I’d like to time it from March 1 to April 20
No. I’ve never made it that long, but I do an annual fast for gut-reset (it’s my natural treatment from Crohn’s).
But by “normal” standards it would be considered extreme. But what is more extreme- fasting for health or eating yourself to death?
To most, yes. However, if you take the right precautions and can do it healthily, I don’t think it’s that extreme, and it’ll probably prolong your life. To do a 40 day fast, you’d have to have some kind of desk job imo. I certainly couldn’t do it with my job. It’s hard to do 10 day ones and still maintain enough energy to get through the work weeks.
Honestly I feel like anything beyond 7 days would be considered “extreme” by most metrics; there’s functionally going to be a limit to the benefits of autophagy after a certain number of hours. I imagine what you’re asking for is more “is it dangerous?” I think you could do it safely given proper electrolytes and a reasonable body fat percentage, and with consistent check ins on BP and the like.
I have no idea what data exists to answer this question, but I wonder if there is a greater benefit to one long fast or multiple shorter fasts throughout the year? The human body tends to rebound after larger changes than it would smaller ones.
That sounds extreme for an annual fast.
You should research how many days are between March 1 and April 20.
If you’re thinking of indulging post-fast on 4/20 to celebrate, remember that your body will be in rebuilding mode as it fires up again. If you give it cancerous material to work with during your refeed, you’re unnecessarily increasing your risk of cancer.