The Power Of Fasting

Health

Fasting is the voluntary abstinence or a drastic reduction from some or all food, drink, or both, for a period of time usually one day in a week or sometimes more. In general, most types of fasts are performed over 24–72 hours. Fasting has been used as part of religious and spiritual practices for thousands of years. And our ancestors were not eating three meals a day with snacks in between like we do nowadays.

Now scientific research has conclusively proved that fasting has many health benefits, from increased weight loss to better brain function. When you don’t eat for a while, several interesting and beneficial things happen in your body as listed below.

Activity-1: When you fast your body does not have its usual access to glucose. This forces the cells to look for other means and materials to produce energy. As a result, the body begins a process called gluconeogenesis, a method of producing its own sugar. For example, the liver starts converting non-carbohydrate materials like lactate, amino acids, and fats into glucose energy.

Activity-2: Your body conserves energy during fasting. This results in the basal metabolic rate (the amount of energy our bodies burn while resting) to becomes more efficient, thereby lowering your heart rate and blood pressure.