reader1's Journal, 07 August 2018

I do water only fasts that includes a lot of water to flush toxins out. I wouldn't do a dry fast.  

Okay. Why wouldn't you? 

I would still consume an electrolyte concentrate (unless it was Ramadan). 

Okay adef. What if the fast is done without those essential salts?  

I only mention it because in my experience every problem during a fast (Dehydration, lethargy, dizziness, ect.) were because of electrolyte imbalance. Dehydration can kill you, it is no joke. By the time you feel thirsty you are already in te middle of it. If you pass out you can crash your car. If you're alone and you pass out you could slip into a coma.  

I wouldn't do a dry fast because I just don't want to do without water. Drinking water kills any hunger pangs, hydrates my cells and flushes my body during several days of fasting. I may be able to do one day of dry fasting but not until I am convinced that there's a benefit not gained in a water fast. 

the body can live without food for a month, it can not live without water I believe for more than 3 days. if you don't drink water you can not flush all the toxins out and they will build up and kill you. you can look that up on the web. I am sure someone there can get all technical for you. the whole point of fasting is to let the body clean up all the dead cells, it promotes new healthy cell generation. 

Okay blossem thanks  

Okay baskington. The reason I am asking is because all my friends and family are scaring me about it and warning that I may get gall stones or kidney stones. I did 73 hours dry fast and felt I could go on for the 4th day but my family forced(actually convinced) me to break the fast. I have done all types of fasts earlier. Then I tried dry fast. First I did a one-day dry fast. And after two weeks I did a three-day dry fast to challenge myself as it also has benefits. But all my friends and family are continuously bombarding me with its threats and shortcomings. There is very little research on this topic. Autophagy is a recent phenomenon. Let's see how this pans out. People are doing it but with an unknown risk that may sabotage your kidneys or gall bladder. The difference of opinion between the people has left me in a befuddled state of mind. 

Don't do it. There's no point and it's dangerous to every inch of your body!  

OK, so I've done it in the past with much success (see my log in February) I did it under disguise. I called it SDF and many of my followers tried guessing what it meant when I said I was doing it. S = Soft D = Dry F = Fast. Muslims do Hard Dry Fasts - no water can touch the body from sun up to sun down. During a SDF, one is permitted to brush teeth and bathe . I went to work and limited my activity to walking slowly. I will return to it because like anything, you have to push the envelope. I understand about electrolyte imbalance and I have both sodium and potassium chloride in my desk drawer and at home in my spice cabinet to add to my water. I don't just jump into anything. I vet EVERYTHING. 

Yeah NLELL. I gonna quit it. So far I did it 10 days in total. The sequence 1 + 3(consecutive) + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 2 (consecutive). Some of the folks are actively promoting dry fast and some are actively discouraging it.  

how can you do a dry fast if you are saying you add to the water at work and home, the fast implies no water?? or am I misunderstanding what a dry fast is?? I think fasting with liquid is a good tool to use. so now Ches I am confused. 

Right Ches! It gives super results. That's why I did it for a few times. All my dry fasts were soft dry fasts except the three-day dry fast. It was a hard dry fast. It gave great outcome. I can continue doing it if it is safe. Potassium and sodium levels do deplete but not to the level of life-threatening. It can be done. Very much possible if you are an experienced faster. But I am left bewildered by contrasting opinions. Also, very little research on humans in this field. It has certainly stirred the way we look at fasting.  

P.S: I did not use electrolytes (salts) in any of those dry fasts. 

I will try dry fasting maybe in the winter , right now it's too hot and I am very active so I do need a lot of water.  

I grew up with family members who fasted religiously. They do monthly water fasts and annual dry fasts. There are benefits to both ways of fasting. @Reader1 here is some info to start you with https://bit.ly/2OdC1e4 but you can research religious dry fasts and find a lot more info. 

@baskington Some people take those electrolytes before embarking on one-day dry fast. If it is two-day dry fast, they will take electrolytes again and continue the fast 24 hours more. And so forth. This is done so as to be on the safer side.  

That's great. Good luck Keilin :) 

ah, that does sound safer.