied dry fasting for over 30 years, each time you do a 24-hour dry fast, you become 3 months younger! And I’m 100% behind that crazy statement; I’ve been dry fasting for 3 years, and at 41 years old, I look at least a decade younger!

Untitled 940 × 500px 940 × 700px Instagram Post Square 3 e1688029475362Fasting causes skin-boosting metabolic processes such as autophagy, stem cell regeneration, and human growth hormone secretion, all of which kick into high gear on day 3 of water fasting.

However, with dry fasting, you can enjoy these benefits in just under 1 day (24 hours).

Dry fasting for even 16-24 hours regularly is already an accessible hack for skin health – as discussed in this article discusses the benefits of intermittent dry fasting. 

Dry fasting is an extreme purification process. In the absence of external water, your body is forced to create pure metabolic water internally, using your fat stores to make this water and triggering an in-house ‘spring clean.’

The metabolic process induced by dry fasting creates a spike in several functions that support skin renewal.

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First, autophagy, a cellular recycling process that degrades unhealthy and sick cells, consumes harmful skin proteins.

The remaining skin cells are healthier, with healthy offspring when they divide.

Second, stem cells regenerate, proliferating new cells and tissues such as elastin, which help with skin’s tautness and more fibroblasts that continually produce collagen.

These new cells then enter the ‘vacant space’ created by autophagy’s ongoing spring cleaning. 

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Third, Human Growth Hormone (HGH) is secreted, spurring more collagen growth which tightens the skin, naturally reducing wrinkles. HGH also increases blood flow and better sleep, which makes skin look younger.

In addition, it decreases body fat and increases lean muscle, along with improving brain function, which adds to overall well-being and youthfulness. 

How much should you dry fast for younger skin?

A complete skin reboot isn’t going to happen overnight. It might be possible if you attempt an extended dry fast of over 5-11 days. There have been accounts of curing eczema and looking years younger just several weeks after extended bouts of dry fasting. However, you should be doing these extended dry fasts in the mountains with fresh and clean air, as the skin becomes highly absorbent.

For most people already comfortable with extended juice fasting and prolonged water fasting of 3-5 days, dry fasting for 1-3 days can be achieved without much difficulty. I’ve personally done several 3-day dry fasts with relative ease. 

The most practical way, however, is taking dry fasting in small, regular doses. A 24-hour dry fast once or twice a week gives you an excellent reboot and easily fits your lifestyle. Start by waking up in the morning, say 6 am, brushing your teeth, drinking a glass of water and a cup of tea or coffee, then fasting all day until 6 am the following day. 

9 2 e1687967500345If you practice daily 16:8 intermittent fasting, you could level up by doing 12 hours of dry fasting in your 16-hour intermittent fasting window. Stop drinking water at 6 pm after your last meal, and start again after 6 am. 

Daily dry intermittent fasting would also work better if your last meal is a high-fat, low-carb meal.

Or, if you’re already practicing a ketogenic diet, as you’ll enter ketosis quicker, which is the fat-burning state which accelerates the metabolic process that gives you that glowing skin.

Fasting enthusiasts in online forums swear by the results of these daily dry intermittent fasts, especially after a few years.  

How to promote skin renewal when dry fasting

Our lifestyle is the biggest influencer on our skin health, as nutrition, exercise, and sleep significantly impact our skin quality. So it makes sense if lifestyle changes also increase our skin health and aid our skin’s healing.

Proper nutrition before and after dry fasting

Choosing the proper nutrients during the feeding window of dry fasting, especially right before and after, equips the body with the best nutrients to aid its processes. 

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Foods to eat include those high in proteins, vitamins, and minerals. Vitamin E is a powerful anti-oxidant, Vitamin A supports skin production.

Omega 3 boosts stem cell production, as well as Vitamin B7 (Biotin) and Vitamin D (which you can get from sunlight!).

7 e1687967423806Other friends of your skin are turmeric, spirulina, chlorella, and collagen supplements. Dry fasting in combination with supplements is recipe for miracles. 

My personal dry fasting anti-aging supplements are a combination of Omega 3, Proanthenols, Hyllaluronic acid and Astralagus root, and I’ve seen a significant difference  – I already look young, but I had even brighter, softer skin with smaller pores, just within weeks! 

Modify your lifestyle  

Stop smoking and reduce alcohol consumption. Also, reduce sugar intake. All three of these ages you quicker. Sugar can significantly age you twice as fast (according to one study on mice and how quickly they wrinkle while on a sugar diet!). Also, sleep 7-8 hours a day.

Give your skin love

Use sunscreen and care for your skin. You can support your skin by scrubbing to remove dead cells and moisturizing to give it nutrition. Epsom sea salts baths and scrubs are great for moisturizing and replenishing your body, improving blood flow, and tightening the skin. Use coconut oil to moisturize skin. 

Do resistance exercise 

Getting into resistance training like yoga or heavy weight lifting during your shorter bouts of dry fasting can significantly improve HGH promotion, which is excellent for your skin and remove wrinkles.

If you’re excited about how dry fasting helps with age reversal, then you’ll love this! Looking younger is exactly what I teach in my new video course, 25 Again! The Dry Fasting Lifestyle For A Younger, Slimmer You. Check it out!

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***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

  1. Stephanie R. Edmondson, Susan P. Thumiger, George A. Werther, Christopher J. Wraight, Epidermal Homeostasis: The Role of the Growth Hormone and Insulin-Like Growth Factor Systems, Endocrine Reviews, Volume 24, Issue 6, 1 December 2003, Pages 737–764, https://doi.org/10.1210/er.2002-0021
  2. https://dailynewshungary.com/hgh-wrinkles-before-and-after-you-should-know/Dunning, August. The Phoenix Protocol Dry Fasting for Rapid Healing and Radical Life Extension: Functional Immortality. August Dunning , 2020. 
  3. Coutinho, Luke. Dry Fasting Miracle. EBURY PR, 2020. 
  4. Filonov, Sergey. 20 Questions & Answers About Dry Fasting . Translated by Vera Giovanna Bani , Siberika , 2019. 
  5. Póvoa G, Diniz LM. Growth hormone system: skin interactions. An Bras Dermatol. 2011;86(6):1159-1165. doi:10.1590/s0365-05962011000600015
  6. https://www.healthline.com/health/hgh-side-effects
  7. Bartke A. Growth Hormone and Aging: Updated Review. World J Mens Health. 2019;37(1):19-30. doi:10.5534/wjmh.180018
  8. 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