How unhealthy is it to go a day without food

[Zorohon]

That's just plain nonsense.

How is this nonsense? Fasting triggers ketosis, and fat is where the body stores a lot of the toxins that it absorbs from the environment.

Like I said this entire topic is controversial, but to dismiss a statement as nonsense with no evidence to back up your point is... well, nonsense.

Also, multivitamins have their place, but by no means should replace a balanced diet..

[Spectral]

How is this nonsense? Fasting triggers ketosis, and fat is where the body stores a lot of the toxins that it absorbs from the environment.

Like I said this entire topic is controversial, but to dismiss a statement as nonsense with no evidence to back up your point is... well, nonsense.

Also, multivitamins have their place, but by no means should replace a balanced diet..

Claims asserted without evidence can be dismissed without evidence. Handwaving about "toxins" is surely nonsense. Disagree? That's fine, throw out a citation to a valid journal article.

[Laize]

Not eating for a day? Nothing is wrong with that.

In fact, intermittent fasting (There are multiple ways to do it. One day of fast, one day of feast is one way to do it.) has been linked to multiple health benefits.

I do it. I eat once a day and my doctor hasn't noticed anything amiss. In fact both my cholesterol and blood pressure are down and I've been losing weight.

---------- Post added 2012-12-01 at 04:52 AM ----------

Claims asserted without evidence can be dismissed without evidence. Handwaving about "toxins" is surely nonsense. Disagree? That's fine, throw out a citation to a valid journal article.

Here ya go.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1...?dopt=Abstract
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1...?dopt=Abstract
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1...?dopt=Abstract

[Spectral]

Here ya go.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1...?dopt=Abstract
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1...?dopt=Abstract
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1...?dopt=Abstract

None of those have anything to do with the claim that fasting rids the body of "toxins".

[Chareoss]

It's not as unhealthy as you think to go a day without food, but if you're doing this often just because you can or because some know it all tells you it's healthy on the internet, then your level of stupidity is through the roof.

Champions don't starve.

Also, if you're fasting for the reason to lose weight (which should probably be the only reason) then you are doing it wrong and need to get educated about what's in the food you eat.

It is not hard to drop weight when you choose the right foods to eat, switch all your bullshit drinks to water and lite milk, and get a decent amount of exercise in.

If your will power sucks in the beginning, you can even have a cheat day once a week.

[Laize]

None of those have anything to do with the claim that fasting rids the body of "toxins".

I may have been a bit late to the conversation but let me clarify.

The idea of generic "toxins" being cleaned out of the body through various methods is fucking ludicrous.

Now there have been studies showing that, at least in animals, intermittent fasting has led to the brain being less vulnerable to excitotoxic stress... but that's different from "cleansing the body of toxins"... which is patently stupid.

Any time someone says "X (usually Green Tea) clears the body of toxins." I ask them which toxins in particular. No one has been able to name one legitimate toxin. One guy said it reduced free radicals but failed wildly when I asked if he could tell me what a free radical was.

[Quetzl]

That's just plain nonsense.

Though to be fair, you body is constantly metabolizing toxins, and since a lot of those come from foods, not eating would reduce the total number of toxins in your body. And by toxins I mean everything from bacterial protein endo/exotoxins, free radicals, plant defenses, heavy metals, chemicals, and metabolic byproducts.

[Spectral]

The idea of generic "toxins" being cleaned out of the body through various methods is fucking ludicrous.

Right, that's all was objecting to. I have no general opinion on fasting, I know some people do it and claim benefits; I've never reviewed the literature in a remotely relevant way, since I like eating.

Now there have been studies showing that, at least in animals, intermittent fasting has led to the brain being less vulnerable to excitotoxic stress... but that's different from "cleansing the body of toxins"... which is patently stupid.

Any time someone says "X (usually Green Tea) clears the body of toxins." I ask them which toxins in particular. No one has been able to name one legitimate toxin. One guy said it reduced free radicals but failed wildly when I asked if he could tell me what a free radical was.

Yeah, we are indeed on the same page!

---------- Post added 2012-12-01 at 12:00 AM ----------

Though to be fair, you body is constantly metabolizing toxins, and since a lot of those come from foods, not eating would reduce the total number of toxins in your body. And by toxins I mean everything from bacterial protein endo/exotoxins, free radicals, plant defenses, heavy metals, chemicals, and metabolic byproducts.

That's true as far as it goes, but it's sure not going to do much of anything about bioaccumulation of metals and such, and such a temporary drop in intake of toxic compounds would be essentially irrelevant. Besides, almost every single toxin of any relevance that's ingested is only relevant because of potential accumulation.

[Zorohon]

Claims asserted without evidence can be dismissed without evidence. Handwaving about "toxins" is surely nonsense. Disagree? That's fine, throw out a citation to a valid journal article.

I definitely disagree, claims asserted without evidence are opinions, I have stated many times that this topic is controversial and there are many people on both sides of the fence in regards to the health benefits and drawbacks of fasting. I have given my opinion, and I am in no way obligated to "prove" an opinion to anybody - particularly somebody so rude.

[Laize]

Yeah, we are indeed on the same page!

It never fails to amaze me how stupid some people are. Or at least ignorant. It's usually the health food nuts who know the least about how the body works.

The guy who failed to explain what a free radical was, care to take a guess at what his explanation was? You can try a million times and probably still not come up with an explanation as dumb as his.

[Spectral]

I definitely disagree, claims asserted without evidence are opinions, I have stated many times that this topic is controversial and there are many people on both sides of the fence in regards to the health benefits and drawbacks of fasting. I have given my opinion, and I am in no way obligated to "prove" an opinion to anybody - particularly somebody so rude.

Indeed, how rude of me to point out that the idea of skipping food for a day will cleanse the body of "toxins" is nonsense. All opinions are equal, I forgot!

---------- Post added 2012-12-01 at 12:10 AM ----------

The guy who failed to explain what a free radical was, care to take a guess at what his explanation was? You can try a million times and probably still not come up with an explanation as dumb as his.

Oh, no... this is going to make my brain hurt. Did he guess that it was radiation?

[ChrisKoe]

OT: not eating for a day is absolutely harmless. You can easily live through a whole week without food as long as you drink enough.
Training your body to get drunk easily is something to consider, though. Doing this through your college days might be OK but don't keep this up.

[Mozu]

Too cheap to buy food -- buys alcohol instead.

Sounds like sweet logic.

[Immitis]

Hi as of today I haven't eaten in almost 21 hours and this happens a couple times a week. I have an incredibly sedentary lifestyle so I don't burn hardly any calories. I'm also a poor college student and like to get fucked up on as little beer as possible so I try to keep an empty stomach by fasting for 6 hours whenever I drink. My question is simple: How unhealthy is it go without food for a 24 hour period a couple times a week.

it depends alot both on your body type, your diet, health.

for some people fasting for a while is healthy for other people its very bad and for some people it wouldnt matter.

also it depends on what kind of fast you do theres fasts where you strictly only drink water theres ones where you only drink juice and theres kinds where you just dont eat solid food

[Laize]

Oh, no... this is going to make my brain hurt. Did he guess that it was radiation?

Oh man you hit it almost on the nose but it was actually worse than that. He thought free radicals released "ionizing gamma radiation" that caused cancer. I commend him for recognizing that gamma radiation is ionizing and can cause cancer... but unless he's eating Cobalt 60 or some other radioisotope I don't think he has anything to worry about in terms of ionizing radiation.

[Quetzl]

No need to beat up on people for not knowing a specific molecular term...

[Zorohon]

Indeed, how rude of me to point out that the idea of skipping food for a day will cleanse the body of "toxins" is nonsense. All opinions are equal, I forgot!

I was referring to your sarcasm and the overall tone of your posts - thank you for proving my point though.

Pretty sure I am done here.. Not getting into this with you and further derailing this thread - the high road my friend.

[Senderos]

I don't know what other people say, but on a long term, you can mess your health up quite bad. Food gives you energy and your organs require food on a regular basis. I`m in my third year studies at uni and I always eat plenty, but I -unwillingly- have long breaks between meals due to my work. I start working and realize 4 hours later that I`m hungry as hell. I`ve been doing this for the last 2 years and I`ve started feeling liver pain. After I resolved the issue of eating little, but more often, the pain went away.

Because you don't feel anything does not mean that it's not unhealthy. It can take months or years to develop an issue, due to lack of eating. I`m not addressing specificaly this to you OP, but to people in general: I mean there are some things in life that is NATURAL necessity. Sleep, food, socializing etc. .. you cannot mess with these. It's completely unrelated from your personality or what you think you are or how different you are from other people. Often times you DON'T feel the damage you are causing, but you will feel it maybe years from now, when it's too late to go back. Just eat regularly man... decent breakfast, 2 hours alter maybe 1-2 fruit, small sandwich. Then have a decent lunch as well and just don't sit on your ass all day and you won't be fat.

[Laize]

No need to beat up on people for not knowing a specific molecular term...

If someone said "I'm not sure what a free radical is" I could accept that and I'd tell them what it was and why they could be dangerous.

If someone says, matter-of-factly, that "this is a free radical" and explains that as the whole basis of why certain foods are bad, that's stupid and I think they should be set right.

[skrump]

If your going to cut meals out of you diet I suggest cutting only a single one.

Got to give your body some nutrients throughout the day but considering the portion size most of us eat a single meal could easily be broken into 2.