What Could Happen to Your Skin if You Fast

Fasting reduces your caloric intake and detoxifies your body.

​The idea that lies behind the practice of fasting suggests that the body detoxifies itself because there is a decrease in your daily consumption of calories. This, in turn, leads to a decrease in cholesterol and triglyceride levels in your body. Recent studies explore the benefits of this method in patients with inflammatory diseases (like atopic dermatitis) with very positive results and considerable improvements after doing different types of diets, including fasting.

And it could also decrease the risk of skin cancer.

​Other studies concerning the effects of fasting seem to suggest that it could help reduce the risk of skin or other types of cancers. Apparently, fasting could also help reduce the spread of cancer cells. However, this research has only been conducted on rats at the moment. But it provided encouraging results because scientists saw the number of hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) grow.

These cells with a funny name are the ones responsible for creating new blood cells. The fact that there are more HSC’s and blood cells in general means that, in the long run, immune systems could fight cancer more efficiently. Attempts have been made to extrapolate the results of this research to humans, but so far none of them have reached a conclusion that is backed by the scientific community.

Bonus: Skin fasting isn’t the same as fasting, but it’s also becoming popular.

​Skin fasting is a new trend that has gained more and more followers in the last months. This practice doesn’t have much to do with dieting or food, besides sharing the name. Instead, the idea is to stop using so many products with chemicals in your daily skincare routine and let it rest for a few days or weeks. It’s a sort of detox for the skin.

The theory supporting this method of cleansing is that the skin produces its own fat, which prevents the loss of natural moisture. Although there is no scientific evidence to support this practice, many people have embraced it. However, there’s something we have to be clear about. The only thing we should not stop using during this detox period —or ever, for that matter— is sunscreen.