Navigate Select ESC Close

The #1 Danger of Prolonged Fasting

2022-11-10 Education
621.3k
21.9k
1.4k
Dr. Eric Berg DC
Dr. Eric Berg DC
14.7m subscribers

Unlock all features

FREE: Get instant access to 10 AI summaries, chats, or transcripts per day.

Description

Get My FREE PDF: How Does Intermittent Fasting Work? 👉 https://drbrg.co/3QktnwZ Find out the #1 danger of prolonged fasting. I'm also answering many other questions about prolonged fasting, so check this out! Keto Essential Aminos: 🛒 https://drbrg.co/3Nxx6EX Electrolyte Powder, Raspberry & Lemon: 🛒 https://youtu.be/qmzPV2x7Dcg OR https://amzn.to/3sZBGSY Nutritional Yeast Tablets:🛒 https://drbrg.co/3WvNRnP OR https://amzn.to/3hcp20b D3 & K2 Vitamin: 🛒 https://drbrg.co/3UkYOaF OR https://amzn.to/3DBq5OH Cod Liver Oil Capsules: 🛒 https://drbrg.co/3NwEvV3 OR https://amzn.to/3T187e9 Vitamin C: 🛒 https://drbrg.co/3NxNF3s OR https://amzn.to/3Uq3NpX Fasting Kills Cancer Cells ▶️ https://youtu.be/tXmyJYLxUKE Lower Your Cancer Risk Down to ZERO ▶️ https://youtu.be/z6U2SAv6RwE The MOST Important Cancer Prevention ▶️ https://youtu.be/z6U2SAv6RwE Amazing Benefits of Prolonged Fasting ▶️ https://youtu.be/EX_kg6Nimbc Cancer Success Stories: ▶️ https://youtu.be/wiGVsUtCZwI ▶️ https://youtu.be/gFrXLDX0vsE ▶️ https://youtu.be/YzPrxku1x5Y DATA: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20425196/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20425196/ https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2777423 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9078598/ 0:00 The #1 danger of prolonged fasting 0:43 Other problems with fasting 1:40 A key point about prolonged fasting 2:23 Can you gain muscle while fasting? 3:28 Autophagy 4:58 How to do prolonged fasting and preserve your muscles 7:48 Should you exercise during prolonged fasting? 8:56 What type of supplements should you take during prolonged fasting? 10:46 Fasting and cancer 11:44 Learn more about prolonged fasting! The #1 danger of prolonged fasting is death. You can’t fast forever. At some point you’ll run out of fat fuel, and fasting will turn into starvation, which can lead to death. Other big problems with prolonged fasting (three days to one month) are a loss of muscle or nutritional deficiencies. But, if you know how to do prolonged fasting correctly, it’s one of the best things you can do for your health. So, I’m going to cover how you can take advantage of the benefits of prolonged fasting and not lose muscle. Fasting isn’t the best strategy to build muscle mass. But, we can preserve the muscles while fasting. If you’re going to do prolonged fasting for more than three days, give this a try to help preserve your muscles: • For the first two to three days: Don’t take any type of protein or amino acid supplements • On the fourth day: Introduce an amino acid supplement (a very balanced blend) If you have cancer, it may be best to try to go longer without taking amino acids. Whether or not you should exercise during prolonged fasting depends on how much fat reserve you have and how fat-adapted you are. The more adapted you are, the more energy you’ll have for exercise. There are a lot of benefits from exercise combined with prolonged fasting. But, if you’re not fully fat-adapted, long walks would be a fantastic form of exercise to try. Supplements you can take while doing prolonged fasting: • Electrolytes (with plenty of potassium) • B vitamins (nutritional yeast) • Sea salt (no less than 1 tsp) • Vitamin D (or get plenty of sun) • Omega-3 fatty acids (cod liver oil) • Natural vitamin C (if fasting for a week or longer) • Natural vitamin E (if fasting for a week or longer) • Amino acid blend (on the fourth day) Dr. Eric Berg DC Bio: Dr. Berg, age 57, is a chiropractor who specializes in Healthy Ketosis & Intermittent Fasting. He is the author of the best-selling book The Healthy Keto Plan, and is the Director of Dr. Berg Nutritionals. He no longer practices, but focuses on health education through social media. Follow Me On Social Media: Facebook: https://bit.ly/FB-DrBerg Instagram: https://bit.ly/IG-DrBerg TikTok: https://bit.ly/TikTok-DrBerg Disclaimer: Dr. Eric Berg received his Doctor of Chiropractic degree from Palmer College of Chiropractic in 1988. His use of “doctor” or “Dr.” in relation to himself solely refers to that degree. Dr. Berg is a licensed chiropractor in Virginia, California, and Louisiana, but he no longer practices chiropractic in any state and does not see patients so he can focus on educating people as a full time activity, yet he maintains an active license. This video is for general informational purposes only. It should not be used to self-diagnose and it is not a substitute for a medical exam, cure, treatment, diagnosis, and prescription or recommendation. It does not create a doctor-patient relationship between Dr. Berg and you. You should not make any change in your health regimen or diet before first consulting a physician and obtaining a medical exam, diagnosis, and recommendation. Always seek the advice of a physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. #ketolifestyle #ketodiet #weightloss #ketolifestyle

Top Comments (10)

@Drberg 2026-01-22

Just so you know, my full line of high-quality supplements is available on Amazon — search Dr. Berg Supplements.

7 2 replies
@markwhite6782 2022-11-10

To give a picture of what prolonged fasting did to me I was 5'5" tall at 185 pounds. I intermittent and prolonged fasted 52 pounds off to 133. It was a miracle in that all my visceral fat was removed however I did have atrophy, especially in the thighs and glutes. Through Thomas DeLauer and Dr. Bergs videos I have managed to build all muscle (plus some) back. I still intermittent fast after 16 months on an 18:6 plus weight train and I can tell you it is possible to put on lots of muscle while staying lean. Now for the unbelievable part, I did this at 59 through 60 years of age.

1.3k 55 replies
@kylefer 2022-11-10

I have Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (Thickened heart wall.) Fasted for 15 days. The next time I got my heart scanned, my Cardiologist called me in. When he came in he said my heart wall had thinned by 2mm, which he considered nothing short of a miracle. Been a believer in healthy prolonged fasting ever since. Food is killing us, moderation is key. Of course I had the fat to burn during prolonged, I wouldn't recommend if you're very thin.

357 13 replies
@dmc19911 2022-11-12

The more I learn about prolonged fasting the more it seems that 72 hours is the golden amount of time to fast. Unless you have a health condition that would make it beneficial to do more. But for healthy people 72 seems perfect 🤩

74
@johnellg9399 2023-03-01

I had contracted genital herpes from a partner back in 2006. I used to get outbreaks every 3 to 5 months. In 2019, I discovered fasting and did a 20-day water and dry fast. To my astonishment I had gotten rid of the herpes. I never in my wildest mind thought that this would have been a side effect of fasting. I had no idea that that would happen. As of this day I haven't had a single outbreak since. That type of fasting is difficult at times, but it's a daily discipline with goals in mind to keep you propelling forward to finish it. I'm very grateful.

54 4 replies
@yaminsiddiqui4690 2022-11-10

I was 118 kg when i started watching your videos, now i am 82 kg and feel stronger and better. Thanks doctor.

386 14 replies
@nerdinium 2025-07-20

Some of the 'muscle loss' is not losing muscle, it is the inability of DEXA scans to see fat marbling inside the muscle. You are consuming the fat marbling inside the muscle during the fast, which causes the muscles to shrink a little, which looks like you are losing muscle, but you actually aren't.

9 1 replies
@sylwiatr5560 2022-11-10

UPDATE: 96h fast DONE! 💪 For the first time in my life I felt kinda electricity in my muscles while doing house chores. I don't feel weak or hungry so I'll keep fasting. By the way, I lost 2,5kg 🙂 Right on time ❤️ I just started prolonged fasting - 22nd hour so far, aiming for 96 hours. Keep your fingers crossed for me 🤞

321 22 replies
@seanhughes7445 2025-05-19

On my seventh day. 15.6 pounds lost. I need to lose 35 more. I gonna try to stick with it. Wish me luck.

13 13 replies
@josaywhat 2023-06-27

On my 9th day of 21 🙂 I'll keep it going 💪 EDIT: Broke my fast after 20 days and lost 30 lbs, not bad

59 7 replies

Unlock the Data Inside
Turn Videos into Knowledge

  • Get FREE 10/day: transcripts, summaries, chats
  • Chat with videos, export text & PDF
  • $1 free API credit for RAG, chatbots & research

Free forever plan • All features unlocked

App screenshot