This past weekend was Yom Kippur, or more commonly known to Jews as “the worst 25 hours of the year”, “the hunger games”, and other various nicknames. For those who are not Jewish or do not know much about Yom Kippur, it is one of the holiest Jewish holidays and those who celebrate are supposed to fast from sundown of the first night to sundown the next day. And yes, it sucks. While starving on Saturday, my thoughts were almost all about food, but I also wondered what happens to your body when you fast for a period of time. I’ve heard that it’s healthy for you, but I’ve always questioned this and wanted to know.
After reading this article, I’m a little relieved to see that so many healthy benefits come out of fasting. The first benefit on the list says that it gives your digestive system a break. I have never really thought about it from this perspective, but the article makes a good point. People take breaks from work, exercise, we nap, and we rest each parts of our bodies, but our digestive system is always working and we never really give it the chance to stop. This was definitely something interesting to think about, and giving your digestive system a break once in a while can be very helpful and beneficial. It has never occurred to me that this one part of our bodies never really takes time off, so it is something to keep in mind when I’m wishing Yom Kippur would end.
The article lists other health benefits of fasting, such as breaking down toxins in the body, putting more energy towards healing instead of digesting, and cleansing and strengthening us. Fasting has been practiced since ancient times, and throughout ages, has always shown healthy results and been known to cure illnesses and rejuvenate the entire body. If you are suffering during your Yom Kippur fast and can’t stop the constant food thoughts throughout the day, try to think about all the positive effects that the fast is having on your body. It won’t replace the Chipotle and ice cream that you want, but it’s definitely interesting and helpful to see all the benefits that you are gaining out of it.
I found this blog extremely interesting as soon as I found out it was about Yom Kippur. I am half-Jewish and I celebrate Catholicism primarily, but still know a lot about the Jewish traditions. Yom Kippur is a holiday in which you fast, but many people don’t actually participate in this. For example, I do not because I do not regularly practice the religion and my dad does not as well because has a medical condition where he needs to consume food during the day. For the people that are fasting, it is not the worst 25 hours of your lives. People fast for religious purposes, and it may be painful to some, but the feeling after is what most people enjoy the most. I know there are some unhealthy aspects to fasting, but that is if you do it regularly. I agree with you that fasting for a day cleans out your immune system and gives it a break. I loved this blog! Below is a link about some more facts of the Jewish holiday.
http://judaism.about.com/od/holidays/a/yomkippur.htm
by eating nothing* not but eating nothing right away
I’m not Jewish or religious in any way but I find your article very interesting! When someone isn’t eating, it is usually viewed as unhealthy so I never thought fasting would actually be beneficial to your health. I looked around for more information about fasting and it is recommended that you don’t begin fasting but eating nothing right away. Instead, you should start by eating dinner than waiting sixteen hours for breakfast the next morning or switch to a “raw” diet. A water-only fast is looked at as “extreme” and shouldn’t be done right away. Like you said, there are numerous health benefits to doing this and our digestive systems definitely deserve a break every now and then. Source: http://www.chicagotribune.com/lifestyles/health/sns-green-effective-fasting-benfits-story.html