Fasting has become the next best thing when it comes to weight loss and diet plans.
With so many benefits for almost everyone, it is a plan that many of us jump on and use.
If you are considering a way to lose weight but one that comes with many other benefits then fasting might be the best choice for you to go with if you can hold out from eating, that is.
What is Fasting?
Fasting or intermittent fasting is when a person would eat a little or nothing at all on a couple of days throughout the week and then eat normal on the rest of the days.
This can also be done for the day.
Eating nothing during specific hours in the day and then eating normal for a short period of time during the day.
Fasting in the Past
Fasting has been practiced in the past, usually out of necessity, not really by choice, but since we have done this in the past, our bodies do well under the circumstances and changes being made.
When they would hunt and gather sometimes, they would have a lot of food and engorge themselves with the bounties that they have collected.
Other times, they might not be able to find much at all, only eating here and there or sometimes not at all.
This is why our cells are able to adapt to both the feasts that we have, as well as famine for short periods of time without becoming completely bothersome and actually providing some health benefits.
How Does Fasting Change Our Cells?
Everything that we do changes the cells in the body and how they react to the surroundings.
This is something that is important to keep in mind, as you want to ensure that when you are dealing with stress and other outside factors, that this is not putting too much stress on the cells and other parts of the body.
Research that was conducted to see the benefits that come from something like this has shown that there are several health benefits that come from fasting, including weight loss.
Your cells have to work harder, which can speed up your metabolism and burn calories faster.
In a research study on monkeys, monkeys that consumed 70 percent of their regular caloric intake lived much longer than their counterparts that ate 100% of their regular consumption.
This is an anti-aging benefit that only comes from fasting, because you’re not indulging in the food around you, but rather eating a healthier amount throughout the day or week.
However, the scientists that conducted this study were not able to know why this had such a profound effect on the monkey’s aging.
A lot of it they feel has to do with losing and maintaining weight, rather than putting too much weight on.
This can cause a lot of health benefits in itself, which can ultimately foreshadow any of the other benefits that fasting might be providing.
Stress and Fasting
No one likes stress and dealing with it is just as bad.
When you are stressed, this brings about free radicals that come to the body and damage the cells. Free radicals can cause a series of issues inside the body, but it doesn’t have to.
Fasting has been shown to reduce the number of free radicals found in the blood.
When these free radicals enter the body, they can cause a lot of issues with aging, as well.
The more free radicals you have, the more damage they are going to do to the cells in the body that are perfectly healthy.
The free radicals break them down and cause wrinkles and a series of other aging issues.
When the cell connections are breaking apart, this is causing more problems than not which can lead to a host of other issues.
You don’t want this to happen.
Instead, you want to fast to combat this from happening because the cells should stay together and reproduce, not break down.
When you fast, the number of free radicals found in the bloodstream are greatly reduced.
Scientists are still trying to figure out why this is, but this also goes along with the anti-aging properties that come from intermittent fasting.
Fasting and Aging
Twenty-four participants were put on a diet and told to fast for a three-week period of time to see if fasting and feasting could fight aging and reduce the amount of stress that cells go under.
This was to see how all of them were able to react to this new diet and the way our bodies work with it.
Also, participants received vitamins and antioxidants to take.
The food that they ate was tracked during this time.
Blood was taken before and after the study to see how it differed from person to person, and to see how the cells were able to react to the new diet that they went on.
During the fasting, cells were making more of the blocking properties that would remove free radicals from the blood, eventually eliminating them entirely.
This improved cellular repair processes in the body, allowing it to repair and build, essentially, reversing the signs and properties of aging.
There was also less insulin found in the body, which meant that the body was reacting well to the changes that it was being put under, while also having enough of the hormone and not too much or too little in the process, as these can become serious and cause them to be at risk for diabetes.
The vitamins and antioxidants that they took, however, stopped the benefits that come from fasting, which is not a good thing.
While they might be beneficial in certain situations, it was shown that during fasting was not one of these times.
In regard to the benefits that fasting comes with, you can expect a lot to happen when it comes to eating in specific time frames or on specific days and ensuring that you have the proper balance.
Reducing the amount of aging is something everyone wants to do, and once you are able to reduce the free radicals found in the bloodstream, this is something that can be done with ease.
Start fasting to put your body and cells under this outside change and see how far it takes you.
You might see other benefits in the long run that come from fasting, such as weight loss, an increase in energy and the ability to eat smaller portions when you do eat.
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