Healing ovarian cysts with water fasting

ARTICLE SECTIONS:

  • Introduction
  • Background
  • The Fast
  • Results
  • Discussion
  • Concluding Remarks

Introduction

An ovarian cyst, also known as an ovarian cystic neoplasm, is a fluid-filled sac which grows in or on a woman’s ovary. Most ovarian cysts are benign and form in conjunction with a woman’s menstrual cycle. Inside her ovaries, each egg grows within a fluid-filled follicle which, during a normal cycle, bursts, thereby releasing the egg into the fallopian tube. However, sometimes the follicle does not release its egg or, if it does, sometimes fails to fully discharge its fluid and shrink after having burst.1 Under these circumstances, an ovarian cyst can form.

It has been estimated that between 8 and 18 percent of women in the United States develop an ovarian cyst at some point in their lives.2 This means between 26 and 59 million women. Although most cysts are harmless, 5 to 10 percent of women nevertheless end up undergoing surgery to deal with the issue, especially for cysts larger than 5 centimetres in diameter.3 Clearly, this is a huge problem.

In my practice as a water fasting coach, I have witnessed ovarian cysts heal on numerous occasions. This case report provides a dramatic example of how an extended water fast can elicit a powerful response from the body’s healing metabolism, in this case resulting in the complete autophagy of a pathologically large ovarian cyst, a smaller second cyst as well as the partial autophagy of a uterine fibroid.

Background

Valerie (not her real name) is currently 45 years old. She had been diagnosed with fibroids in her early twenties, but these had never caused any obvious problems. In retrospect, the only symptom which suggests that the cysts had been growing undetected was the need to get up in the middle of the night to urinate – a tendency which, prior to 2017, she had previously never experienced. In essence, she experienced no overt health issues until the discovery of her cysts on June 26th, 2020, when she checked into the ER suffering extreme pain. In her own words: ‘everything was normal until the day I went to the hospital, which I still find bizarre considering how enormous the cyst was… I was in such pain I was vomiting.’

At the hospital she underwent a CT scan and an ultrasound. The CT scan mapped her entire abdomen and pelvis. Although all inner organs were found to be otherwise normal, the exam discovered a large cyst 16.2 x 15.3 x 9.6 cm (approximately 6 x 6 x 4 inches) on her right ovary and a smaller cyst 2.4 cm long (approximately 1 inch) on her left ovary. The ultrasound confirmed these findings, estimating the right cyst at approximately 17 cm and the left cyst at 2.3 cm. The ultrasound also recorded the dimensions of two uterine fibroids: a right fundal fibroid measuring 5.3 x 3.9 x 4.7 cm and a left fundal fibroid measuring 2.9 x 2.2 x 2.4 cm.

Unlike smaller ovarian cysts which often disappear by themselves after 2-3 months, larger neoplasms can remain for much longer. In this case, Valerie did not opt for surgery. Instead, after returning home from the hospital, she became raw vegan for a year, before continuing with a standard plant-based diet. In addition, she tried to reduce stress levels and embarked on a protocol of herbal, mineral and homeopathic supplementation, all of which had been recommended by her holistic chiropractor. However, she continued to suffer uncomfortable symptoms. Because of the size of the cysts, she could not lie on her back without severe pain. She also experienced continued disruption to her menstrual cycle, with periods regularly lasting 10-21 days each month. When she approached me in June 2022, Valerie described herself as an overweight (5’3”, 148 lbs), unhealthy vegan.

The Fast

Before our initial consultation, Valerie had had no prior experience in water fasting and no preconceptions about how long she should fast. What was extremely clear, however, was her determination to throw herself wholeheartedly into the experience. In her own words: “I’m tired of being unhealthy.” We settled on a plan for a 21-day water fast, and began to implement a dietary transition towards beginning the fast as soon as possible.

Symptomatology of the fast
(with analysis in the Discussion section below):

Day 3: Valerie woke up with heartburn and muscle aches. Despite having drunk a full gallon of water to thirst the previous day, her mouth nevertheless felt extremely dry, as if she were dehydrated.

Days 4-6: Valerie suffered from severe nausea, vomiting nine times with a 24-hour period. By this point, she was throwing up (in her words) ‘brown slime’. She developed a strong aversion to water and was unable to keep any fluids down. By the end of Day 5, her esophagus had become irritated by constant exposure to stomach acid, and this was frequently exacerbated by further episodes of acid reflux.

Days 6-12: Valerie continued to suffer from repeated heartburn as well as occasional nausea.

Day 10: Valerie reported that, for the first time in years, she was able to lie on her back without pain. She also said that she could no longer feel the cysts – that, quite simply, they seemed to be ‘gone’.

Day 11: Valerie reported that she believed she was developing a bladder infection, due to the burning sensation upon urinating. This symptom continued through Day 15.

Days 16-21: The remainder of the fast passed smoothly.

Results

Two months after the fast, an ultrasound examination confirmed that Valerie’s ovarian cysts are completely gone. In addition, her left uterine fibroid has diminished in size to 1.7cm. The water fast also regulated her menstrual cycle, with the length of both periods since the end of the fast lasting 6 days instead of 10-21 days.

Discussion

Without doubt, Valerie’s 21-day water fast was one of the most intense fasts I have supervised recently – and the symptoms she suffered throughout the first two weeks of her fast far exceeded those on most fasts. To this extent, no-one should have reservations about undertaking a fast to heal a chronic health issue out of the fear of experiencing similarly aggressive symptoms. This would be highly unlikely.

More than anything, the strength of the symptoms during this fast reflect the strength of Valerie’s immune system – and this is surely something positive! In my view, both the raw and standard vegan diet as well as the supplementation protocol had catalysed a degree of initial cleansing which, even if it had no direct impact on the size of the cysts themselves, certainly prepared Valerie to take full advantage of the actual 21 days of fasting.

It is worth noting that many people following a ketogenic diet often claim that theirs is the ideal diet prior to a fast, given that it tends to lead to higher energy levels during the first few days of fasting. While it is true that this is partly due to ketosis having already been mobilised by the low-carb diet itself, what many people often fail to realise is that such a diet puts a relatively heavy load on the liver, given that the liver is largely responsible for digesting fat (and, of course, the majority of calories consumed on a low-carb diet come precisely from fat).

This means that, under these circumstances, the liver takes longer to turn around from its role as an organ of digestion to becoming one of the key organs of detox during a fast. A keto diet prior to fasting therefore means it takes longer to achieve deep cleansing and healing – along with any elicited detox symptoms. There is a time and a place for every diet, but if there are no other mitigating factors, a low-fat, plant-based diet is almost always the most efficient way to allow the body to dive into deep cleansing as soon as possible after the beginning of a fast. Without knowing it at the time, therefore, Valerie had actually been preparing for her fast over the previous two years.

The fact that Valerie experienced what she described as “cotton mouth” already on the morning of Day 3 bears witness to the speed and power of mobilising her healing metabolism. In general, dry mouth is a classic symptom of deep detox which usually arises much later in a healing fast. Likewise, the intensity and duration of nausea and vomiting from Day 4 onwards is more characteristic of later phases of an extended fast. The brown slime in particular suggests that she was vomiting bile which, in my view, probably occurred because her body had already started autophagising the cysts. Having ruptured, they would have leaked toxic waste products into the lymph and blood, which would have been processed downstream by the liver and then excreted into the bile.

From Day 4 the greatest challenge was to try and mitigate the effects of both the nausea as well as the excess stomach acid and heartburn. We achieved this through various herbal teas and eventually baking soda, which significantly reduced both nausea and acid reflux. (Note: baking soda should NOT be used as standard protocol for nausea or acid reflux. The sodium content risks upsetting the body’s sodium-potassium electrolyte balance and causes water retention, which counteracts one of the main benefits of any water fast: a significant body-wide reduction of inflammation.)

From Day 11 we focussed on increasing hydration, especially since Valerie’s nausea had receded and she no longer felt such an aversion to water. In my view, the burning sensation she felt while urinating was almost certainly not an infection, but simply the result of having passed so much concentrated acidic urine over the previous few days, when she had been unable to maintain an adequate input of fluids. Increasing hydration diluted the urine, which gradually solved the problem over the following days. (Note: under normal circumstances it is NOT advisable to increase hydration beyond that dictated by thirst, as this can eventually wash out electrolytes.)

Concluding remarks

Water fasting is a powerful modality to heal ovarian cysts which eliminates the need for invasive procedures such as surgery. While this particular case study deals with a single, over-sized cyst, an extended water fast can also be applied to address polycystic ovarian morphology (PCOM) and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). With regard to PCOS, the hormonal reset of a longer water fast also helps to bring into balance the endocrine problems underlying this issue.

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References

1 National Health Service: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/ovarian-cyst/causes/

2 Cleveland Clinic for Continuing Education:  https://www.clevelandclinicmeded.com/medicalpubs/diseasemanagement/womens-health/ovarian-cysts/

3 UpToDate: Patient Education: Ovarian Cysts (Beyond the Basics): https://www.uptodate.com/contents/ovarian-cysts-beyond-the-basics/print

9 responses to “Healing ovarian cysts with water fasting”

  1. Thank you for sharing this. I have been looking for any information about water fasting and ovarian cysts, so this was really valuable and helpful for me to find. As a fasting coach, do you recommend that people on extended fasts use minerals, electrolytes, or sea moss (gel or capsule) during this time? Or water only?

    1. Tallis Barker, D.Phil. Avatar
      Tallis Barker, D.Phil.

      Hi J. Aikens,
      I’m glad you found the article helpful. In order to gain the deepest cleansing and healing on any extended fast, it’s always best to avoid electrolytes and additives if possible. This can often intensify detox symptoms – precisely because you’re detoxing more deeply! – and it’s also important to know how to deal with this if the situation intensifies. However, as I mention in this case report, most fasts are not as intense as the one described in this article.
      All the best,
      Tallis

  2. Thank you so much for this article.
    It gave me so much hope and psychological support that I can also go through fasting and heal myself.
    I read this article every day since I am fasting right now since it motivates me to continue.
    I have big ovarian cysts since I am 25. I am 31 now.
    The cyst on my right ovary is cystadenoma 15cm. On my left ovary 8cm.
    It never caused me any pain or any other symptoms except the fact that I lost my period.
    Anyway, I refused the surgery because they wanted to remove my ovary.
    Evil doctors have threatened me that I will die if I won’t have a surgery.
    I just ignored them. I felt like I don’t care. I preferred to die instead of losing my ovary because I don’t have children yet.
    I became whole food plant based vegan in 2020 but it did not help with my cysts. It was still there.
    Well, vegan food I ate contained quite a lot of oil all the time.
    Now I know that probably the issue was the fat on my body. I don’t have muscle, just fat.
    I always ate so much oily food. Before I was vegan I ate fried chicken, pizza, eggs, cheese, fried potatoes. Everything was fried and so oily.
    The funny thing, I am not obese. I am 171cm and my weight always was around 62kg but my body mostly contains fat and nothing else. I am very soft.
    I believe that’s the real cause why I developed these ovarian cysts. The fat has caused it.
    Anyway, as I said at the beginning, I have started fasting 1st of May (Monday).
    Monday – I ate only some apples and mango.
    Tuesday – I drunk freshly squeezed orange juice.
    Wednesday – I had only distilled water with some freshly squeezed lemon juice and 4 spoons of castor oil which led me to the toilet a couple of hours later. I had completely cleared my bowels. I had a liquidy bowel movement with some brown, slimy stuff looking like a rope worm.
    Thursday – I had only distilled water.
    So, literally it is a third, full day (it’s Saturday here in Europe), since I am on a distilled water fasting only.
    I feel kind of well. I don’t have serious nausea. No headaches. No aches. No dizziness. No serious weakness. Nothing. My blood pressure is perfect.
    The only sensation is in my belly. I have a mixed feeling between being hungry and nausea but that’s is not a big deal. And I cannot walk long distances. If I sit in the sun I feel great. If I lay on my bed I feel fine as well.
    I don’t know if it is possible or what is going on BUT I CANNOT FEEL THE MASS ON MY RIGHT OVARY ANYMORE.
    My abdomen seems to be soft and clear when I press with my fingers around that area.
    Before I felt the hard mass in my abdomen. Especially, when I used to lay on my back I used to feel this sort of stretching sensation in my abdomen and that feeling was uncomfortable.
    I am literally shocked already. Can it be true that my big cyst has shrunk already?
    Anyway, I want to keep going to 21 days water fast if I continue feeling the same great along the way. I do not force myself. I just take day by day. I don’t want to stress my body.
    I lost weight since the 1st of the May when I started fasting. I was 62kg and now I am 56kg.
    Funny thing, I don’t look like I lost anything visually.
    Perhaps, the nasty stuff inside me, cysts got metabolized through autophagy.
    I don’t know.
    I will be the happiest and the most grateful person in the world if I got rid off these nasty ovarian cysts and if my hormones will get restored and my period comes back.
    I don’t want anything else in this world 🙁
    Again, thank you so much for inspiring me to go on this fasting journey 🙁 xoxo

    1. Tallis Barker, D.Phil. Avatar
      Tallis Barker, D.Phil.

      Hi Sandra,
      Glad you found the article inspiring. It definitely sounds like you’re doing the right by fasting!!!
      Of course, I can’t confirm whether or not your cyst has already autophagised – and especially so without having worked with you personally. Still, if you can’t feel it, you can’t feel it – and this is already very promising :-).
      It also sounds like you’re definitely doing the right thing by continuing to 21 days. Not only does this give you an insurance policy in case it turns out the cyst hasn’t been autophagised yet. It also insures that a deeper hormonal recalibration can take place, because in addition to the nutritional elements which likely contributed to the formation of the cyst, there are almost certainly long-term hormonal imbalances which will need to be addressed.
      It’s going to be very important to make sure your post-fasting diet is nutritious in order to solidify the benefits of the fast itself, so please make sure you focus on this as well.
      All the best,
      Tallis

      1. Dear Tallis,
        Thank you so much for your reply. I still continue my fasting. I am strong as never before. Feeling great. Sleeping great. Feel so motivated. My urine was very foamy. I learned it’s protein in my urine. Also, I have extreme sweetness inside my mouth. My mouth is also very dry. But in general no other symptoms. I am so happy that I feel good otherwise I would probably give up. It’s my 8th day. I even cooked, I need to smell the food, be around food because it makes me feel good (how weird is that,huh). Thank you for mentioning that post-fasting diet is very important. Yes, I have read a lot about it. I know how important and how dangerous it can be if I start my eating process too fast. I know I have to take very slowly. I will purchase your re-feeding guide. Again, thank you very much for sharing such an inspiring article. I literally managed to begin fasting just because of your article because it gave me hope that I can also heal finally xxx

        1. Tallis Barker, D.Phil. Avatar
          Tallis Barker, D.Phil.

          Hi again Sandra,
          Wow, I didn’t realise that it was the article itself which inspired you to fast in the first place :-).
          It sounds like everything is going well. Yes, the foam in the urine is from protein – which is totally normal in this context as a sign of deep detox. Urine can also do other ‘strange’ things while fasting, which indicate different forms of cleansing. The sweetness in your mouth is most probably the actual taste of ketosis (especially if it’s almost a slightly sickly sweet taste).
          Wishing you all the best for the rest of your fast,
          Tallis

  3. Thank you for all of your super helpful info. It makes embarking on an extended water fast less scary. I’m wondering if you’ve ever helped anyone or know of anyone who has cured their lipedema through water fasting. I’m trying a 30-40 day water fast to try to treat this as well as PCOS. I’m still early on in the fast currently, on day 3. I’m going to be purchasing and downloading your refeeding guide for when the time comes. Thank you for any help you can provide.

    1. Tallis Barker, D.Phil. Avatar
      Tallis Barker, D.Phil.

      Hi Bee,
      Thanks for writing. I’m afraid I haven’t worked with anyone who specifically addressed lipedema through water fasting. Logically, it should work! However, there’s only so much weight you can lose on any single fast, so it would be important not to push yourself too far psychologically on this fast – because you may need to return later to do another fast.
      All the best,
      Tallis

  4. Inspirational, Tallis. I admire her strength and determination. it also made any and all of the discomfort I felt in my previous fasts seem like a ‘walk in the park’ in comparison. I shall never complain again!

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