Fasting basically means abstinence from food and drinks for short or long period of time. There are many different types of fast, some people abstain from food and drinks for 1 or more days and some fast partially by having 1 meal a day and water. I have been asked by my friend to write on this topic as I fast a lot. And he feels that it is unhealthy for a person’s health.
TYPES OF FASTING:
RELIGIOUS FASTING:
– Fasting religiously is active all over the globe. People during fasting ask god to forgive for their mistakes they have committed in past and maintain fast for few days. Some religions ask followers to fast in order to control their desires, will power and also understand the suffering of poverty.
– People fast in all religions like Buddhists, Catholics, Eastern orthodox, Jews, Mormons, Muslims and Hindus.
FASTING FOR MEDICAL REASONS:
– One has to fast for medical reasons like: to check blood sugar level, cholesterol screening and also overnight fasting for most surgeries.
– Fasting in medicine has a purpose as eating before breakfast for example will interfere for the test until your food is not digested completely. Because cholesterol and other blood tests check your fat level in the body so if you eat food before getting tested, more fats will be added in your body and that will produce misleading results.
– Fasting is most common before surgeries which involve anesthesia. If a person eats before the surgery there are chances of a person vomiting during the surgery and inhale their stomach contents which can be deadly. This practice of overnight fasting might get outdated soon as the researchers are finding that regurgitation during surgery is way too rare. Moreover, fasting can have adverse effects like headaches, dizziness and dehydration in some people.
– During fasting the body looks out for the stored energy in your body and compensates the body’s requirements with the stored energy. But one should avoid fasting for long period as that can damage your heart which is a muscle and also your liver and kidneys which can decrease in size if you don’t consume protein.
– Some medical procedures that require fasting:
– Blood check
– Cholesterol level
– Glucose testing
– Surgery with full anesthesia
– Diabetes screening
FASTING FOR WEIGHT LOSS:
People assume that fasting will help in losing weight, but is it healthy? There are many opinions drawn by people on this topic. Many think fasting is the best way to lose weight but it is not healthy. To lose weight in a healthy way one should cut down on the calories and not starve. Generally if people fast sporadically, a few days here and few days there don’t really lose weight and put the weight back after few days. Thus, fasting and losing weight can only be temporary and not in long term. It has also been proved that long fasting can be fatal for the body, can lead to drop in blood sugar levels and that can in turn lead to headache, dizziness, nausea. After the fast is over, your hormones might drive you to eat more and that can cause binge eating.
HUNGER STRIKE:
Political leaders believe in having hunger strikes for making their statements heard and approved. Hunger strike is a non violent way to ask people on agreeing on one’s terms. For example, Mohandas karamchand Gandhi a famous Indian leader used fasting to protest a British proposal for Indian constitution.
Another example of famous hunger strike- the 40 hour famine- an annual event in Australia, in which millions of people participate to fast in order to donate to various children’s charities. This has been publicized all over the world and been successful all throughout because of great number of participants involved.
LET’S HAVE A LOOK AT A HEALTHY WAY TO FAST:
- Be accountable: keep some one acknowledged about your fast, can be anyone your friend or any family member because if you are not fasting in a healthy way, they can definitely guide you in a better way or convince you not to fast if you are not fit enough to fast.
- Prepare much in advance: majority of people have this wrong thought or belief of overeating before fasting as they think it might make the fasts easier. But this act will completely work in a opposite manner by making them more uncomfortable and stomach upset. So please don’t do it.
Instead, cut down on meat and dairy products, fried food, fizzy drinks and consumption of coffee, black tea should be reduced few days before you attain your fast. And one day before the fast get into a habit of eating fruits and vegetables. So altogether this will make you fit to fast in a healthy way.
FASTING EFFECTS ON YOUR BODY:
During fasting, body eliminates toxins but at the same time it can cause a lot of discomfort. It can make you feel dizzy, headaches can happen.
But if you have prepared yourself well in advance these discomfort able symptoms can reduce. It’s known that fasting eliminates toxins but for that to happen you need to drink sufficient water and not over drink it. Drink 4 -5 quarts of water per day. As water flushes out toxins and it flushes out many minerals and vitamins also. And that leads to muscle cramps, irregular heart beat and fatigue.
BREAK THE FAST PROPERLY:
The way you end the fast is very important. Mostly one day before the fast gets over, people gets up on deciding which restaurant to go and which fast food to hog. But that is wrong. One should always keep in mind that after fasting you should come back to your normal diet gradually. Like 1 day you should be on fruits which contains more acid, second day vegetables in addition to fruits with little dressing, third day little grains and protein rich food. By fourth day you should eat your normal diet.
PEOPLE WHO SHOULDN’T FAST?
– Infants and children
– Pregnant and breastfeeding mothers
– People suffering from diabetes and cancer
– Elderly
Healthy lifestyle 