| schema:text
| - Last Updated on August 30, 2024 by Nivedita
Quick Take
A social media post claims that fasting kills tumors and diseased tissues in the body. We fact-checked and found the claim to be Mostly False.
The Claim
A social media post on X, formerly Twitter claims that 72 hours of fasting make your body eat up diseased tissues, tumors, inflammation, and toxins that are not conducive to health. This post has received 1 million views till we last checked.
We have attached a screenshot of the post below:
THIP MEDIA has previously debunked claims that attempt to promote fasting in an incorrect manner. We refuted a claim that suggests fasting on water prevents cancer. Additionally, we countered another claim stating that eating breakfast after 9 am cause diabetes. Furthermore, we debunked a claim purporting that a person can survive solely on water and dates.
Fact Check
What does fasting do to the body?
Fasting varying in duration and type can trigger changes within the body. It can cause a decrease in insulin levels, potentially enhancing insulin sensitivity and blood sugar regulation. Additionally, fasting can cause weight loss by inducing a calorie deficit that forces the body to use stored fat for energy.
One of its notable effects is the initiation of autophagy, a cellular process that helps in cell repair by removing dysfunctional components. Fasting also influences metabolic pathways, such as increased human growth hormone (HGH) levels, impacting fat metabolism and muscle growth.
There are reported benefits to heart health, including reduced low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, blood pressure, and inflammation. Some individuals can experience heightened mental clarity and focus during fasting periods, possibly due to stabilized blood sugar levels and changes in brain chemistry.
However, extended or severe fasting can increase cravings, headaches, digestion problems, irritability, fatigue, bad breath, sleep disturbances, dehydration, and malnutrition. It might not be suitable for everyone, especially those with medical conditions. Fasting can also affect hormone levels, impacting appetite and metabolism.
A false social media post says that when your body is full of poison, toxaemic, and acidosis, your body builds a bag and collects all the poison from your body into this bag, which they call a tumour.
Does 72 hours of fasting make the body eat up diseased tissues, tumors, inflammation, and toxins?
Not exactly. There is ongoing research suggesting that fasting may kill tumors and diseased tissues in the body. We have kept the rating as mostly false because the claim has a missing context. Evidence hyperlinked later in this article shows that fasting may trigger certain bodily processes that might eat up inflammation, and toxins. However, research is conducted only in controlled conditions and specific claims about this process must be approached cautiously. Also, we found no evidence that focuses on 72 hours of fasting to achieve desired results.
Our research shows that the relationship between fasting and the potential benefits for health conditions like diseased tissues, tumors, inflammation, and toxin removal is an area of scientific interest but is still under investigation. Here is a breakdown of how fasting might impact these aspects:
- Autophagy: Intermittent fasting can cause autophagy. Autophagy is the body’s way of cleaning out damaged cells and regenerating new, healthy ones. It involves the removal and recycling of dysfunctional or unnecessary cellular components. This process may contribute to cellular repair and potentially play a role in addressing certain health issues.
- Inflammation: Fasting can reduce inflammation markers in the body. Chronic inflammation is can cause various health conditions, including heart disease, arthritis, and certain cancers. By modulating inflammatory markers, fasting might help in managing inflammation-related ailments.
- Tumor growth: Evidence suggests that fasting might affect tumor growth in certain experimental models. Fasting may impact the metabolism of cancer cells, potentially making them more vulnerable to certain cancer treatments. However, the effects of fasting on tumors are still under investigation, and its application as a treatment is not yet clear enough.
- Toxin elimination: Fasting may support the body’s natural detoxification processes. When fasting, the body shifts its energy resources towards repairing and rejuvenating cells, which might indirectly support detoxification pathways. However, the claim that fasting directly eliminates specific toxins from the body needs more scientific validation.
While fasting shows promise in various health aspects, its effects on diseased tissues, tumors, inflammation, and toxin removal are complex and multifaceted. The available evidence is often limited to animal studies or small-scale human trials, and more extensive research is needed to draw definitive conclusions. Furthermore, fasting for a longer duration can have risks and may not be suitable for everyone.
Dr. Sarthak Moharir, a Radiation Oncologist informs, “There is not enough evidence in medical literature to prove fasting causes the body to eat up diseased tissues or toxins. The toxins of the body are removed by the kidneys and liver, not by fasting and or diets. Also, cancer patients must not consider fasting as it can lead to catastrophic consequences. The reason is their body is already in a catabolic state. Fasting can cause muscle wasting and induce malnutrition and effectively starvation”.
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)
![[cxml]](/fct/images/cxml_doc.png)
![[csv]](/fct/images/csv_doc.png)
![[text]](/fct/images/ntriples_doc.png)
![[turtle]](/fct/images/n3turtle_doc.png)
![[ld+json]](/fct/images/jsonld_doc.png)
![[rdf+json]](/fct/images/json_doc.png)
![[rdf+xml]](/fct/images/xml_doc.png)
![[atom+xml]](/fct/images/atom_doc.png)
![[html]](/fct/images/html_doc.png)