We have learned that women will follow any path that promises to lead them to youthful beauty, even if it doesn’t enhance and only maintains it.

Beauty treatments that are common today would otherwise sound like torture practices if you had never heard of them before. Particularly, microneedling, chemical peels, and laser treatments. Backed by medical science and with millions of frequent users these treatments inspire confidence, so much so that it’s now odd to hear of women who don’t engage them.

The bottom line is that we are prepared to endure some short-term discomfort in our quest for youthful beauty in exchange for a longer-term benefit.

This article explains an age-old practice that requires some resilience and discipline. It comes with a little discomfort that fades rather quickly, but at the other end of the tunnel lies weight loss, reversed ageing, a longer health span, and deep healing.

And, the best part is that all you have to do is precisely nothing. That practice is fasting.

What is fasting?

In short, fasting is intentional abstinence from food. How long depends on the type of fast and several practices have emerged over the years, making it a highly accessible practice with varying degrees of intensity.

Here are examples of different types of fast.

Intermittent Fasting – This involves fixing your periods of eating, also known as an ‘eating window’ between certain hours of the day, to ensure a certain amount of time in a fasted state, also known as a ‘fasting window’.

The most common interval is 16 hours of fasting, which provides an 8-hour eating window to eat each day. Many accompany this with calorie or carbohydrate restriction for at least some of the days, but this is a personal choice.

Some intermittent fasters complete 18-hour cycles daily, while more extreme fasters complete 24-hour cycles a few times each week and then eat normally until their next fast, a few days later.

Beginners tend to start with 12-14 hour windows and work their way up.

Time-Restricted Feeding – Similar to intermittent fasting, this focuses on limiting your daily eating window without necessarily restricting calories.

Alternate-Day Fasting – This involves alternating between days of complete fasting or very low-calorie intake and days of unrestricted eating. This is common for those engaging the higher windows like 18-24 hours.

Extended Fasting – This refers to longer periods of fasting, typically lasting several days or more, often done under medical supervision. These fasts are believed to have the deepest healing effects.

Origins of fasting

Fasting is believed to be as old as man itself. Our hunter-gatherer ancestors would likely have gone several days without food frequently, meaning that our bodies evolved to survive and thrive in fasted states. It is precisely for this reason that fasting evolved into the healing process that it is.

Fasting is a prominent feature in all major cultures and religions including Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, and several Indigenous tribes. Because of this, its safety is well understood and science has more recently investigated its positive effects. 

Understanding fasting and its benefits

Fasting isn’t just about abstaining from food; it’s about giving your body the break it needs to repair and rejuvenate. The process is known for activating several biological mechanisms that contribute to healthier, younger-looking skin and improved vitality.

This makes sense if you consider how demanding it is for your body to metabolise food and from the context of our ancestors, how important it was to use periods when food wasn’t available to clean and heal, especially if injuries were sustained from hunting.

Let’s look at some biological processes that take place during fasting periods.

Cellular Repair

One of the most significant effects of fasting is cellular repair. During fasting, the body initiates a process called autophagy, where cells clean damaged components. Autophagy is a zero-waste process meaning that given enough time, it will consume and replenish all sub-standard cells and tissues.

The amount of time required to initiate an autophagy response will vary depending on your metabolism and sugar levels, but it can potentially be accessed modestly with 16-18 hour fasts. Pronounced benefits of this deep clean requires extended fasting periods, typically 24 hours to several days or weeks.

This cellular “spring cleaning” can help smooth wrinkles and boost skin health, making it an appealing anti-ageing treatment. It is like receiving a free skin booster and an internal chemical peel.

Combined with beauty treatments, fasting goes a long way to enhance your appearance and maintain a youthful appearance for longer.

Reduced Inflammation

Chronic inflammation is a known contributor to ageing and various diseases. Fasting helps lower inflammation levels in the body, slows down ageing and improves overall health. By reducing inflammation, you can achieve smoother, more youthful-looking skin. This is partly because inflammation breaks down collagen, which affects skin elasticity

Fasting’s anti-inflammatory benefits complement your beauty treatments, particularly those that stimulate the healing process like chemical peels and microneedling because they may speed up the healing process making you look fresh and beautiful in less time.

Hormonal Regulation

Fasting positively affects hormonal balance by improving insulin sensitivity and boosting growth hormone production. These changes can enhance your body’s ability to repair and rejuvenate itself, leading to a more youthful appearance and improved confidence.

Growth hormone is vital for collagen synthesis and likely contributes to the anti-wrinkle and skin-smoothing benefits of fasting, but your body must have sufficient resources to synthesise new collagen.

This requires correctly planning your eating windows with adequate nutrition to ensure optimum results. Having skin boosters during fasting periods may help your body to synthesise collagen more easily enhancing their effect.

Oxidative Stress

Oxidative stress can accelerate the ageing process by damaging cells. Fasting reduces oxidative stress, protecting against cellular damage and promoting longevity. This reduction in oxidative stress contributes to looking and feeling younger.

Fasting is like consuming nuclear antioxidants that protect against skin damage and wrinkles. It’s like a natural skin booster that insures your skin against time and is considered an anti-ageing treatment.

Gene Expression

Emerging research suggests fasting affects gene expression related to longevity. By potentially activating genes associated with rejuvenation and a longer lifespan, fasting presents an exciting avenue for those pursuing anti-ageing treatments.

Research conducted at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University in Japan shows that fasting increases metabolic activity and may impart anti-ageing benefits. By analysing blood samples from volunteers who fasted for 58 hours, scientists discovered a marked increase in metabolites associated with cellular energy production and protein synthesis.

These findings suggest that fasting helps the body produce antioxidants, reducing oxidative stress and promoting cellular rejuvenation. While more research is needed, these insights provide a promising glimpse into fasting’s potential to support a youthful appearance.

Stem cell regeneration

Stem cells are special cells with the potential to develop into different cell types, playing a crucial role in tissue repair and regeneration. Studies suggest that fasting can stimulate stem cell activity and promote the regeneration of various tissues, including the gut lining, liver, and even the immune system.

How to fast

Fasting can be practised in several ways, depending on your intended outcome and the time you are willing to endure. The most common way is to choose a day and time when you will stop eating and choose a later time to begin eating again. 18 hours is considered the optimum period for a daily intermittent fast.

There are 5 routines that you can follow:

The 16/8 Method

• Eating window –  8 hours (e.g., 12 pm to 8 pm)
• Fasting window –  16 hours (e.g., 8 pm to 12 pm the next day)
• Popular and flexible –  This is one of the most common IF methods, allowing for a relatively manageable fasting period while still providing a decent eating window.

The 5:2 Diet

• Eating days – 5 days per week with normal, healthy eating.
• Fasting days – 2 non-consecutive days per week with calorie restriction (around 500-600 calories per day).
• Less frequent fasting – This approach offers more flexibility throughout the week, with fasting limited to two specific days.

Eat Stop Eat

• Eating days – Most days of the week with normal, healthy eating.
• Fasting days – One or two 24-hour fasts per week (e.g., from dinner one day to dinner the next).
• Longer fasting periods – This method involves longer periods of fasting but with more flexibility in choosing the fasting days.

Alternate-Day Fasting

• Fasting days – Fasting every other day, either completely or with very limited calorie intake (around 500 calories).
• Eating days – Unrestricted eating on non-fasting days.
• More challenging – This approach requires a higher level of commitment due to the frequency of fasting days.

Extended Fasting (with medical supervision)

• Fasting period – Several days to several weeks.
• Eating period – Normal, healthy eating resumes after the fasting period.
• Requires professional guidance – Extended fasting should only be undertaken under the guidance of a qualified healthcare professional due to potential risks and the need for careful monitoring.

Who shouldn’t fast?

While fantastic for improving health, fasting isn’t right for everyone at every stage of their life. There are times when it’s best to focus on having a highly nutritious diet. If there is a potential risk to your health you should avoid fasting and speak to a medical professional for guidance before starting. Here are some examples of circumstances when you should avoid fasting.
           

• Pregnant or breastfeeding women
• Children and adolescents
• People with eating disorders
• People with acute medical conditions
• Kidney or liver disease
• Malabsorption disorders

Final thoughts

If we told you that there was a free treatment that required little to no effort at all, and it promised more weight loss in a few short weeks than 3 months in the gym, would improve your skin quality, making you look and feel younger, and would increase your healthy lifespan; And, to top it off, would save you money, you would probably find it hard to believe.

But, this is the magic of fasting. Fasting does for your body on the inside, what beauty treatments do on the outside, and enhances your look further.

But, we understand that fasting isn’t for everyone. Some people find it harder to resist the cookie jar.

For those who want to benefit from fasting and beauty treatments, but don’t think they have the stomach (or perhaps do and that’s the problem) for it, we have good news for you. New research indicates that a fasting-mimicking diet offers similar benefits to an extended fast by simply reducing your calorie intake to 500-600 calories per day and eating only unsaturated fats, found in things like nuts and olive oil, for 5 days. By eliminating proteins and carbohydrates, your body responds quite like an extended water fast. This appears to be a happy compromise or a cheat sheet. Whether you include fasting in your routine or not, Opulent Aesthetic’s anti-ageing treatments can help you maintain your look and enhance it, effortlessly.  Our skin boosters and wrinkle treatment will have you feeling and looking your best in no time.

Having said that, you are already beautiful and that will never change.