I was thinking of fasting. But my friend had told me that I should speak to a doctor first about it before I do it. So I have to get permission from a doctor before I fast? Also is fasting only for weight loss purposes? I’m pretty averaged sized and not overweight do I even need to fast if I don’t intend on losing weight??? Is fasting only down for weight loss purposes?
Fasting has a lot of benefits for your gut biome and your rate of cellular recovery. I also believe it helps reduce general inflammation. Fasting to lose weight is a thing, but it’s not the best reason to fast, nor is it the best way to lose weight.
I try to fast 22 hours every day, and do 48-72 every 3 or 4 weeks. I do not have a Dr’s “permission”, but I don’t have any underlying health concerns to worry about. If you’ve struggled with eating disorders or are pregnant or breastfeeding, you should probably get that Doc’s opinion first, tho.
This is my opinion only: I think a lot of those recommendations are there to cover someone’s legal liability if they’re running a business recommending fasting—like a doctor, blogger, health influencer, whatever.
That said, I also think there are a lot of people who might just start fasting when they have medical conditions, or medications they need to take with food (postponing taking it, or skipping it entirely), so if you have questions about fasting and a condition you have, or fasting and a medication you take, absolutely talk to a doctor about it before you make any big changes to your diet. But talk to a doctor who knows about fasting in the first place, who can give you informed advice, rather than just dismissing fasting out of hand for everyone.
I took several months of slowing build up to 4-5 day fasts. It’s not something you should just jump into, at least not from my experience. Good luck. Definitely take some time to listen to Dr Fung or Dr Jamnadas.