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Fasting is said to bring a host of benefits, provided it’s done under medical supervision. Doctors explain how to go about it. Food is to the body what fuel is to a motor vehicle. It provides energy, helps repair and rejuvenation and confers many other benefits. A lot of research has been done and is being done on fasting. When one fasts, the digestive organs get rest and all body mechanisms are cleansed.
While fasting, the natural process of toxin execution continues, while the influx of new toxins is reduced. The energy usually used for digestion is redirected to immune function and cell growth. Fasting helps you heal with greater speed, cleanses your liver, kidneys and colon, purifies your blood, helps you lose excess weight and water, flushes out toxins, clears the eyes and tongue and cleanses the breath.
Another research says fasting, even occasionally, helps in detoxification. Through fasting, we restrict digestive activity and so energy is utilised to cleanse different systems. Fasting improves metabolism, sharpens the senses, calms the mind, helps lose weight, improves general immunity, improves concentration and mental clarity. Fasting, if understood and done under supervision, has tremendous benefits and impacts one at various planes; mental, emotional, physical and spiritual. Specifically, it serves as an aid to effective detoxification, helps in repair and rejuvenation, offers rest to the gastrointestinal system and promotes mobilisation of excess fat.
The crucial point to note is the difference between fasting and starvation. Research suggests there are major health benefits to calorie restriction. Among other things, it slows down the ageing process. According to the US National Academy of Sciences, other benefits include stress resistance, increased insulin sensitivity and increased lifespan. Glucose is the body’s primary fuel source and is essential for the brain’s functioning. When denied glucose for more than 4-8 hours, the body converts glycogen stored in the liver into a usable form of fuel and supplements it with small amounts of protein.
This will last for up to 12 hours before the body turns to glycogen stored in muscles. If glucose is still denied at this point, the body continues to use fat for as long as it is available. If the fast is not broken, starvation occurs, as the body begins to use protein for fuel. Death can occur if fasting is pursued to the point of complete starvation.
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