Fasting - How Appropriate Is It?

So, everyone set to achieve their resolution to shed those extra inches? And how many of you still opt for a quick fix? On my trip to the south, while I was relishing every bit of the scenic beauty and the yummy naturally available food in one of the resorts, I overheard a group of young people trying to undo the damage they caused to their bodies by gulping down bottles of alcohol, gorging on fried food, by going on an intermittent fasting diet. Intermittent fasting diet! Are you serious?

So, everyone set to achieve their resolution to shed those extra inches? And how many of you still opt for a quick fix? On my trip to the south, while I was relishing every bit of the scenic beauty and the yummy naturally available food in one of the resorts, I overheard a group of young people trying to undo the damage they caused to their bodies by gulping down bottles of alcohol, gorging on fried food, by going on an intermittent fasting diet. Intermittent fasting diet! Are you serious?

Fasting - How Appropriate Is It?

Well, this is probably the latest fad diet. Fasting has existed since ancient times for religious reasons, for spirituality.?Our sages would fast for days.?Fasting has also been used an effective tool in politics as a form of protest. But how far is this safe or practical? How much is enough?

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Fasting - How Appropriate Is It?

While naturopaths do believe in the theory of removing toxins from the body and cleansing the liver, colon and kidneys, they also look at fasting as a means to lose weight.?

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Fasting - How Appropriate Is It?

Fasting: When one goes without food for long hours. If done for religious purposes, every fast has a different set of do¡¯s and don¡¯ts.?

Some fasts are one day long, where one eats one normal meal in the day. Some fasts like Ramadan, where one eats before dawn and goes without food and water until dusk, resumes normal eating until midnight and this pattern goes on for a month. Some fasts allow only liquids throughout the day.

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Fasting - How Appropriate Is It?

Intermittent fasting done to achieve weight loss is when one eats a restricted 600-calorie diet for 5 days and eats a normal diet of 2000 calories for 2 days a week; or when one eats and fasts on alternate days.

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Fasting - How Appropriate Is It?

What happens when we fast?

Our bodies are designed to work on fuel. The primary fuel for our body is glucose, which comes from carbohydrates. Food was, is and will continue to be a prerequisite for normal body metabolism, i.e. working of the body. Each macronutrient has its own unique role to play in our body. Therefore, depriving our body of any one of these nutrients and simultaneously overdoing any of them will lead to problems. Problems with our body are deficiencies and toxicity. While fasting is often used to get rid of toxins, it¡¯s strange why no one ever thinks of it as giving rise to a host of deficiencies.

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Fasting - How Appropriate Is It?

Our body needs glucose for normal day to day activities and body processes and when we fast, there¡¯s a shortage of this primary fuel. Hence, glycogen, the glucose which is stored in the liver, is broken down for further energy. This fuel can last for a few more hours. The body then enters a state of starvation. This could be about 8-10 hours after the last balanced meal one would have consumed.?

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Fasting - How Appropriate Is It?

The body now attacks the stored fat energy for the fuel it needs to function. This leads to a loss of body fat, which everyone seems to desire.

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Fasting - How Appropriate Is It?

One will only gain weight once they are off the fast. Also, the body senses the lowered intake of calories and acts defensively by storing most of these calories as a conserved source of energy- fat. Did we just think of losing all those inches gained by fasting? Furthermore, calorie restriction will only lead to low immunity, infections, stress, low energy levels, dehydration, gallstones, and needless to say, lots of mood swings as well.

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Fasting - How Appropriate Is It?

Fasting that is done for a day or two is relatively safer, as long as one doesn¡¯t neglect the fluid intake. Fasts without any water intake for more than 8 hours can prove detrimental because it disrupts the balance of electrolyte salts in the body. With very less glucose in the bloodstream, it can prove fatal as well. A diabetic person in fact should not even try to do a short term fast since their insulin spikes and dips will affect the brain and other organs.?

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