Fasting Makes Your Cells Eat Themselves.
And all the other crazy facts about fasting you didn’t know.
Around the world, Millions if not billions of people are fasting but did you know there are so many unusual benefits of fasting. Many people might not know this but fasting during Ramadan is a highly scientifically researched topic with people winning Nobel prizes with their work on fasting.
So what are the benefits of fasting if any;
1.Cells Eat Themselves:
Yoshinori Ohsumi a Japanese Scientist Explained How Fasting Prolongs Youth and Won the Nobel Prize for His Work.
Yes you read that right it helps prolong youth but how you ask. Well, there is a healthy process called autophagy which is where dead/damaged cells eat themselves and the by-product is used to create new healthy cells.
It was found that while fasting your body doesn’t receive the normal daily nutrients so it goes into survival mode this is where autophagy comes into play and the body uses old/damaged cells which eat themselves so the body can get nutrients from the inside.
So by the end of Ramadan, many of your old/damaged cells are destroyed and new healthier ones take their place.
2.More Weight loss/boosted metabolism:
Many people lose weight during Ramadan largely due to the fact their portion sizes change.
As your body gets used to eating less it learns to adapt and your stomach tends to get smaller. This leads to many people eating fewer calories after fasting and finds it easier to stay in a caloric deficit. Moreover, the endless snacking that is getting in the way of your dream body is significantly reduced as your body gets full up quicker.
But that’s not all scientific research has found that fasting can help boost your metabolism (1)by increasing levels of the neurotransmitter norepinephrine, which could enhance weight loss.
Also, one review showed that whole-day fasting could reduce body weight by up to 9% and significantly decrease body fat over 12–24 weeks. (2)
3.Promotes Blood Sugar Control:
There have been a plethora of studies showing a link between fasting and blood sugar control.
One study found that fasting led to lower insulin resistance this can increase your body’s sensitivity to insulin, allowing it to transport glucose from your bloodstream to your cells more efficiently. (3)
This can help prevent fluctuations in your blood sugar levels and keep them at a low and stable rate.
4.Mental and spiritual health:
However, for Muslims, there are more benefits than just health. During this time we find ourselves closer to God and many people use this period as a reset button.
Spending one whole month a year focussing on yourself and evaluating all the good and bad things you have done during the year and trying to make a change in your life has no quantifiable value. During Ramadan, I find myself more focused on my goals, and my self-control when it comes to my vices is greatly increased.
For the full story on my experience of fasting with 1.8 Billion people click here.
