Many people in our country fast for a variety of reasons. Be it festivals like Ramadan, Navratri, Karwa Chauth, Janmashtami, or days of the week from Monday to Saturday. Apart from religious beliefs, fasting is also considered a good habit. According to the experts, fasting once in a while helps boost your overall organ functions, heart health, brain function, immune system and many more.
Heart health
When we fast, our body uses up all stored or reserved glucose, fat, and ketones. This helps in reducing inflammation in our body, fighting heart-related disorders, triglycerides, cholesterol, and even insulin resistance and lifestyle disorders.
Liver functions
Fasting also provides a break for the liver from the ever-going process of digestion. The liver produces bile and aids in digestion. This way the liver can concentrate fully on detoxification i.e converting toxins into useful products and cleansing of the blood.
Brain functions
Fasting helps improve brain functions and prevent neurodegenerative disorders. Brain activity gets enhanced on an empty stomach or after the complete digestion of food as this allows more blood flow. Fasting helps you in concentrating more and enhances your ability to focus.
Immune system
Recent studies show that 72 hours of fasting has powerful health benefits as it helps in triggering stem cell-based regeneration in the body. Fasting breaks down a large number of White Blood Cells (WBC) in the body which indicates the body to work on the immune system.
Insulin sensitivity
Fasting helps manage blood sugar and blood pressure levels by improving insulin sensitivity.
Fasting has a more significant value than a regular weight loss diet plan. Fasting improves insulin sensitivity, showers positive effects on hunger hormones, utilizes stored carbohydrates in a better way, and converts stored fats into energy thereby facilitating weight loss. Fasting rejuvenates our cells, and boosts our immune system and life expectancy.
No matter which type of fasting you choose, intermittent fasting, water fasting, dry fasting, one-meal fasting, or fruit fasting, make sure you start.
(Disclaimer: The content on this site is for informational purposes only, and should not be taken as professional medical advice. Always seek the guidance of your doctor or other health professionals for any questions you may have regarding your health or a medical condition.)