A mother has credited having regular three-week water fasts with giving her a toned physique and youthful looks.

Wellness coach Nicola Arthur, 47, from Sydney, Australia, puts her radiant looks down to decades of yoga, healthy eating and even water fasting to defy ageing.

The mother-of-two, a self-proclaimed former party girl and binge-eater, overhauled her lifestyle after a painful divorce in 2013, which saw her opera singer ex husband have an alleged affair with his co-star.

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Nicola has just finished a full 21 days of consuming absolutely nothing but water, and claims that this keeps her feeling and looking young, though she does warn that it needs to be practiced with care.

'Water fasting began in 2017. Towards the end of March 2019, I had dinner with a friend, and it was coated with chickpeas which I know are bad for my blood type, type B positive. I hadn't been sick in years, but I had stomach pains and my stomach was terribly bloated. So, I decided to do a 21 day water only fast to heal my body.'

Nicola says that fasting is not without its dangers and should not be performed by people with certain conditions. Nicola said;

I want you to think about the last time you got sick, what happened? You most likely didn't feel like eating. You may have been off your food, and self-healed your body. The problem is in today's world most people rush off to the doctors, to get answers or medication without trusting the process of self-healing.

'Neither myself or Dr Rama Prasad (who practices Ayurveda whole-body healing) wanted me to go on medications and so I decided that healing myself in a natural way was the best step forward.

'Fasting is not for everyone and if you don't have a healthy relationship with food, have Bulimia or Anorexia, are pregnant, or have type I or II diabetes you should not undergo fasting.

If you fast then you can expect increased energy, clarity of mind, less cravings, improved digestive system, clearer skin, clear eyes, feel joyful, have renewed cells, feel rejuvenated, defy ageing, eliminate inflammation, lose weight and starve off cancer cells.

I believe that fasting is not a fad, but it is the future.

'Some women think I'm extreme but then others are asking why I am always smiling and how I looks so good and young after having two children.'

HOW FASTING DIETS CAN DAMAGE THE HEART

Following a 'fashionable' fast for just one week can damage the heart, research suggested in February 2018.

Obese people who suddenly lower their calorie intake to just 600-to-800 units a day, experience heart-fat level increases of 44 per cent, a trial found.

Despite such dieters on average losing six per cent of their total body fat after just seven days, this fat is released into their bloodstream and absorbed by their hearts, the researchers explained.

Although this excess heart fat balances out by week eight of dieting, for people with heart problems, it could leave them breathless and with an irregular beat, the Oxford University scientists added.

The researchers analysed 21 obese volunteers with an average age of 52 and a BMI of 37kg/metre squared.

The study's participants ate a very low-calorie diet every day for eight weeks.

MRI scans were taken at the start and end of the investigation, as well as after week one.

Credits: Daily Mail