8 Health Benefits Of Fasting

Introduction

 While fasting has recently seen a rise in popularity, it has been a staple of many cultures and religions for centuries. Fasting is part of most religions in the world. The wisdom of the centuries and our forefathers cannot be doubted. What exactly is fasting? People fast by eating only certain kinds of food on certain days or abstaining from food for a certain length of time.

Some experts feel that fasting slows down the metabolic rate but done in the correct manner, fasting can reward us with rich benefits. If you decide to fast, you mustn’t binge on chips and other junk food when hunger strikes you. Keep healthy food options lined up for when you break your fast to avoid piling up the calories.

Health Benefits of Fasting

Studies have shown that fasting can have many health benefits, from increased weight loss to improved cognitive function. Here are some of the health benefits of fasting:  

1. Weight Loss

Fasting aids in weight loss and positively so. Apart from the considerable change in weight, people also notice a reduction in inflammation, their waist sizes, and body fat without harming the body muscles. Even sporadic fasting has been proved to show these effects.

2. Increased Insulin Sensitivity

Fasting could reduce your risk of getting diabetes. Research has proved that fasting just once a week and consuming just water that day can lower the odds of suffering from diabetes. Not only this, fasting reduces cholesterol levels and blood pressure as well.

3. Boosts Immunity

Prolonged fasting can reinvent your immune system. When the body is starved of food over a period of time, to conserve energy, it recycles immune cells, providing you with a new fighting force against diseases.

4. Detoxification

When the body is fasting, it tries to throw out anything and everything that is consuming energy without providing any benefits. Due to this, the toxins stored in the body are excreted. Research points at a raised level of endorphins, the hormones that make us feel good and happy after fasting.

5. Lowers Cholesterol

Fasting is known to reduce triglycerides, which are responsible for causing heart diseases. Triglycerides are responsible for bad cholesterol. Interestingly, fasting does not harm the good cholesterol in the body. Read more on how to reduce cholesterol

6. Increases Leptin Receptivity

The fatty tissue is responsible for secreting many hormones. One such hormone is Leptin which decides how you feel post a meal. Fasting promotes weight loss, and because of that, the body becomes more receptive to hunger and satiety signals. Thus, the leaner you are, the less hungry you feel, and because of the increased leptin receptivity, you feel full earlier post a meal.

According to certain studies I came across, fasting before or during chemotherapy may help make the procedure more effective and reduce its side effects. It might improve the response of tumour cells to chemotherapy, help protect normal cells, and enhance the immune system’s response. However, more research is needed to fully understand the benefits of fasting in combination with chemotherapy.

Dr. Siddharth Gupta, B.A.M.S, M.D (Ayu)

7. Makes You Younger

Research has shown that fasting slows down the ageing process in animals. The jury is still out on humans, but many people believe that fasting reduces the free radicals, primarily responsible for ageing. Fasting is also thought to an increased life span.

I saw an intriguing finding in one of the studies I read. When people fasted for 5 days, their growth hormone (GH) secretion increased notably. These findings show that fasting may influence GH secretion and help the body adapt during starvation.

Dr. Rajeev Singh, BAMS

8. Promotes a Healthy Heart

Fasting lowers the bad cholesterol, regulates blood volume, and normalizes blood pressure. Research on animals has proved to make the heart muscle more efficient and accelerate the growth of blood vessels in the heart.

While there are so many benefits of fasting, it must be approached with caution. People with diabetes, people suffering from high blood pressure, pregnant and breastfeeding mothers should not fast.

9. Boosts Brain Function

  Fasting is known to improve brain function by boosting the production of a protein called brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF).

A number of other chemicals that enhance neural health are triggered by BDNF, which activates brain stem cells to form new neurons. Besides protecting your brain cells, this protein also helps prevent Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.

10. Helps Prevent Acne and Gives a Clear Skin

  Fasting can help clear the skin because with digestion temporarily halted, the body can concentrate its regenerative powers on other systems.  

Having no food for only one day has been shown to improve the body’s ability to detoxify toxins and keep other organs like the liver, kidneys, and other organs functioning properly.

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