ItIntroduction
I wanted to share my knowledge of fasting, based on facts, experiences, and media that I had observed; you may find that some of myself has seeped its way in between my findings, but if you are familiar with my writing, you will see that I am very passionate about sharing the truth and being aware of our environment.
The Bodies Process From Fasting
Various cultures and religions have practised fasting, which involves abstaining from food and drink for a set period of time, for centuries.
Experts know that it provides a variety of health benefits, including aiding weight loss, boosting metabolism, and strengthening the immune system.
Fasting has recently gained popularity as a means of achieving a healthier lifestyle, with fitness enthusiasts, health professionals, scientists, and biologists supporting its numerous benefits.
The human body has evolved to cope with food scarcity, so during fasting, the body undergoes a series of physical changes that allow it to function without fuel.
When the body is deprived of food, it turns to reserve foods stored in various parts of the body, such as the liver, muscles, and fat tissues.
These reserves are made up of glucose, glycogen, and fats, which the body metabolizes to produce energy, which recharges cellular activities during fasting.
The body can survive for extended periods without food as a result of these stored reserves. However, the duration for which the body can sustain itself solely on these reserves is dependent on various factors, including body weight, age, sex, and health status.
In general, the average person can survive without food for up to 40 days, although this can vary significantly from person to person.
In addition to providing energy during fasting, the body engages in a number of other processes that promote overall health and well-being. For instance, during fasting, the body initiates a process known as autophagy.
Autophagy is a critical mechanism that allows the body to recycle unnecessary or damaged cellular components, allowing for cellular structure restoration and regeneration.
This process helps to clean up the body by getting rid of toxic materials and waste products, enhancing the bodies overall functioning.
In addition to cellular regeneration, fasting also stimulates the production of various hormones that facilitate weight loss, improve metabolism, and regulate blood sugar
Among these hormones are insulin and leptin. Insulin is a hormone that regulates blood sugar levels, and fasting lowers insulin levels, allowing the body to reduce insulin resistance.
Leptin, on the other hand, is a hormone that regulates appetite and fat metabolism. Fasting helps to increase leptin sensitivity, which can lead to reduced appetite and a healthier fat metabolism.
Finally, growth hormone is a hormone that promotes muscle growth as well as fat metabolism.
Fasting raises growth hormone levels, which leads to increased muscle growth, improved fat metabolism, and overall weight loss.
However, it is crucial to maintain light exercise while fasting to achieve optimal results. Light exercise helps to keep the body active and speeds up the metabolism, which leads to more effective fat burning.
Incorporating moderate exercise, such as walking, yoga, or qigong, can also help to promote cardiovascular health and enhance the benefits of fasting on the body.
The Practice Of Fasting
Fasting is a practice that is deeply rooted in various cultures and religions worldwide.
Ramadan requires Muslims to fast from dawn to dusk for 30 days, abstaining from food, drink, and sexual activity.
This spiritual practice strengthens the bond between Muslims and their faith while also encouraging spiritual reflection or awareness.
Similarly, many Christians practice regular fasting, including Lent, a 40-day period commemorating Jesus’ 40 days in the wilderness.
During Lent, Christians follow a strict diet, often abstaining from meat and eating only one full meal per day, which results in healthier eating habits and overall health.
It must be said, that in today’s world it is very rare that Christians follow this practice or complete the 40 days.
As for the Buddhists they use fasting “The Eight Mahayana Precepts”, “one-sessioner’s practice” (ekāsanikanga), zhai, Chenrezig etc.
Words are messy and many, but the experience is one.
to achieve spiritual enlightenment, and it is considered an essential practice in their faith.
They see fasting as a way to cleanse the body and mind and to enhance their spiritual awareness.
The Egyptian pharaohs, several centuries before modern medicine, utilised fasting as a means of healing.
The ancient Egyptian medical papyrus known as the “Edwin Smith Papyrus” describes many cases of fasting over an extended period to allow the body to rest and repair itself.
The Egyptians believed that fasting could cure various illnesses and align one’s spiritual self with their physical self, promoting overall body health.
Fasting has been practiced for thousands of years, and it is considered a powerful tool to heal the body. Over the years, numerous studies have revealed the benefits of fasting for the body, mind, and spirit.
Science of Fasting
The documentary “The Science of Fasting” takes a deep dive into the benefits of fasting, including its impact on health conditions like arthritis and other chronic diseases.
Arthritis is a painful condition that affects millions of people worldwide.
And conventional medicine offers various treatments, including medication, physiotherapy, and surgery, but these treatments often come with side effects and may not provide long-term relief.
However, fasting may offer a natural solution to arthritis and other severe health conditions.
Arthritis is an inflammatory condition, and inflammation is the body’s natural response to injury or infection.
However, if inflammation lingers for a long time or becomes chronic, it can lead to various health conditions, including arthritis.
Fasting helps reduce inflammation in the body by reducing oxidative stress, improving the immune system, and enhancing cellular repair processes.
Fasting switches the body from glucose-based metabolism to ketone-based metabolism.
Ketones are molecules produced by the liver when the body is in a fasting state. These ketones have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties that help reduce inflammation in the body.
Fasting can improve joint health and reduce the pain and stiffness associated with arthritis.
During a fast, the body produces growth hormone, which promotes cell regeneration and increases the production of collagen.
Collagen is a key component of cartilage, which is the cushion between joint bones. Therefore, fasting can help repair damaged cartilage and promote joint health.
Fasting can also help improve insulin resistance, a condition that often accompanies arthritis.
Insulin resistance occurs when cells fail to utilize insulin correctly, leading to high blood sugar levels. Fasting enhances insulin sensitivity and can help regulate blood sugar levels.
Finally, fasting also helps reduce stress, anxiety, and depression, all of which can exacerbate arthritis symptoms.
It promotes mental clarity and emotional well-being, and many people report feeling lighter, calmer, and more energized after a fast.
The practice can also offer a natural solution to arthritis and other chronic health conditions.
Where are the facts?
There is a wealth of evidence to show that fasting offers multiple benefits
But it is becoming harder to find these facts online, in studies, or in books.
This knowledge is being suppressed due to the the effects on the advertising, pharmaceutical, and food industries.
I will go into this awareness just a little to explain: sickness, disease, or pain is sadly a business to them.
And they work effortlessly in communion with each other to make sure we continue to be unwell.
First, we are born into a world with a package to open, and unfortunately, our parents and families are the contents of that package.
meaning they constructed our viewing, experiences, perceptions, and thus the ego, and just like a perpetuating cycle, it is passed on from their birth and the birth of their parents, and so on.
Therefore, advertising, planned obsolescence, or whatever you consider it to be, was our first contact and developed our minds to crave more, never be content, and always on the seek and desire for more or better.
As a result of our greed and expansion of thought, the second contact was initiated with the food industry.
We developed more neural pathways to explore flavors and added sensations to our faculties; the crunch, texture, variations, or feelings in our mouth were born, and we wanted more from our food.
Passionate chefs may be shouting at me as they do in the kitchen, arguing, “That is the beautiful art of food”! and I have no argument to add to that
This human experience is exactly that: an experience to engage and play with, not to be attached to, or identified with.
The food industry will argue quite rightly, “We had to find a way to feed the population and keep up with demand,” or greed, and that greed is a result and duty of the advertising companies.
Hence, pesticides and chemicals are introduced to speed growth and protect crops.
Then comes the third and vital element of our health, the contact with the pharmaceutical industry.
They provided medicine for our demand for pain relief and disease prevention through the foods we ate and the invisibly hostile environment we occupied and still do today.
So it is clear to say we as a human race, as a collective, are the result of our world and its experiences, and only together, in unity and with love, can we make change.
This change coincides to the unity our leaders formed to create their establishments, industries and institutions which created amongst others, our food.
If you are thinking about fasting to help with your arthritis symptoms, it is essential that you consult with a qualified health professional to ensure that you fast safely and correctly.
To Summarize
Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash
Due to its health benefits, biologists and scientists worldwide have examined fasting.
The body uses its reserve nutrients, energy, and fats to survive, which has several health benefits.
Fasting increases hormones that regulate blood sugar, metabolism, and weight reduction.
also activates autophagy, which eliminates toxins and waste, enhancing overall health.
Fasting promotes faith-health connections and spiritual development.
Therefore, individuals should consider or even require fasting as part of a healthy lifestyle since it can benefit the body and mind.
Sending love to you and all your loved ones