Fasting is far more important today than it has ever been in the history of humankind. And there is good reason behind that. Food was never available so easily and in such quantities ever before. Humans had to work really hard in order to procure food, in order to gather food but now we get it delivered with an effort of few clicks. Phew! :-P
As a result, we are eating far more food, harmful foods far too often.The ill effects of this are not immediately visible since the harm caused by this is gradual. This is why chronic diseases develop over time and cause increasing harm with passing time. Your body can keep but it can keep up with this feeding frenzy for only so long. Sooner or later your body cannot keep up with it, it gets exhausted and the burn out starts to set in. Your body starts losing its working efficiency and that's when you start developing Chronic illnesses which include but are not limited to Diabetes, Heart diseases, Kidney diseases, Arthritis, Osteoporosis, Cancers, Metabolic dysfunctions & various Hormonal imbalances. These have becomes common in every house hold, infact now increasing number of kids are getting diagnosed with these.
Fasting is essential for your body to heal itself. Fasting does a better job than even medicines when it comes to preventing and curing Chronic Illnesses. Fasting has so many benefits and in this article we will find out these miracles your body is capable of.
1. It gives your overworked organs, a break!
I know it is hard to believe that some of our organs can get fatigued but it is true. Just like our body needs rest hence we sleep, the organs inside need proper rest every single day too. Most of our organs get the rest during sleep but our constant snacking with multiple teas & coffees, breakfast, lunches, snacks, dinners and milk before bed; all these meals keeps our digestive system engaged 24x7. For each carbohydrate intake, your pancreas have to secrete insulin to balance the blood sugar. High carbohydrate meals would mean that pancreas have to work harder to secrete more insulin to compensate for that. More meals will mean that your pancreas have to work more and longer. All this constant engagement of pancreas sooner or later take a toll on it and the pancreas become increasingly inefficient at secreting insulin with time.
Fasting gives your pancreas and your whole digestive system the much needed desperate break. It gives your organs a chance to recuperate and heal so that they can perform better when you eat your next meal.
2. It is a guaranteed way to fat-loss
Fasting is a fool-proof way to guaranteed fat-loss. Since you are not consuming any carbohydrates while you are fasting, once your body runs out of its carbohydrate reserve it starts tapping into your body fat reserve for energy & functioning. The longer you fast, more body fat you will lose. An average person can lose up to 1/2kg or 1 pound of fat each day of the fast. I call it a fool-proof & guaranteed way to lose fat because losing fat is not easy, there are a lot of factors in play so even with other means like following various diets and workouts you may lose water weight and muscles instead of body fat. But with fasting you will definitely lose body fat because it bypasses all the factors that inhibit fat-loss.
3. It regulates blood glucose
During fast, since you are not consuming any carbohydrates, your blood glucose automatically normalizes and since it gives your organs a break, they start performing better and normalize glucose more efficiently with time. With consistent periodic fasts or intermittent fasting, you can easily prevent chronic illnesses including Diabetes. Infact consistent regime of fasting can even cure Diabetes over time. There are thousands of people who have cured their Diabetes and have gone off their medicines just using fasting. Many Doctors across the globe have clinics that treat Diabetes with Fasting. Dr. Jason Fung is one of the famous ones, he has even published multiple books on these topics namely "The Obesity Code" & "The Diabetes Code".
4. Enhances brain functions & Focus
Most of the time, your body runs on energy derived from all the carbohydrates you eat everyday. When you eat Carbohydrates, your body turns it into glucose and utilizes that for energy. But when you are not eating, your body starts converting your body's fat into Ketones and uses these Ketones for energy.
Like it or not, your brain is pretty biased, it loves Ketones more than carbs. Yes, your brain prefers ketones over carbs and runs more efficiently on Ketones. Hence you may find an increase in your ability to focus and increased functioning of your brain when you are Fasting.
5. Activates Autophagy
Fasting is the best and easiest way to activate Autophagy in your body. When you fast for 20 hrs or more, your body starts a process called Autophagy which is basically recycling old & damaged cells to generate energy and make new healthy cells. This is essential for your body's detox and maintenance. Learn more about Autophagy here.
6. Prevents & shrinks Cancerous tumors
This is a big one. Yes, Fasting can shrink cancerous tumors. Cancer cells feed on carbohydrates, they love carbohydrates and thrive on it. So when you take away the carbs, the cancer cells start starving and shrinking. There is many people across the globe who have shrunk their cancer tumors and even cured their cancer with Fasting.
7. Boosts your immunity
We all know how important immunity is, especially now with the Coronavirus pandemic. Not only does Fasting heal your body, it also boosts your immunity. Infact 72 hrs into a fast, you have a completely new immune system. Yes, your immune system completely reboots and regenerates after 72 hrs of fast. Won't you call it a miracle? I certainly would!
8. Benefits stack up by the hour!
If this doesn't motivate you, nothing can! Benefits of fasting stack up with each passing hour!
Even multiple medicines cannot give you the benefits that mere fasting can.
The benefits of fasting start at 18-20 hrs into a fast, this is when Autophagy begins in your body and your body starts the healing process. It is just uphill here on wards. If you go longer than 24 hrs, your start losing body fat. Your brain, your gut start healing and your brain functions start improving. Go longer than 48 hrs and you start shrinking the tumors and cancer cells begin to die. You will also start feeling more energetic since mitochondria in your body start increasing.
The benefits of a 72 hour fast, are MASSIVE! Your immune system reboots and regenerates leaving you with a brand new healthy immune system. Even your WBCs start regenerating further increasing your immunity. You have now reached maximum Autophagy which means your are eliminating all the toxins from your body and all your damaged and old cells are getting recycled. No seriously, isn't this Amazing?
It blows my mind every time I look at this chart and realize our body is capable of so many miracles that even modern medicine cannot keep up with. And all we need to do in order to access these Miracles is, simply not to consume calories :D.
