Is Fasting For You?

Is routine fasting good for your heart? It might be. A recent study found that people who regularly fasted had a 58 percent lower risk for heart disease than those who didn’t refrain from eating for a period of time.

However, researchers say more study is needed before physicians should start advising patients to take up the practice, especially since study participants were devout Mormons, who, in addition to fasting for a 24-hour period each month, don’t drink alcohol, smoke, or use caffeine — good-for-you practices that affect cardiovascular health.

If you’re thinking about trying a fast, consider what some experts are saying and be sure to discuss the idea with your doctor.

No ‘quick-fix’ diet

In general, fasting for one or two days is not harmful for people who are healthy as long as they continue drinking fluids, WebMD.com says. But fasting for long periods of time deprives the body of essential nutrients, which can lead to dehydration, fatigue, dizziness, and even death if you fast for too long.

Dr. Benjamin D. Horne of Intermountain Healthcare, who led the fasting study which was presented this week at the American College of Cardiology conference, says people should not consider the practice as a fast way to drop pounds.

“Fasting is not a quick fix; it’s a long-term lifestyle that you integrate into your normal life and do it for the duration,” Horne, who says he fasts once a month, tells WebMD.com.

Beware of binging

Some experts note that periodic fasting could be followed by binging on unhealthy foods, which defeats the purpose of fasting in the first place. Many dieticians recommend avoiding any kind of deprivation diets, which can be a set-up for failure. Instead, finding an eating and exercise plan suited to your lifestyle and allowing the occasional splurge will bring more success, they say.

Hydrate

When Jews fast for Yom Kippur, a major holy day for the Jewish religion, the practice usually excludes water as well as food. The Jewish Outreach Institute recommends drinking as much as two quarts of water before your last pre-fast meal to help get you through. “Camel up,” Richard Israel writes on joi.org, because most of the discomfort associated with fasting is not because of a lack of food but a lack of fluids.

However, some health experts say that any fast should include water to prevent dehydration, which increases your chances of having a stroke.

Consume carbs

Before your fast, be sure to eat a meal that is heavy on the carbohydrates, foods like noodles and potatoes, rather than those high in protein and fat, Richard Israel writes on joi.org. “Carbohydrates bond with water which your body can ‘drink’ when it needs to during your fast. Proteins do not. Most of the dramatic but limited weight loss that people on high protein diets experience is lost water that protein molecules cannot hold onto or bring into your system, water that you want around during a fast.”

Cut caffeine

Headaches are a common complaint among people who regularly fast for religious reasons. But Richard Israel notes that the pain is not from the lack of food but is actually due to caffeine withdrawal. So he suggests gradually weaning yourself off your daily java fix by cutting back gradually before your fast or switching to decaffeinated coffee. Drink one cup less a day, he suggests on joi.org, going completely caffeine free the day before you begin fasting.

Make diet changes instead

Many medical experts believe that doing something as extreme as fasting to benefit your heart health is not necessary. Eating a healthy diet comprising little meat, lots of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and fish rich in omega-3 fatty acids is a better plan.

“If you don’t eat bad foods, your profiles are better in terms of weight and blood pressure, and your triglycerides (a type of blood fats) go down, and your blood sugar goes down,” Dr. Suzanne Steinbaum, director of women and heart disease at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, tells WebMD.com. “Anything in the extreme is not the way to go. It’s how you eat on a daily basis that matters."