Science Explains How Fasting Helps You Lose Weight And Strengthen Your Body

All of us fast for some length of time. The type of fast that you are most familiar with is the one that you do overnight while you sleep. This is why our morning meal is called ‘breakfast,’ because we are breaking our fast from the previous night. Some people fast for spiritual reasons, for example, during the season of Lent or during Ramadan.

In this article, we will look at the types of fasting programs that you can try, the science behind why fasting helps you see positive body changes, and give you some guidance for what type of fasting might be best for you.

HERE’S HOW FASTING HELPS YOU LOSE WEIGHT, REBUILD, AND STRENGTHEN YOUR BODY

Consult your wellness professional prior to starting a program of fasting, especially if you are pregnant or nursing or if you have certain conditions like anemia, diabetes, or have adrenal fatigue.

RESEARCH SHOWS WHY FASTING HELPS REBUILD AND STRENGTHEN YOUR BODY

Fasting not only helps to lose weight, but helps our body to conserve the energy that it would normally be using for digesting food and lets us use that energy toward healing when we are sick or injured instead.

WHEN ANIMALS ARE INJURED, THEY GO TO A SOURCE OF WATER AND STAY NEAR IT UNTIL THEY ARE HEALED RATHER THAN CONTINUING TO SEEK FOOD.

Restricting our calorie intake during illness is a way to help our bodies rebuild themselves. Research on mice who were given a program of fasting showed that the mice that were fasting had slower growth of cancerous tumors. This is an amazing result, but the study found that not only could a fasting program slow tumor growth, but that it was also ‘effective at suppressing tumorigenesis in mice genetically predestined to tumor development.’ Mice that were more likely to develop tumors due to mutated genes were less likely to develop them when they were on a program of fasting.