What do you think of when you think living well? Healthy lifestyle? Good nutrition? Enough exercise? These are the most common and are definitely true. However, our relationship with food is always something to be conscious of.

First. What is fasting?

Fasting is the conscious stopping or reduction of so or all food, drink or both for a set peiod of time.

Although long-term fasting can be detrimental to your health, short-term fasting whether for health or religious reasons can give great health benefits. Some research shows that short-term fasting is becoming a more acceptable as a legit way to manage weight and prevent illness.

As with everything however, it must be done in a proper and healthy manner.

Science, what?

Most findings for the benefits of fasting has been done in animals. However, this is still promising for humans. Basically, what fasting does is that it forces our bodies to use processes usually not activated when there is sufficient food.

When the usual source of glucose is restricted, our cells are forced to find energy from other sources. Namely, gluconeogenesis – the production of its own sugar.

Your liver converts non-carbohydrate materials such as lactate, amino acids and fats into glucose for energy. Thanks to our bodies conserving energy, our BMR becomes more efficient, reducing our heart rate and blood pressure.

Another process, ketosis, happens later on in the fast cycle. This is when the fat stored in your body becomes the primary power source. Unsurprisingly, this is the ideal mode for weight loss and balancing blood sugar levels.

Your body is essentially under mild stress when you fast. This makes your cells adapt and enhances their abiilty to cope, becoming stronger. This is similar to stress from intense exercise.

Mental and physical benefits include:

  • Increased cognitive processes
  • Protection from obesity and other NCDs
  • Inflammation reduction
  • Supports weight loss