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Dr. Al Danenberg, a nutritional periodontist fighting his battle against cancer, shares his powerful, personal experience with water fasting.

Dr. Danenberg was diagnosed with incurable bone marrow cancer in 2018. During his cancer journey, he conducts a monthly 72-hour water fast, tracking his results with the BIOSENSE device.

8 Phases of a 72-Hour Water-Only Fast:

There are 8 phases that occur as you progress through a 72-hour fast. Each one ushers in a biological change in the body. However, there are many factors that influence the timing of these phases. Here is an approximation of the timeline:

  1. Your body must be prepared for this extended fast. I am prepared because I eat in a way that keeps me metabolically flexible. If you tried to do a fast and still ate an unhealthy Standard American Diet, you would not do well.
  2. Around the 12-hour mark, your body begins breaking down fat cells, releasing 3 fatty acids and 1 glycerol molecule (which the liver converts to glucose).
  3. After approximately 18-hours, your liver glycogen stores become depleted, and your liver begins to create ketones.
  4. At the 24-hour mark, your individual cells begin recycling its old components and breaking down damaged proteins. This cellular cleansing is called autophagy.
  5. About 48-hours after the start of your fast, your growth hormone level increases up to five times higher than it was at the beginning of your fast.
  6. At the 54-hour mark, your insulin levels drop to its lowest level from the start of your fast. The result is that your body is becoming increasingly insulin sensitive.
  7. By the 72-hour mark, your body has been breaking down old immune cells and dysfunctional mitochondria and regenerating new ones.
  8. At the completion of the 72-hour water-only fast, you need to begin refeeding your body gently. Remember, your gut has not been digesting food for 3 days. Don’t stuff yourself!

Read his entire personal experience on his blog: https://drdanenberg.com/ketones-72-hour-fast-my-cancer-journey/

 

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