Full Fasting: The zero diet has these risks

Photo: CC0 / Pixabay / laurentvalentinjospi0

Full fasting is still sometimes considered a weight loss strategy. Here you can find out what constitutes the zero diet and why it is not recommended from a health perspective.

What is fasting?

With full fasting, also called zero diet, you take zero kilocalories to you. With this radical type of fasting, only mineral water and calorie-free herbal teas are allowed. You should drink about three liters of it a day.

According to NetDoktor, full fasting was originally called Therapy for obesity used. Doctors performed this as an inpatient, which means that the patient stayed in the hospital for up to eight weeks and was monitored. Today, the zero diet is no longer used, but is considered outdated and harmful to health.

Instead, there are now numerous other types of fasting that, under the right conditions, actually bring positive health effects. You can find out more in this article: Fasting correctly: Instructions and tips for healthy fasting

Zero Diet: What Happens in the Body?

During full fasting, only water and unsweetened teas are allowed.
(Photo: CC0 / Pixabay / 95839)
During full fasting, only water and unsweetened teas are allowed.

In fact, you will lose weight quite quickly with full fasting, because after about three days the so-called Hunger metabolism a. This means that the metabolism switches to catabolic mode and now uses all available energy reserves to keep the organism running.

But your body not only builds fat cells, it also builds Muscle mass from. As a result, he generally requires less energy and can use the energy gained from fat and muscle mass to supply the organs.

After about eight to ten days, your metabolism slows down so that yours Reduced basal metabolism becomes. This makes you particularly vulnerable to later Jojo effect. Because when you start eating again, your body can metabolize much less of it. This way, new fat cells emerge faster.

Dangerous side effects of full fasting

With a zero diet, you quickly feel exhausted, tired and weak.
(Photo: CC0 / Pixabay / Myriams Photos)
With a zero diet, you quickly feel exhausted, tired and weak.

Since you have no vitamins at all, Minerals and other Micronutrients ingestion, deficiency symptoms appear quickly. NetDoktor names these, among others:

  • Difficulty concentrating
  • fatigue and weakness
  • Cardiovascular problems

In addition, your body begins to form so-called ketone bodies from the fat cells to suppress the feeling of hunger. A high proportion of ketone bodies in the blood can quickly lead to ketoacidosis. This is a severe metabolic derangement that must be treated immediately by intensive care medicine. The risk of gout attacks increases.

Last but not least, full fasting is not only physically but also mentally unsustainable in the long term. Fatigue, weakness and Bad mood will significantly reduce your quality of life. Even if you have lost a few pounds after a few days, you will quickly gain them again afterwards or even weigh more than before the zero diet frustration and leads to disappointment.

In order to avoid such a vicious cycle, a sustainable change in diet makes more sense. You will learn to listen above all to the signals from your body. You can find out more in this article: Diet changes: important steps and how to stay disciplined

Read more on Techzle.com:

  • The therapeutic fasting trend: everything you should know about fasting
  • Water Fasting: How Healthy Is It Really?
  • Plastic fasting: This is how you do without plastic in small steps

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