WATCH: Why Modern Humans Need To Fast
Fasting has been a hot topic around the
health community as of late and for good reason. More and more research
has emerged which show just how healing fasting can be for our mind,
body and spirit.
To some this concept may sound completely erroneous as
most of us have been taught since a very young age that not only do we
need to eat to survive, but that we need to eat three meals a day.
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The concept of going without food and in
some cases, water, goes against our beliefs, however if we begin to
look at this topic from a perspective of how our ancestors ate, this
certainly begins to make more sense.
For thousands of years, our ancestors
only ate food intermittently, when there was food available to eat. They
would often go days at a time with no food at all. Nowadays, we can
find food at just about every corner. We can find fast, cheap and
nutritionally deficient food at our fingertips. If you live in a city,
it is likely that you can have food delivered to your door. It is
flaunted in our face at all times, one might wonder, so why wouldn’t I
eat it if it’s available?
The Benefits Of Fasting
Mark Mattson, a neuroscientist at the National Institute on Aging and professor at John Hopkins University says that for optimal health our bodies need to have occasional breaks from eating.
Even intermittent fasting can boost our
brain function, ward of neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer’s and
Parkinson’s and can hold the key to longevity by speeding up the
regeneration of our cells. Mattson discusses all of this and more in the
Ted Talk posted below called, Why Fasting Bolsters Brain Power.
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“It’s been known for a long time that
one way to extend the lifespan of laboratory animals is simply to reduce
their [calorie] intake,” he says.
The lifespan of lab rats has been
increased by up to 40 percent by feeding them less. Mattson suggests
humans could do the same by adopting a lifestyle of intermittent
fasting.
“We started looking at the effects of
energy restriction on the brain in the context of age-related
neuro-degenerative disorders and found we could slow down … Alzheimer’s
and Parkinson’s,” Mattson said.
Mattson said fasting improves brain
function by challenging it, “Your brain responds to the challenge of not
having food by activating pathways that help it cope with stress and
resist disease.”
Like vigorous exercise, intermittent
fasting promotes neuron growth, strengthens synapses and increases
production of new nerve cells. Fasting also increases the number of
mitochondria in nerve cells, which improves cognition, memory and mood,
and increases the ability of nerve cells to repair DNA, he says.
When you fast, your metabolism shifts so
that you start burning fats, he explains. “Every time you eat a meal
the energy is stored in your liver in the form of glycogen [sugar].
That’s always tapped into first. It takes 12 hours before you deplete
the glycogen stores in your liver.”
“When you eat three or four meals a day
you never deplete the glycogen stores in your liver. You can’t start
burning fat until those stores are depleted.”
When you burn fats you produce ketone bodies, which are very good for your brain, he says.
From an evolutionary perspective,
fasting simply makes sense, “Our hunter-gatherer ancestors would not
have survived unless their brain was functioning at a high level when
they were hungry. If you’re hungry and haven’t found food, you better
figure out how to find food. You don’t want your brain to shut down.”
Ways To Fast
According to Mattson, there are two
basic ways to experience the benefits of calorie restriction, to either
eat less for each meal or reduce the frequency of meals, such as with
intermittent fasting.
- Water only fasts involve two to three days a month of 2 weeks a year.
- Alternate day fasting, less than 600 calories or no food every other day.
- A 5:2 diet, eating normally 5 days a week and less than 600 calories during the other two days.
- Time restricted fasting daily, food is only consumed during a 4-8 hour window.
There are also longer more extensive
fasts that can be taken, these are especially beneficial if you are
suffering from chronic illness, digestive health disorders, fatigue, and
a whole variety of other ailments. Last summer I did a 21 day Master Fast,
which involved consuming nothing but grape juice, herbal tea and
tinctures, and a psyillium husk pudding. This fast also included dry
fasting, where nothing at all would be consumed for a minimum of 24
hours per week and daily enemas. I am aware of how extreme this may
sound, but this fast helped me to heal my candida and digestive health
issues.
Fasting Is For The Mind, Body & Soul
There is so much more to fasting than
simply not eating. Many of us are completely unaware of just how
addicted to eating we all are. It’s difficult to actually recognize this
addiction until we go without food, in doing so, alot of emotions come
up and normally, most of the time without even realizing it we escape by
eating. When you fast, you essentially have nowhere to turn, no
escapes, nothing but you and yourself. This provides an excellent
opportunity to really sit with your emotions and process them
accordingly rather than running to the comfort of food to make us feel
better.
Various religions around the world have
included fasting in their scriptures and have done so for thousands of
years. Fasting is really an ancient process and has many spiritual
levels to it.
More Information On Fasting
A Brief Look At The History Of Fasting Through Various ReligionsIntermittent Fasting For Women, What You Need To Know To Avoid Hormonal Imbalance
Study Shows How Fasting For 3 Days Can Regenerate Your Entire Immune System
The Complete Guide To Fasting & Reversing Type 2 Diabetes – A Special Interview With Dr. Jason Fung
A Fasting Diet Could Reverse Diabetes, Repair & Repair The Pancreas, New Research Shows
Scientists Explain How Fasting Fights Cancer, Triggers Stem-Cell Regeneration, & Changes Your Brain In A Good Way
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