Fasting and health

What is intermittent fasting?

Fasting is the willful refrained from eating for a period of time.

In a physiological context, fasting may refer to the metabolic status of a person who has not eaten overnight, or to the metabolic state achieved after complete digestion and absorption of a meal.

Several metabolic adjustments occur during fasting. Some diagnostic tests are used to determine a state of fasting. For example, a person is assumed to be fasting once 8–12 hours have elapsed since the last meal. Metabolic changes in the fasting state begin after the absorption of a meal (typically 3–5 hours after eating).

Fasting benefits

Fasting is a universal practice that humanity has known since its dawn, and it is a cult in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, it is practiced in different ways according to sects and denominations.

For example, in Islam, the fasting of Ramadan lasts a whole month, from dawn to sunset.

A Sage said: “fasting makes you healthy”

The human body is an exquisite and balanced system that has inputs and outputs, which work continuously without stopping in the process of demolition and construction, growth, and decline.

An animal experiment is fascinating:

Animals that started feeding after 1 to 2 weeks of fasting gained weight at a mean rate of 0.17 kg/day; those which started after 4 weeks of fasting gained at 0.29 kg/day. The relative amounts of muscle and fat deposited appeared to vary with the time (or physiological condition) when feeding commenced.

Several congresses and research have proven the effectiveness of fasting in the best of health.

In Germany:

International Congress

Eat, Fast and live longer!

June 29. 30. 2013

This international congress was organized by the Medical Association Fasting and Nutrition in cooperation with the Clinics Buchinger Wilhelmi in Überlingen and Marbella and the Maria Buchinger Foundation.

Renowned international guests from Germany, France, Switzerland, and Russia lectured on their research and clinical experience in the field of fasting and caloric restriction.

b Prof. Valter Longo from the University of Southern California received the Maria Buchinger Foundation Award for his work about “Fasting and Longevity” and “Fasting and Cancer”. All dimensions of fasting were covered: Therapeutic fasting, spiritual fasting in religion, and fasting for the healthy.

In 2016, the Nobel Prize in Medicine awarded to the Japanese Yoshinori Ohsumi for this research on autophagy (the process that cells use to destroy and recycle cellular components).

His research is crucial to understanding cell renewal and the body's response to food deprivation.

How It Affects Your Cells and Hormones?

When you fast, several things happen in your body.

For example, your body adjusts hormone levels to make stored body fat more accessible.

Your cells also initiate important repair processes and change the expression of genes.

Many studies have been done on intermittent fasting, in both animals and humans.

These studies have shown that it can have powerful benefits for weight control and the health of your body and brain. It may even help you live longer.

Fasting may slightly boost metabolism while helping you eat fewer calories. It’s a very effective way to lose weight and belly fat.

Fasting is excellent for strengthening the mind.

Fasting is an exercise in purification.

References:

reseachgate.net

healthline.com

wikipedia.org

lemonde.fr