Background: As Sonam Wangchuk’s open-ended fast reached its 19th day on Thursday (July 16, 2026), health worries have surfaced. The 59-year-old activist is protesting the continued tenure of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, aligning with demonstrations by the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP), while the central government has not yet responded. Specialists have raised alarms regarding the effects of sustained fasting on bodily functions.
Physician Satish Lamba, who assessed the activist, reported that by day 19 total weight reduction surpassed 9 kg, with blood glucose at 80 mg/dL and pulse rate at 72. Blood pressure measured 105/61 mm/Hg and hydration appeared adequate. The doctor noted that mental clarity remained intact.
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Body processes during fasting
Fasting has long been practiced by various communities for spiritual, wellness or traditional purposes. Individuals accustomed to it can endure the chosen duration without intake. Certain Indian medical traditions incorporate fasting as therapeutic. Yet risks increase with advancing age and extended duration.
Recent controlled research worldwide indicates that the body experiences notable, organized shifts across several organs during lengthy fasts.
Initially the body alters its fuel source, moving from ingested calories to stored fat reserves. Fasting lasting 5–20 days yields mild to moderate weight reduction of 2% to 10% together with marked elevation in blood ketones, according to a review in Nutrition Reviews.
Roughly two-thirds of lost weight consists of lean tissue and one-third fat. Excessive lean-tissue loss can trigger muscle-protein breakdown, raising concern. Both systolic and diastolic pressures decline steadily, as observed in the present case, along with blood-glucose levels. Persons with diabetes, hypotension, prior eating disorders, pregnancy or other conditions face heightened complications.
A Nature Metabolism study involving 12 healthy volunteers during a seven-day water-only fast recorded changes in multiple blood proteins, including elevated coagulation factor XI, potentially increasing thrombosis risk.
A separate Chinese trial published in Nature tracked 21 days of complete fasting and documented reduced body weight, lowered blood glucose, higher ketones and uric acid, falling resting energy expenditure, and a respiratory quotient shifting toward fat oxidation, indicating the body now primarily burns fat rather than carbohydrates.
Potential negative outcomes
Muscle-protein breakdown may produce headaches, insomnia, hunger and occasionally metabolic acidosis from acid accumulation. Experts emphasize that outcomes depend heavily on fast length, hydration status and pre-existing health.
Fasting causes early urinary loss of sodium and potassium; prolonged restriction may also deplete magnesium and bicarbonate. Sodium maintains fluid and pressure balance, potassium aids muscle and nerve activity, magnesium stabilizes cell electrical function, and bicarbonate regulates acid-base equilibrium.
Mild shortfalls can trigger headaches, dizziness, cramps, tiredness, palpitations and constipation, while continued deficit leads to weakness, confusion, numbness or fainting.
Severe electrolyte disturbances can impair cardiac, cerebral, neural and muscular activity. Extreme cases may produce arrhythmias, marked weakness, disorientation, seizures or death if fasting persists.
The chief long-term hazard is lean-mass reduction beyond fat loss. In sustained catabolic conditions the body develops negative nitrogen balance, reflecting ongoing protein breakdown that can diminish strength, mobility and physical performance over time.
Clinicians also note immune and infection vulnerability, since protein-calorie malnutrition impairs immune response and thereby raises infection susceptibility.
