TOP 5 HEALTH BENEFITS OF FASTING

Health Benefits of Fasting

Lately, Fasting has been gaining popularity for its health-promoting effects. Different kinds of Fasting has been practised and followed since ages. Various types have been studied clinically for its benefits and as preventive care in certain diseases and health conditions. Varying Fasting diets are popular now a day such as Intermittent fasting, Fast Mimicking Diet, Water Fast, Alternate Day Fasting, 5: 2 Diet etc.

Purpose of Fasting

The idea of fasting is to disengage the body from digestion and give it a rest for healing and rejuvenation. You can try a different kind of fasting to see what works best for you according to your lifestyle. Keep the pros and cons of each kind of Fasting methods in mind while choosing one.

Caution: People suffering from chronic stress, pregnant, malnourished, eating disorders, fatigue syndrome or thyroid issues should avoid Fasting.

The Top 5 Health Benefits of Fasting

Anti-ageing

The Fasting has been proved in many studies for increasing longevity. The positive effects of Fasting on ageing links to a process known as Autophagy. By fasting we induce starvation and during starvation cells breakdown proteins and structures and use them for energy. This also causes the death of pathogenic bacteria and viruses. The body also gets rid of damaged structures and cells and also helps to repair or renew the existing cells. Autophagy repairs the damaged cells, replace the worn out and form new ones.

The Fasting induces stress response at the cellular level for a restricted period of time. That acute stress act as a primer or signal to the body to repair and recover again. Fasting for 12-16 hours without food increases Growth Hormone levels. GH is known as a Youth Hormone. The fasting was shown to reduce oxidative stress (free radical production) which is directly proportionate to the ageing.

Weight Loss

Fasting has shown to help in weight loss among adults. The body uses sugar as primary fuel under normal circumstances. But during depletion, it uses glycogen stored in muscles and liver as a secondary source. After the depletion of glycogen, the body uses stored fat as a source of energy. It is similar to ketosis where the body uses fat and ketones as a source of energy. But under chronic stress, eating junk or processed food while fasting, it can do more harm than good. This can increase cortisol production which can then eat up muscle and slow down your BMR.

What you eat is more important when you break the fast. Eat more natural, nutrient-dense foods rather than highly processed foods or high carb, high sugar meal. Fasting also helps in controlling hunger and appetite by lowering the circulating leptin levels in obese patients. Excessive leptin production causes leptin resistance in cells. Leptin resistance leads to excessive appetite due to which your brain doesn’t get the signal to stop eating when full.

Anti-inflammatory

Fasting reduces inflammation by reducing oxidative stress. Oxidative stress has a connection to diseases like diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis and heart disease. Fasting also helps to reduce blood pressure to a great extent. The fasting helps by inhibiting pro-inflammatory cytokines like IL-6 which has been linked to various inflammatory conditions.

Fasting reduces pain and inflammation in joints in rheumatoid arthritis in as minimum as one week of dietary changes. It also helps in conditions associated with brain issues like Alzheimer and cognitive decline by reducing oxidative stress.

Blood Sugar Management

Fasting helps to improve insulin resistance by lowering fasting blood sugar levels. When applied with correct nutrition and active lifestyle, it helps in managing Diabetes and Metabolic Disorders as well.

Anti-Cancer

Fasting has been shown promising results in controlling certain types of cancers by inducing Apoptosis and Autophagy. Apoptosis is program cell death while Autophagy is repairing or replacing old cells with a new one. The studies in mice have shown promising results by lowering down the Cancer risk by 50%. It also acts as strong support while undergoing cancer therapy by increasing the effectiveness of treatment and reducing the side effects.