I have always been fascinated by the religious practices of fasting. I’ve always wondered why do people do it and how they are able to go without eating for days when I cannot go even a few hours without eating before I start to feel depleted of my energy. I started to think about the health benefits of fasting, if there are any. It turns out fasting could solve lots of health issues and increase your life span.
First, why do religious groups fast? Perhaps the most famous religious fasting practice is the Muslim holiday of Ramadan. Ramadan lasts for one month (the ninth month in the twelve month Islamic calendar) where Muslims do not eat or drink for every day in the month from sunrise to sunset. The fasting is supposed to remind worshipers of people who are hungry and are suffering in the world. It is also supposed to maintain empathy for those suffering. There are clear psychological and moral benefits to fasting in this sense, but what about the health benefits?
Intermittent fasting is a broad-range term for diets which follow a plan of cycling between periods of fasting and non-fasting. Authority Nutrition suggests there are ten potential benefits to intermittent fasting. More can be read by clicking the link above, but I will be explaining a few which I believe to be of most benefit to fasting.
The above chart is a proposed fasting schedule.
The first benefit is that intermittent fasting can reduce weight and help lose body fat. Fasting will enhance hormone function, lower insulin levels and increase amounts of norepinephrine. All of these facilitate the burning of body fat and promote weight loss. In addition, short-term fasting can increase metabolic rate by 3.6-14%. Increased metabolism allows for increased burning of calories.
In addition, fasting can reduce your risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is a condition when your body does not utilize the insulin it produces properly. The pancreas starts to produce extra insulin to compensate, but over time it is not able to produce enough insulin (American Diabetes Association). Fasting reduces insulin resistance, lowering blood sugar levels by 3-6% and reducing insulin levels by 20-31%. This all contributes to the reduced risk of developing type 2 diabetes, the most common type of diabetes.
Heart disease is currently the number one killer in the world (WHO). Intermittent fasting has been shown to improve risk factors for heart disease in animals including cholesterol, blood pressure, blood triglycerides, and blood sugar levels. Most of this evidence has come from animal testing and more human testing must be done.
Lastly, and possibly most importantly, intermittent fasting may help prevent cancer. Fasting has been shown to reduce cell proliferation rates, an elemental aspect of cancer development. Cell proliferation reduction has been demonstrated with reduced feeding frequency. Again, lots of these studies have been done on animals; however, fasting has also been shown to reduce the side effects of chemotherapy in humans. Lots of other health benefits from fasting can be explored here.
The evidence given shows that intermittent fasting can be quite beneficial to your health. The only negative about it is that most testing has been done on animals rather than humans. Clearly, more testing must be done on humans to truly understand the benefits to humans. Regardless, periodically starving yourself may be the secret to a longer, healthier, and happier life.
In reading this, I was completely absorbed in learning the physical benefits of fasting, but wondered heavily about the psychological effects of it. In doing a little searching of my own, I found a 1950 study by the University of Minnesota that employed a gradual starvation procedure on 36 healthy young men (the men who agreed to participate in the study were saved from military service. The study found them to develop many of the behaviors and thought processes found in those with annorexia nervosa, such as obsession with food and decreased activity and sex-drive. Of course, the fasting that you’re referencing here is much different, but I thought that an examination of the psychological effects of fasting would offer a vital perspective.
The previous two comments are absolutely correct that intermittent fasting could possibly lead to eating disorders, but regular visits to a dietitian may be the answer to avoiding an eating disorder. Of course intermittent fasting must be monitored just like every other diet and careful attention must be paid to how much weight is being lost at any given time in order to maintain a safe diet; however, under the right care and attention, intermittent dieting could be the answer to losing a few extra pounds while also creating a longer, healthier life for yourself. Not every diet plan is okay for every person, that is why it is always important to do research before jumping into a diet plan like this one.
I find it pretty interesting that the chart in your blog showed that fasting for 3 mornings out of the week was a good and healthy option. Even with the research done I have my doubts on the health benefits. I believe a good way of losing healthy weight is through exercise and healthy proportional eating. I think reasoning fasting for losing weight is a slippery slope into having an eating disorder. I know those are big words but essentially this could lead up to it. I found this article that explains fasting one day a week is healthy. This makes sense to me because fasting for a day clears out the body system and all accumulated food from that week. The doctor further explains that even better than fasting one day a week is going on a juice diet once a week. It is interesting to take a look at!
This was a very interesting read! I always had heard such bad things about not eating, or fasting. I had no idea that there was a certain “schedule” of fasting that had so many positive outcomes. Some researchers think that it is a “recipe for disaster”, and can lead to binge eating, according to the LA Times. But, I guess if you have enough self control, it can work for you.
http://articles.latimes.com/2009/feb/02/health/he-fasting2