Introduction:
Fasting has become a popular topic in recent years, and a lot of people get several benefits out of this method of detoxification. Our ancestors used this not intentionally, through naturally not having access to food, in that they had to search and gather their food. They would sometimes go days or even weeks without food, but in today’s society we are surrounded by endless options of food. In this article I am going to teach you the importance of fasting, what types of fasting you can do and how you can begin to implement it into your lifestyle.
What does Fasting mean?
Fasting is not about what you eat, it’s all about when you eat. It is where you pick an allotted amount of time to eat and then not eat the rest of the time. You can fast from various parts of your lifestyle, which is very important for detoxification, weight management, and mental health. Pre historically our ancestors hunted and gathered so they became very good at not eating for days at a time, and they did not have tv or YouTube that they could watch all day and night. Which means that when the sun went down they rested, whereas now we all live off of very little sleep and consume too much food and information. By not sleeping enough and eating too much it can lead to one of the many epidemics we are facing such as type 2 diabetes, obesity, heart disease and other illnesses. By adopting some of our ancestral lifestyle factors into our life now we can have a better body composition and live a lot healthier lives.
The benefits of Fasting
Fasting has been used for years now as a method of weight loss. Though it is a good way to lose a few pounds, it has way more benefits than that. Having a balanced diet while fasting has shown to help with detoxing inflammation from your body, and decreasing your chances of auto immune conditions. By decreasing inflammation in the body you slow the effects of aging on your body. Some of the other great benefits that come along with fasting are;
- Improved cognitive function:
o It has been shown in many studies that through having periods of time where you restrict yourself from consuming calories your brain can begin to use stored energy as fuel and give you more mental clarity.
- Decreased resting Heart rate:
o By consuming less calories your heart is able to function more relaxed meaning it can stay at a lower rate especially when asleep.
o In a randomized controlled trial, they randomized 100 healthy individuals who had a fasting mimicking diet, where you fast for a period of time for a set amount of days. It came back and showed that they had lower levels of body fat, lower blood pressure, and even decreased insulin like growth factor.
o In a small study it revealed that eight weeks of alternate day fasting reduced levels of “bad” LDL cholesterol and blood triglycerides by 25% and 32% respectively.
What does Fasting teach you?
Growing up a lot of us were taught to just eat when it was time to eat and we were not taught the value of food. What is the value of food, it’s the gratitude behind what that food is doing for our body? Knowing that what we are eating is going to heal us, rejuvenate us, & strengthen us to continue to live our lives is so important. That is what fasting teaches us, it teaches us how to appreciate the good nourishing food we consume. By restricting yourself from eating you create appreciation for that food when you do eat.
The different types of fasting
There are multiple ways that you can use fasting in your lifestyle and each of them serve a different purpose and should be used with discretion.
- Intermittent fasting:
o Intermittent fasting is when you restrict caloric intake for an allotted amount of time each day. For example, you can choose to fast from 10:00 p.m. to 10 a.m. the next day that is a 12 hour fast. There are three different common ranges people use for this type of fast. 10, 12, & 16 hour fasting windows, if you are interested in this type of fast it is best to try each of these to see which one works best for you.
- 24-hour fast:
o This is a common ancestral fast that many people use for religious reasons. It can be beneficial to apply a 24 hour fast into your lifestyle 1-2 times a month to really cleanse the body. This type of fast should be very planned out and you should always drink plenty of water during these types of fast to make sure you do not become dehydrated.
- 3-day water fast:
o A 3-day water fast is less common but is still very useful for detoxification. It is where you don’t eat and only drink water for 3 days. It has been shown to help rekindle your metabolism using more fat as energy instead of glycogen.
There are many other types of fast out there, but these are the most common that have shown to have the greatest effect. So if you are interested in applying some of these to your lifestyle. Remember to prepare yourself and always check with your doctor, before taking on any extreme changes like a 3-day water fast.
How you can begin your fasting journey
Beginning your fasting journey can be difficult at first, but the best piece of advice I can give you is to start small, introduce small implementations of fasting into your life before trying to create a lifestyle out of it. Some ways that you can begin to fast are;
1. Slow and steady: Most of us want to dive right in and start fasting 16 hours a day. You need to build up to that, so by starting off with fasting 10 hours a day just 2-3 days a week, will help you to start fasting consistently. The slower you build a habit the stronger it will stay with you.
2. Structure: Planning out your fasts is a great way to set yourself up for success. By scheduling ahead of time which days you will be fasting and how long you will be fasting this will help prepare the mind for what is coming and make the fast much easier to handle.
Summary
Fasting has been used for centuries by our ancestors and has shown in multiple studies how effective it can be on our metabolism, detoxification, and our longevity. So now that you have learned what fasting can do for your you and your overall health. It may be time to consider implementing some of the strategies and habits I have talked about here today!
Commentaires