HEALTHY LIVING

Intermittent fasting and chronic disease prevention

“Everyone has a physician inside him or her; we just have to help it in its work. The natural healing force within each one of us is the greatest force in getting well. Our food should be our medicine. Our medicine should be our food. But to eat when you are sick is to feed your sickness.” – Hippocrates

Fasting is in general an accepted practice in most of the major religions on earth. Though it varies in actual practice, the fast is aimed at bringing the person closer to God. This is achieved by self sacrifice of physical wants in pursuit of a higher spiritual purpose.

To Christians the fast is generally a voluntary choice, in Islam however; the practice is embedded and revered that all who are capable must hold fast during the holy month of Ramadhan. All in all you give up food for either a full day or for several hours of the day.

Intermittent fasting effects on diabetes and heart disease
Intermittent fasting is built on these traditions and involves a change in eating patterns that alternate between the fast period- no solid food, only water and the non-fast period.
Researchers have found a strong suggestive link between fasting and a reduction in the risk of heart disease and certain types of diabetes.

The research that was carried out in Salt Lake City, for its largely Mormon population, at least 66% of which fast once a month for 24 hours as is their religious practice. The results showed lower occurrence of heart disease in the population that held regular fasts.

The results also demonstrated fasting having a link with lower incidents of diabetes in the sample group. Actually showing almost 50% reduction in the developing of diabetes.

Intermittent fasting has also been found to show a significant rise in HGH-human growth hormone levels. The levels saw a rise of up to 20 times in men and 15 times in women.

Did you know HGH is involved in fat loss?

Intermittent fasting and cancer
researchers into the increased cellular resistance found it to be a good premise to understand the relation between fasting and cancer. The USC researcher noted increased resistance for normal cells pushes them into survival mode during starvation until a more bountiful period.

The cancer cells in contrast, have a “selfish” purpose which is to grow reproduce and consume. In lean times such as those in a fast, these cells have no survival instinct to switch to. As such, fasting should improve cell resistance to cancer as well as the body’s strength to survive it.

Science is still in the process of research in to the effect of fasting on the ability of our bodies to resist chronic diseases such as cancer and diabetes as well as a whole host of diseases. In the end fasting may be the wholesome way to a healthy lifestyle.  


From The labs
Caloric restriction (the practice of reducing the amount of calories one ingests) and intermittent fasting, have been found to extend human lifespan as well as increased resistance to age related diseases (in animal research of rodents and monkeys) as well as improve the health of overweight humans.

Both CR and IF have been discovered to have an enhancing effect on the cardiovascular and brain functions along with improvements in risk factors such as stroke and coronary heart disease due to a triggered reduction in blood pressure. For the diabetics there is evidence in support that fasting helps in increased insulin sensitivity.
In the lab animal research, it was noted that rodents on an IF or CR diet had better heart rate viability and increased resistance in mental and cardiac diseases.

The results were attributed to at least two mechanisms, reduced oxidative damage and increased cellular stress resistance. The mechanisms have been noted to be similar to engaging in regular physical exercise.
“Instead of using medicine, rather fast a day.” – Plutarch