Fasting is a practice whereby people go for certain parts of the day without eating. People fast for various reasons such as for body detoxification, to lose weight, or for religion. People who find it difficult to lose weight through conventional methods have always tried fasting. To them, it seems that when they fast for some time, they seem to lose weight. The question here is that does fasting help you to lose weight?
Importance of fasting
So many things have been said about fasting as being able to help us lose weight. It looks like short-term fasting can easily produce a situation known as ketosis. Ketosis is a process which occurs if the body does not have sufficient glucose as a source of energy – this means that it instead synthesizes the stored fat. When it does this, it creates a high amount of substances known as ketones. The combination of these ketones with some more calories consumed can cause a loss in weight. It has been proven that fasting can affect the body’s metabolic processes – which means that they reduce inflammation while enhancing the regulation of blood sugar and response to physical stress. Some clinical research has proven that this can improve ailments related to inflammation such as multiple sclerosis, asthma, and arthritis.
Some of the downsides of fasting
When people fast, they tend to eat less food – this helps them lose weight. They lose weight because their body is in a state called starvation mode. At this stage, the body tries to save some energy, which forces the metabolism to slow down.
The downside to all of this is that the fasting will come to an end. Then the person will usually continue with their regular diet. This way, they may regain the weight that they have lost previously – in some exceptional cases, they may gain more weight than before. During fasting, the body adjusts to allow the person to control their appetite.
This way, they usually do not feel like eating anything initially. However, as soon as they have stopped fasting, this helps to shoot up their appetite. They may end up feeling a lot hungrier and may likely overeat. In addition, fasting comes with various side effects such as headaches, constipation, nausea, decreased concentration, irritability, insomnia, fatigue, and hunger.
How safe is it too fast?
A few days of fasting will not hurt if you are healthy – as long as you avoid dehydration. For the body to maintain its healthy state, it needs nutrients, minerals, and vitamins from food. People who do not eat sufficiently can develop such symptoms as dehydration, constipation, dizziness, and fatigue.
Also, while fasting is recommended for healthy people, some other people are barred from the practice. Women who are breastfeeding or pregnant may not fast. Others are children, the elderly, and anybody suffering from a chronic condition. To be on the safer side when fasting, each person needs to consult their physician. Fasting just like some types of drugs, is not for everybody.
Good results with fasting
While the debate is still about whether fasting helps in weight loss, some studies have shown that intermittent fasting may have several health benefits. Research about intermittent fasting for people living with chronic conditions has shown that the disease can be better controlled in this way. However, the results are inconclusive as the study was only done for months, and not throughout the year. Therefore, the benefits are unclear.
Benefits of fasting
Research has demonstrated that intermittent fasting helps to burn fat. Apart from this, it also comes with several more benefits. Recently, the practice of fasting was connected with a wide range of benefits. So far, research has been able to demonstrate that intermittent fasting has the following benefits:
- Heart health: Studies have shown that intermittent fasting can enhance the pressure of the blood. It can also improve the heart rate and many other heart-related measurements.
- Memory and thinking: Research has shown that fasting can help improve working memory in humans.
- Physical performance: A study was able to demonstrate that fasting for as long as 16 hours a day helps with fat loss. This same study also showed that the muscle mass was maintained.
- Tissue health: Fasting has shown that it can help minimize tissue damage during surgery.
- Obesity and Type 2 diabetes: Studies have shown that people who fast can minimize the degree of certain health conditions such as obesity and Type 2 diabetes.
Science-backed health benefits of fasting
Fasting is majorly an activity that is done based on faith rather than for health benefits. However, these days, people fast for the benefits that it can offer to their health. With science, it is no longer a debate that fasting is beneficial to human health. These are the following benefits of fasting:
- Fasting helps to promote the control of sugar in the blood. It does this by minimizing insulin resistance.
- With fasting, you get better health as it works to help the body fight off inflammation.
- Fasting helps to enhance the health of the heart as it helps improve blood pressure, cholesterol, and triglyceride levels.
- Fasting has the potential to boost the functioning of the brain as well as being able to prevent neurodegenerative disorders.
- Fasting helps to enhance weight loss by boosting metabolism and limiting the intake of calories.
- The process of fasting helps to increase the secretion of growth hormone, which is essential for muscle strength, weight loss, metabolism, and growth.
- Fasting can help prevent cancer while also increasing the potency of chemotherapy.
Conclusion
People have been fasting for many years – which has led to the conclusion that it helps you to reduce weight. Apart from effective weight loss, people have been able to get significant health benefits from fasting. Some of the health benefits associated with fasting include cancer prevention, brain function improvement, heart health, enhanced blood sugar control, and many more. There are many different ways to fast – it is usually tailored based on the lifestyle of the person. Fasting is beneficial for health in general, but it has to be done alongside a healthy lifestyle and while taking a nutritious diet.
