Yes, that’s right. Recent studies have shown that fasting can boost the human immune system and is in fact quite beneficial to the human body.
For those that love fasting, there is good news: beyond the weight loss, and spiritual implications, blessings ascribed to fasting, there are other health benefits that fasting offer.
According to the Vanguard: Fasting alters body mechanisms for the better, says Dr. Courtney Peterson, an Assistant Professor at Pennington Biomedical Research Centre. “Fasting lowers levels of inflammation and puts the body into repair mode. Production of antioxidant enzymes increases, and that helps repair and recycle cells.”
Some of the benefits accrued to fasting include:
- Detoxification: Fasting gives room for detoxification. This occurs because the body is temporarily off digestion, and when this happens, the body is able to focus on other regenerative activities which can include regulating the functioning of the body organs such as kidneys, liver.
- Longevity: As people age, metabolism become slower so the less they eat, the less stress they put on their digestive systems. Studies show that in certain cultures, their lifespan is increased due to their diet. Hence it can be said that fasting aids longevity.
- Weight loss: Nowadays, there is a lot of weight loss programs with short duration, intense exercise and strict diet most of which is highly unhealthy. Intermittent fasting can be a safe way to lose weight because it gives room for the body to effectively burn fat calls, as the body replaces sugar with fat for energy when fasting.
- Helps regulate body hormones: Nutritionists say that obese people usually do not get the correct signals when they are full and that is why they still keep eating even when they are full. When you fast, you get to experience what true hunger is and the body regulates itself to release correct hormones when you are full, so especially for obese people, fasting makes you get full quicker.
- Speeds up metabolism: Intermittent fasting allows the digestive system to rest, it also gives room for healthy bowel function and allows for more efficient metabolism.
Source: Vanguard