Unlocking Health: Fasting’s Advantages & Benefits.

During my first year at the university, I shared a room with a great guy who after consultation with a physician was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. He was required to control his dietary habits otherwise he’d lose his life much sooner than the estimated time. It completely devastated him. And like most people, he was committed to a dietary plan for a good two weeks.

Dietary plans are incredibly difficult, require a lot of discipline, and the right mindset for them to work. It’s no surprise that 95% of diet plans end in disappointment. It can also be confusing and very challenging, especially for individuals not obsessed with nutrition.

It’s easy to follow a plan if you’re obsessed with it. Many people are not exactly passionate about dieting when it’s so easy to indulge. Although his life depended quite literally on a diet plan, he couldn’t get himself to stay committed to it.

Fasting, on the other hand, offers a much better health solution and holds more advantage over any form of dietary plan especially when done for the right reasons and with the necessary safety precautions.

Why fasting holds the advantage.

There are many reasons to choose to fast over a dietary plan. The problem with following a dietary plan is that they are often complicated and require a lot of money and time. Fasting requires not your time nor your money.

Fasting:

– Is convenient. Most people live very busy lives and making the time to prepare a healthy meal according to a diet plan takes a lot of time they don’t have. Fasting is the exact opposite. There is no time spent shopping, cooking, and cleaning. Fasting is so simple that it tells you not to do anything.

– Is simple and easy to understand. Fasting eliminates the confusion and struggle of what constitutes a healthy diet. Should you go low-carb or low-fat? How about low-calorie or low-sugar? Just fast. Eat nothing. It’s simple and its simplicity makes it effective.

– Is flexible. Fasting offers unmatched flexibility, allowing you to adapt it to your lifestyle and preferences. Whether it’s for 16 hours or 16 days, once a week, twice a month, or every day, this is entirely your choice. With no fixed duration or rigid pattern, you have the freedom to fast whenever and wherever you please. This flexibility means that if at any point during your fast, if you don’t feel well, there’s no pressure to continue—you can simply pause and eat, then try again later.

– Is free. Most diets are unaffordable but fasting is free. Not only is it free, but it helps you save money because you don’t need to buy any food as your expensive diet might suggest. The price of fasting is zero.

Some health benefits of fasting.

Fasting’s obvious benefit is weight loss. If you don’t eat anything for an extended period, your body runs out of food to digest. It then switches to the fat stored in your body and uses that to fuel you. As a result, you lose weight. However, there are many benefits beyond weight loss. Fasting:

– Improves fat-burning.

– Lowers blood cholesterol.

– Lowers blood sugar levels.

– Corrects appetite.

– Improves mental clarity and concentration or focus.

– Decreases inflammation.

– Improves insulin sensitivity.

– Increases adrenaline.

– Speeds up metabolism.

– Human growth hormone (HGH).

– Has the potential to delay ageing and help prevent and treat diseases.

Challenges and Safety precautions.

Just as with any good habit you would like to adopt as part of your lifestyle, there are going to be challenges. To be stressed out, develop hunger pangs, feel social pressure, experience low energy levels, etc., awaits you. You must accept these challenges as what they are and strive to overcome them. But:

If you begin a fast regimen and you feel stressed out, it’s vitally important you stop the fast. Only you will know how much pain and stress you can tolerate. Find the right balance for you.

If you suspect you’re hungry during a fast, end the fast and eat some food. But before you do, ask yourself if you are really hungry or if you want to eat just because you’re bored.

Social gatherings, events, and meals with family and friends can pose challenges for individuals fasting, as they may feel pressure to eat or may face social stigma for not participating.

It’s also important you don’t fast if you’re severely malnourished or underweight. Children, pregnant women, and breastfeeding women should avoid fasting since they need more nutrients in the body.

Consult with a physician before any fasting regimen if you have gout, are on medications, or have diabetes. Fasting must always be done safely and under supervision.

 If you do decide to fast, be sure to do it while staying well hydrated. Define fasting the way that works best for you. Reward yourself with feasts after prolonged periods of fasting. That is how it has been. Fasting follows feast. Feast follows fast. You can indulge yourself, as long as you balance that with some abstinence. Fasting is really about balance. Find that balance.

Conclusion

Fasting can be a wonderful tool you can use to enhance not only your spiritual life but your health and body. Its benefits are enormous, it can be tailored to your schedule, and has so many advantages over any dietary plan. Remember, fasting is not for everyone and you must seek medical advice before you embark on the journey. And start slowly. It’s a journey that requires patience and commitment.

It can seem like a real challenge thinking about it but what if you decided to try it for a short period? Forget about what you think might happen and instead embrace the experience to see what does happen. I wish you the very best!

For further reading, The Complete Guide to Fasting by Jason Fung, MD and Jimmy Moore is a comprehensive book for anyone interested in the topic of Fasting.