When most people hear “fasting,” they picture nothing but water and willpower. But in traditional cultures, fasting wasn’t about total deprivation. It was a strategic recovery period, supported by broth, salt, herbal infusions, and naturally fermented mineral-rich liquids. These were both food and functional tools that made fasting safer, more sustainable, and metabolically effective.
Modern fasting protocols often ignore what traditional systems knew: the body needs support during stress, not just absence of calories.
I. What Actually Happens During a Fast
When you fast, your body initiates several key shifts:
- Insulin drops, allowing fat to be mobilized
- Glucagon rises to stabilize blood sugar
- Autophagy is activated to clear damaged cells
- Stress hormones like adrenaline and cortisol rise slightly to maintain energy and alertness (1)
But as glycogen stores are depleted, the body also excretes sodium, potassium, and magnesium.
Without replenishment, this can lead to:
- Fatigue
- Cramping
- Headaches
- Elevated cortisol, which can impair sleep and fat metabolism
Even short fasts can cause symptoms of mineral loss if you’re already depleted or under stress.
💡 Key Takeaway: Fasting increases mineral demand. Without replenishment, it can lead to fatigue, sleep issues, and hormonal disruption.
II. What Traditional Fasting Really Looked Like
In ancestral contexts, fasting was rarely done with just plain water.
People used:
- Salted bone broth for sodium, glycine, and collagen
- Fermented brines for trace minerals and gut support
- Herbal teas, often with salt or lemon
- Spring water from mineral-rich sources
- In some regions, clay- or ash-infused water
Across different cultures, fasting wasn’t always ceremonial. It was often seasonal, situational, or health-based. Nomadic tribes fasted between hunts, religious fasts were supported by mineral broths and salted infusions, and recovery fasts included herbal teas and fermented liquids. While each region used what was available, the logic was consistent: support the body with minerals, not calories. These practices weren’t labeled as “fasting protocols.” They were simply how people survived and healed.
These additions didn’t break the fast. They made it more sustainable. They supported hydration, organ function, and metabolic stability. In many cultures, broth was taken during fasting windows or post-illness to restore without burdening the digestive system.
💡 Key Takeaway: Traditional fasting practices often included salt, broth, and fermented liquids to support electrolyte balance and reduce fasting-related stress.
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III. Why Electrolytes and Glycine Matter for Recovery and Fat Loss
When sodium, potassium, and magnesium are low, the body has to work harder to maintain basic function.
That often means:
- Higher cortisol
- Increased water loss
- Poor sleep and recovery
- Reduced exercise performance (2)
Glycine, found in broth, also plays a key role:
- Improves subjective sleep quality and may also enhance sleep onset and efficiency (3)
- May support connective tissue repair and joint health, as shown by reduced joint pain in human trials (4)
Bone broth offers glycine, sodium, and small amounts of potassium and magnesium in one ancestral format. It’s not a gimmick. It’s a tool.
💡 Key Takeaway: Glycine and electrolytes help moderate the stress of fasting while preserving muscle, sleep quality, and metabolic output.
IV. What a Supported Fast Could Look Like
An ancestral-style fast doesn’t require calories, but it benefits from structure.
Here’s a simple example:
- Morning: Warm water with lemon and sea salt
- Midday: Bone broth or diluted brine
- Evening: Magnesium-rich herbal tea (chamomile, nettle, or lemon balm)
- Throughout: Mineral water or natural spring water
This format can reduce discomfort, support fat oxidation, and protect against the cortisol spikes that lead to rebound eating. It’s not a shortcut. It’s fasting with support, as practiced for centuries.
💡 Key Takeaway: A supported fast using salt, broth, and minerals improves sustainability, metabolic stability, and muscle protection.
✏︎ The Bottom Line
Fasting has always been part of human life, for reasons ranging from spiritual practice to survival. But it was rarely done with nothing at all. Traditional fasts often included salt, broth, or other supportive inputs to keep the body steady and functional.
If your fast leaves you drained, foggy, or irritable, you’re not broken. You’re probably missing what your ancestors understood intuitively.
You don’t need to suffer to get the benefits of fasting. You need the right structure.
👉 Want to fast smarter and support your metabolism with ancestral recovery tools?
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How to Make Bone Broth (Ancestral Method)
If you’re new to broth fasting or want to make your own recovery tool, here’s how to do it the way traditional cultures did with a focus on collagen, minerals, and gut repair.
Ingredients
- 2 to 3 pounds of mixed bones (grass-fed or pasture-raised)
- Include joint bones like feet, knuckles, or necks for collagen
- Add marrow bones for minerals and richness
- Optional: some meat-on-bone like oxtail or wings for flavor
- Include joint bones like feet, knuckles, or necks for collagen
- 1 to 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar (helps extract minerals)
- Filtered water to cover
- Optional aromatics: onion, garlic, celery, carrot, bay leaf, peppercorns
- No salt during cooking (add to taste later)
Instructions
Optional blanching step
Cover bones in cold water. Bring to a boil. Simmer for 10 minutes. Discard the water and rinse the bones.
Simmer gently
Add bones, vinegar, and aromatics to a large stock pot, slow cooker, or Instant Pot.
- Chicken bones: 8 to 24 hours
- Beef or pork bones: 12 to 48 hours
- Instant Pot: 120 minutes on high pressure with natural release
Strain and cool
Strain through a fine mesh sieve. Refrigerate. The broth should gel when cold.
Store
Refrigerate up to 5 days or freeze in glass jars or silicone trays.
How to Use
- Drink warm with a pinch of salt during fasting windows
- Use as a base for soups or post-workout recovery meals
- Blend with lemon or herbs for a quick gut-support tonic
How to Make Collagen-Rich Bone Broth from a Whole Chicken
If you don’t have access to extra bones or feet, you can still make high-quality broth using a whole chicken—as long as you treat the process right.
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken (organic or pasture-raised if possible)
- 1 to 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- Optional: onion, garlic, celery, carrot, bay leaf, peppercorns
- Filtered water to cover
- No salt during cooking
Step 1: Make a Poached Chicken (First Simmer)
- Place the whole chicken in a large stock pot
- Cover with filtered water
- Add vinegar and aromatics
- Simmer gently for 90 minutes, skimming foam as needed
- Remove chicken when meat is fully cooked but before it falls apart
Step 2: Debone and Return the Good Stuff
- Let the chicken cool slightly
- Remove meat carefully and set aside for meals
- Return all bones, skin, cartilage, and any neck or gizzard parts to the pot
- Add chicken feet or extra backs if you have them
Step 3: Simmer for Collagen Extraction
- Refill with filtered water if needed
- Simmer gently for 6 to 12 hours
- Strain, cool, and store
Optional
For even more richness, cool the bones and crack or crush them before the final simmering step.
Tips
- The skin and cartilage are key for gelatin if you don’t have feet
- This method gives you poached chicken for meals plus real broth
- If it doesn’t gel fully, reduce the broth after straining to concentrate it
💡 Key Takeaway: A whole chicken can give you both meals and collagen-rich broth—if you return the skin and bones for a second simmer.
References
- Cahill, George F Jr. “Fuel metabolism in starvation.” Annual review of nutrition vol. 26 (2006): 1-22. doi:10.1146/annurev.nutr.26.061505.111258. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16848698/
- American College of Sports Medicine et al. “American College of Sports Medicine position stand. Exercise and fluid replacement.” Medicine and science in sports and exercise vol. 39,2 (2007): 377-90. doi:10.1249/mss.0b013e31802ca597. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17277604/
- Bannai, Makoto, and Nobuhiro Kawai. “New therapeutic strategy for amino acid medicine: glycine improves the quality of sleep.” Journal of pharmacological sciences vol. 118,2 (2012): 145-8. doi:10.1254/jphs.11r04fm. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22293292/
- Clark, Kristine L et al. “24-Week study on the use of collagen hydrolysate as a dietary supplement in athletes with activity-related joint pain.” Current medical research and opinion vol. 24,5 (2008): 1485-96. doi:10.1185/030079908×291967. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18416885/
