10 HEALTH BENEFITS OF FASTING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT
10 HEalth Benefits Of Fasting You Need To Know About
Considering fasting but always thought it was a waste of time? In this article, Beauty and Tips takes a look at the top 10 health benefits of fasting you need to know about.
Fasting has always seemed like too much hard work to a lot of us. And we make it sound even harder when we assume that fasting is basically starvation. Who would want to put themselves through hours of grueling, self-imposed starvation?!
“I want to fast, I think it’d be good for me.”
“You mean you basically want to starve to death.”
“OMG. Well, now you put it that way … ”
But actually, fasting isn’t quite the same as starvation. Sure, you go a few hours without eating. But you don’t go whole days without eating.
On the contrary, whereas starvation can lead to malnutrition and other serious illnesses, calculated fasting actually promotes healing within your body!
The evidence is all there, as we’ll find out. Here are 10 health benefits of fasting you need to know about.
Fasting Can Help You Lose Weight
If you want to lose weight, it makes sense that fasting would be able to help you. After all, fasting means going for hours without eating. That’s got to result in weight loss, right?
Totally!
Intermittent fasting in particular lets your body use fat for fuel, rather than sugar. In so doing, it burns through fat cells much quicker than usual. As such, you lose weight. Yay!
Intermittent fasting is really catching on, with athletes who want to stay in shape taking it up. It helps you to keep lean, and when meal time comes around, you can have yourself a feast.
Fasting Is Good For Detoxification
Another one of great health benefits of fasting is that it can help you detox.
Ever woken up feeling really lousy, not just once but a few days consecutively? You’ve not got the flu, but you just feel tired and achey all the time. Maybe you have a headache too, and maybe your skin looks awful.
There’s no need to rush to the doctors just yet – it could be that your body has too many toxins. In which case, it’s time for a detox.
We all need a detox every now and then. A detox flushes out nasty toxins from our system, cleaning it up and boosting our health. And the best way to detox is with a fast. When you fast, more fat is burned. As a result, more toxins are flushed away. Fantastic.
Fasting Repairs Your Cells
This is another one of great health benefits of fasting. Did you know that cells can get injured? Well, they can. And when they’ve been injured, they need you to help repair them. You can do this by fasting, which promotes cellular repair and cleansing.
Fasting Boosts Insulin Sensitivity
As you probably know, insulin resistance is related to diabetes. Eventually, your insulin gives up entirely on trying to tolerate sugar, which leads to high blood sugar levels.
So one of health benefits of fasting is that, when you fast, your body has improved insulin sensitivity. Basically, it can tolerate sugar better. Studies have also show that insulin – during fasting – is able to help transfer glucose from blood much more efficiently.
Fasting Improves Your Appetite
Having an appetite is amazing feeling. You look forward to your meal with relish. But what happens when you’re literally eating all the time? Your appetite just isn’t the same!
So one of fabulous health benefits of fasting is the luxury of making you genuinely excited about your next meal. And who wouldn’t be excited for their next meal after fasting?!
Fasting Boosts Your Metabolism
Intermittent fasting is especially good for speeding up your metabolism.
Think about it: If you literally eat all the time, as most of us do, your metabolism isn’t getting a break. It’s overworked, overstressed, and isn’t able to burn calories with any kind of speed.
Once you start fasting, you give your metabolism a break. Thus, it’s able to stock up on energy and burn calories with greater haste.
Fasting also regulates your digestion, which further improves your metabolism. It also promotes bowel health, which in turn boost metabolic function.
Fasting Gives Your Digestive System A Break
This is another one of great health benefits of fasting.
Did you know that your digestive system sometimes gets overworked? Well, if you keep assaulting it with food, of course it’s going to be overworked! Yup, right now your colon and bowels are probably planning a strike. They’re exhausted, overworked, overstressed and underpaid. One more donut could send them crazy!
Fasting gives them a much needed break, allowing them to chill out and come back stronger.
Fasting Can Help You Live Longer
Okay, fasting isn’t going to make you immortal. But it can increase the odds of you living longer than everyone you know who isn’t fasting.
Diet plays a huge role in longevity. People living in the Blue Zones have the highest life expectancy in the world, whereas people living in America have among the lowest in the western world. As well as lifestyle, the diets between the two couldn’t be more different.
Whereas American’s eat lots of animal protein, people living in the Blue Zone’s get less than 10% of their caloric intake from protein.
People living in the Blue Zones also fast more than the general population of America.
Fasting Improves Your Immune System
Everyone knows how important their immune system is. The problem is that, because we never think about it until it breaks down, we’re often guilty of taking it for granted.
This means we don’t always treat it so well, obliterating it with a poor diet.
Not cool.
If you want to make amends to your immune system and restore it so that it’s functioning at its optimum, try a fast, because it’s another one of fabulous health benefits of fasting.
Fasting Can Lower Your Bad Cholesterol
There is such a thing as good cholesterol, but don’t use this an excuse not to care about your cholesterol levels, because there is also such a thing as bad cholesterol. And when your bad cholesterol levels are too high, it can spell danger.
Fasting can lower both your bad cholesterol levels and your total cholesterol.
Do you know other health benefits of fasting?
Stay happy and healthy!
from Beauty And Tips Magazine
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