Benefits of Fasting

Fasting is often viewed in a religious context, but the benefits of fasting go beyond that and may indeed prove a tangible health boost. It is important to know how to go about it, however, since fasting may slip into starvation territory before long -- which is a distinctly negative development.

What is Fasting

Fasting is quite simply abstaining from solid foods for a while, giving your digestive system a chance to rest and toxins to be flushed out. This doesn't have to mean taking in just water and zero calories; many fast with juices, teas, easily-digested protein supplements and other liquid nutrition that provides the bare-bone basics your body needs. Some believe certain herbs and teas contribute to the cleansing effect of the fast, but that's a separate discussion.

Fasting has a spiritual side as well. Christianity, Islam and in fact most religions have elements of fasting in them, whether they're commonly observed or not. This, too, is beyond the scope of this article, since we'll focus exclusively on the physical aspect of fasting.

Benefits of Fasting

The general digestion and processing of food is more or less a round-the-clock job for our bodies. What happens when such a big portion of the overall workload is essentially shut down for an extended period of time?

For one thing, it appears the immune system gets some of the extra juice (no pun intended), enabling it to focus on healing and cleansing. When sick, humans and animals alike tend to get decreased appetites; this may be a part of the same process.

This immunity boost is also a good thing when thinking about the detoxification process that takes place. As body fat is used for fuel during a fast, the toxins normally stored therein are released into the bloodstream and eventually flushed out. Good news for the long haul of course, but short-term it's nice to have a little extra protection while insecticides, airborne pollutants and other nasty stuff is en route out.

Natural hormone production is affected by the stuff we eat; here it gets a chance to stabilize and normalize, sort of like pressing the reset button. Insulin, which regulates blood sugar, and growth hormones, which affects our muscle mass vs. body fat levels, are but two examples.

On that note, fasting can help extend your lifespan as it is good for various anti-aging hormones. Also, animal and human tests alike have shown that limiting caloric intake has a definite impact on longevity. Fasting fits nicely into this approach.

Finally, there's the distinct but hard-to-prove feeling of wellness and alertness that usually accompany fasting. It may be a factor of the immunity boost, or a combination of all the above; whatever the reason, odds are you'll feel a good deal more clear-headed after a couple of days of fasting.

Conclusion

Fasting is a time-honored cleansing process with tangible and intangible effects alike. The benefits of fasting listed above are compelling, but be smart about it. If you're about to embark on a fast, study up on how you can get on a suitable fasting strategy that works for you. Remember: Fasting is good, starvation is not. Start easy, do a short "trial run" to assess how your body reacts, and don't get yourself into situations where blood sugar drops and dizziness may be dangerous (both of which are possible effects for first-timers). That aside, you have everything to gain and nothing to lose by giving fasting a shot. Good luck!

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