Fasting Benefits Mind & Body Options

In this month's magazine "Runner's" there was an article on fasting (as in not eating for extended periods of time). I couldn't find the exact article I read online but found another one which basically said the same thing. Anyway I know many people fast as part of ritual but apparently it is completely healthy and beneficial (something I doubted). I'll have to try to start doing this. The guy who wrote the article I read said he did it twice a week! Whoa! People who run/work out regularly might consider it blasphemy to avoid eating but it seems like studies have mostly good things to say:

source of article

Intermittent Fasting benefits and its results as evident from various studies has finally been revealed. The concept of fasting and the impact it has on health is well known and can be seen on HealthAvenger.com.

Houston, TX (PRWEB) August 14, 2012

Intermittent fasting or IF is simply defined as the alternation of intervals (intermittent) of not eating (fasting) with times where people are allowed to eat. A new post at HealthAvenger.com presents intermittent fasting benefits and what various studies show about alternating a fasting period with a feeding window or time frame.

This post suggests that when done right, fasting can have some amazing health benefits and this includes taking “intermittent” times of fasting (no food) and working them into a lifestyle either daily or a couple of times a week. It takes an in depth look at the health benefits of this radical meal plan.

Research at the National Institute on Aging in Baltimore, US reveals that restricting food in rats is good for their brain cells as it helps boost levels of a substance called BDNF (brain-derived neurotropic factor) that helps protect human brains from Alzheimer’s disease. Research scientist Leonie Heilbronn at the University of Adelaide’s Discipline of Medicine is trying to find out if fasting every other day can help reduce cardiovascular disease in humans.

Intermittent fasting accomplishes this by lowering the levels of cholesterol and other blood fats called triglycerides. These studies clearly demonstrate intermittent fasting benefits when compared with starving for a day as a part of a detox program that are usually accompanied by sinking blood sugar levels, grumpiness, energy dips, and wavering concentration. There are several IF programs that people can choose from and while the length of each will vary depending on the type; each of them have very similar intermittent fasting benefits.

IF shores up our defense against heart disease, diabetes or Alzheimer’s and it may reduce chronic disease. People who follow seasonal fasting are known to live longer and these intermittent fasting benefits are obtained by light, restricted eating, and not the sort of longer term fasts of three days or more that are a part of fad diets which can result in dangerous shifts in blood minerals and excessive loss of muscle mass.


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The guy who wrote the article I read said he did it twice a week! Whoa! People who run/work out regularly might consider it blasphemy to avoid eating but it seems like studies have mostly good things to say:

This is a fairly common tactic for cutting your weight before you put on more muscle which lends itself to a nice lean look.

It also helps reduce your "need" for food, both metabolically but also psychologically. When every you stop doing something - even for a short time - you reduce the psychological pressure to do that thing. Back when I was playing with Shugendo I would set myself periods where I would not move, eat, use the computer, or talk and get an energetic benefit from from the fast. It is really rather amazing just how much energy you have when you concentrate it into as few places as possible.