My thoughts on Fasting

When people hear the word "fasting" they think as if you are starving yourself, that or are a religious nut. This year I started to fast one day a week on the weekends in order to compensate or balance my eating for the week. I decided to try it out a few times and see how I feel. Basically, what I do is take my vitamins and 1 cap full of A-Supreme (Advocare) after my morning cardio and then typically don't eat anything until late afternoon. The first few times I tried it, I didn't have any cravings and my energy and attitude were pretty good. Also, my weight stabilized very well over the weekend since I only do cardio and no workouts, so I burn less calories over this time. I started to do a little research on fasting from the Bible perspective and other sources. Here are a few interesting facts I found about it and how it affects the body.

The first benefit of fasting is that it typically commences within the first twelve to twenty-four hours of the fast. A fast does not chemically begin until the carbohydrate stores in the body begin to be used as an energy source. The fast will continue as long as fat and carbohydrate stores are used for energy, as opposed to protein stores. Once protein stores begin to be depleted for energy, which can result in the loss of muscle mass, a person is technically starving, or is in a catabolitc state. Fasting focuses on the body's progression when deprived of food. Due to the lack of incoming energy, the body must turn to its own resources, a function called autolysis. Autolysis is the breaking down of fat stores in the body in order to produce energy. The liver is in charge of converting the fats into a chemical called a ketone body (When this fat utilization occurs, free fatty acids are released into the blood stream and are used by the liver for energy). The less one eats, the more the body turns to these stored fats and creates these ketone bodies, the accumulation of which is referred to as ketosis.

A second prescribed benefit of fasting is the healing process that begins in the body during a fast. During a fast energy is diverted away from the digestive system due to its lack of use and towards the metabolism and immune system. The healing process during a fast is precipitated by the body's search for energy sources. Abnormal growths within the body, tumors and the like, do not have the full support of the body's supplies and therefore are more susceptible to autolysis. Growth hormones are also released during a fast, due to the greater efficiency in hormone production.

Finally, the most scientifically proven advantage to fasting is the feeling of rejuvenation and extended life expectancy. Part of this phenomenon is caused by a number of the benefits mentioned above. A slower metabolic rate, more efficient protein production, an improved immune system, and the increased production of hormones contributes to this long-term benefit of fasting. In addition to the Human Growth Hormone that is released more frequently during a fast, an anti-aging hormone is also produced more efficiently.

In conclusion, it seems that there are many reasons to consider fasting as a benefit to one's health. The body rids itself of the toxins that have built up in our fat stores throughout the years. The body heals itself, repairs all the damaged organs during a fast. And finally there is good evidence to show that regulated fasting contributes to longer life. However, many doctors warn against fasting for extended periods of time without supervision. There are still many doctors today who deny all of these points and claim that fasting is detrimental to one's health and have evidence to back their statements. The idea of depriving a body of what society has come to view as so essential to our survival in order to heal continues to be a topic of controversy.