Last Updated on November 9, 2023 by Fasting Planet
A coworker of yours comes into the office raving about their success with an intermittent fast. Then you hear from a family member who had similar success. You’re about to try fasting yourself, but then you see there’s water fasting and dry fasting. Which is better for you?
Both water fasting and dry fasting have their benefits, but dry fasting might offer more. With a water fast, it’s possible to flush toxins out of your body, resetting your colon, your digestive system, and other parts of your system. Dry fasts can improve the mucosal lining of your gastrointestinal tract, renew your blood vessels, reduce inflammation, and strengthen your immune system as well. Thus, you might opt to do a water fast or a dry fast at different times in your life.
In this article, we will go in-depth into both forms of intermittent fasting. First, we’ll explain the differences between a water fast and a dry fast. Then, we’ll share the benefits and tell you why you might consider these types of fasts for your own personal health needs. Perhaps you also want to check out our comparison between Water Fasting Vs. Juice Fasting?
What Is Water Fasting?
Let’s begin by defining both water fasting and dry fasting. When you fast, you cut out all food from your diet. Since intermittent fasting lasts for a few days (unless you’re medically supervised, in which it can go on longer), you can often safely do this without risking your health.
When you go on a water fast, you’re not omitting all fluids. You can still drink water for the duration of your fast, but that’s about it.
What Are Its Benefits?
If you’re considering beginning with a water fast, you’ll surely want to know what kinds of benefits you can expect to reap. Here’s an overview.
Your Chance of Getting Chronic Diseases Could Go Down
Those with a family history of heart disease, cancer, or diabetes may find a water fast can help. There’s a correlation between water fasting and having less of a chance of developing these chronic diseases.
This 2013 report in Science Translational Medicine noted that chemotherapy works more effectively when fasting. Also, when animals did water fasting, the researchers discovered that cancer cells couldn’t grow as well.
Also, a 2013 report in the journal Nutrition, Metabolism & Cardiovascular Disease followed a group of people on a water fast that lasted 24 hours. Thirty people participated in all. They were already healthy, but after fasting, they had fewer triglycerides and lower cholesterol, thus making them less susceptible to getting heart disease.
Leptin and Insulin Sensitivity Could Increase
Some people who go on fasts do so to lose weight. That’s smart, since our metabolism is managed chiefly by two hormones, leptin and insulin. When you’re full after eating, that’s leptin at work. When our body takes nutrients from our bloodstream, insulin is doing its job.
Research from the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America supports that you can increase insulin and leptin sensitivity by water fasting. Thus, these hormones do even more for your waistline.
You Could Have a Healthier Blood Pressure
Research from 2002 in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine says you could decrease your blood pressure through fasting. That said, they’re clear that these fasts should have medical involvement and supervision for the greatest success.
In the study, almost 70 people went on a two-week water fast. These people were all at risk of high blood pressure. After the 14 days passed, almost everyone (82 percent of the participants) had much lower and thus healthier blood pressure.
You Remove Toxins in the Body
Many people think of fasting as a type of reset button for your body. By fasting with water, you can flush toxins out of your system, especially those in your intestines and your digestive system. As this happens, you might notice you feel more energetic. That’s because water fasting causes your body to make more human growth hormone or HGH through the pituitary gland. When this happens, the body takes your fat and transfers it to energy.
Also, you could see changes on your tongue of all places. You’ll develop a coating that’s very white and thick. This is normal, so don’t panic.
What Is Dry Fasting?
If water fasting involves you consuming only water while on a fast, then dry fasting eliminates all food and liquid. There are two types of dry fasting, hard and soft. With a soft dry fast, you can brush your teeth, floss, use mouthwash, and shower without disrupting your fast. Those on a hard dry fast cannot expose themselves to any water for the duration of the fast. This includes in the form of fumes, skincare products, and even that which is in the air. Hard dry fasting is more advantageous than soft dry fasting, but it’s more difficult, too.
Now, you may wonder, how can you even live during a dry fast? Doesn’t your body absolutely need water or other fluids (as well as food) to survive? Yes, you do need water and food, but with a dry fast, you’re not completely depriving your body of all water. Allow us to explain.
According to holistic health coach Siim Land, your body can hold onto both nutrients and fluids, even during a fast. For instance, dry fasting can trigger AMP-activated protein kinase or AMPK. According to both Land and this 2006 study in Acta Physiologica, this can improve cell health and longevity.
We also take older waste material and cells and recycle them in a process called autophagy during intermittent fasts (including those with water). With autophagy, our body sort of regenerates itself. It also makes more hydrogen and energy.
Further, our bones contain calcium and magnesium, which doesn’t change when fasting. Our levels of creatinine, urea, and glucose don’t really change either, nor does our hemoglobin oxygen saturation, heart rate, or blood pressure. What does change is creatine clearance, in that we get a boost.
The glycogen in our bodies maintains our energy so we can still go about our day-to-day lives while on a dry fast. You’re probably also wondering, don’t we need carbs to renew our energy? Land says we don’t. He mentions that our body can make glucose from our triglyceride molecules thanks to a process known as gluconeogenesis.
As for dehydrating to the point of a serious health risk, you surely know by now how much water exists in the human body. It’s about 60 percent. The water molecules are present in our organs, our cells, our muscle tissue, and more. To obtain water, our body can always borrow from itself, in a way, while you dry fast.
Also, our adipose tissue can hang onto calories, so we’re not killing ourselves with a dry fast. Far from it.
What Are the Benefits of a dry fast?
Okay, so what are the perks of a dry fast? We think you’ll find them quite fascinating.
You Lessen Bacteria and Inflammation in the Body
Disease-causing bacteria and pathogens linger inside us already. However, they, like all living things, need a certain amount of hydration or they’ll die. Thus, when you go on a dry fast, you kill these bacteria.
Not only do you lessen your risk of certain diseases, then, but you should have less inflammation as well. Specifically, your body will contain fewer inflammatory markers such as:
- CXC chemokines, a type of inflammation molecule
- IL-6, a molecule that could contribute to malignant breast cancer growths, juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, and diabetes
- IL-1B, a means of inflammation that has ties to the development of heart failure
- CRP, which could be responsible for cardiovascular disease, hypertension, and diabetes in some people
- TNF- α, a molecule that can kill cells, cause inflammation, and even lead to fevers; it’s no wonder then that it may have a role in causing inflammatory bowel disease, psoriasis, some cancers, and Alzheimer’s disease
You Could Ward off Osteoporosis
Although you might not think so, dry fasting is good for your bones. When you dry fast intermittently, the body makes more of a parathyroid hormone. This hormone boosts blood calcium as well as bone development and reabsorption, per results found in a 2015 report in Therapeutic Advances in Endocrinology and Metabolism.
You Could Have Better Cholesterol Control
If you’re at risk of high cholesterol, then a dry fast can help as well as a water one. According to 2016 research in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, when both men and women went on dry fasts, they experienced many cholesterol changes.
For one, low-density lipoprotein or LDL cholesterol levels went down for both genders. Considering this is the bad cholesterol, that’s good for your health. The men in the study said they had fewer triglycerides as well as a lower total cholesterol. Women experienced more high-density lipoprotein or HDL cholesterol, aka the good stuff.
Fresh Brain Cells Could Develop
According to nutritional expert Dr. Mindy Pelz, when you go on a dry fast, another chemical your body produces is brain-derived neurotrophic factor, or BDNF. She likens BDNF to Miracle-Gro.
BDNF does indeed prove advantageous to your brain in many ways. You could have less brain cell degeneration, for starters. Also, your body will produce fresh neurons in the brain, keeping you sharp. The plasticity of your brain is also better, as is your learning and memory capabilities.
Dry fasting can even influence our body to make more ketones. A type of organic compound, we produce ketones during diets with few carbs as well as when on intermittent fasts. In our brains, ketones control our excitatory neurotransmitter glutamate. This can manage overstimulation in the brain. Ketones also lend themselves to healing our brain tissue. There’s a reason so many people go on the ketone diet.
Should You Do a Water Fast or Dry Fast?
While dry fasting is more advantageous than water fasting, as we said, that doesn’t mean you should jump right into no food or water. Any type of fast requires great patience and discipline. If you’ve never fasted before, then foregoing all food will be strange enough. Once you cut fluids out, you may find it’s too much.
Even Siim Land recommends you begin with a water fast. He says you should have a three-day water fast (at least) under your belt already, preferably a five-day one, before dry fasting. We’d say as you embark on your water fasting journey, start with one or two days and see how you manage. Then, the next time you try fasting, add another day on, then another one. Soon, you’ll find that you’ve water fasted for five days without great difficulty.
Going like this allows your mitochondria to prepare for the changes you’ll make to your body through a dry fast. Even once you graduate to dry fasting, you should consider starting with a soft dry fast before moving onto a hard one.
Land mentions that he only does dry fasting for periods of 24 hours “because I don’t feel the need to go any longer than that as of now.” He also mentions to expect to be more tired than usual as your body manages with less hydrogen and nutrients.
Most importantly, the day before beginning your dry fast, get enough vegetables, sodium, and water so your minerals have something to work with during the fast. Also, know that you don’t have to dry fast all 24 hours of the day. Some people will dry fast during daylight hours and then do a water fast at night. This can make intermittent fasting more manageable for beginners.
Conclusion
Intermittent fasting benefits our body in many ways. During such a fast, you might choose to consume only water. This is known as a water fast. If you forego both food and water, then it’s a dry fast. You can do a soft dry fast, where you can get wet or put water in your mouth for hygiene reasons. Others choose a hard dry fast, which means no water at all for the length of the fast.
Whether you opt to do a water fast or a dry fast, we recommend you be careful and safe. Fasting is only beneficial if you’re smart and healthy when you do it. Otherwise, you put your wellbeing at severe risk. Good luck!