Health
Fasting
Can Do Wonders
Will
Carroll
There
has been much contention in the scientific field about whether
or not fasting is beneficial to one's health. Fasting is
an integral part of many of the major religions including
Islam, Judaism and Christianity. Many are dubious as to
whether the physiological effects are as beneficial as the
spiritual promoted by these religions. There are many alternative
healers who believe that fasting can do wonders for the
human body.
Fasting
technically commences within the first twelve to twenty-four
hours of the fast. A fast does not chemically begin until
the carbohydrate stores in the body begin to be used as
an energy source. The fast will continue as long as fat
and carbohydrate stores are used for energy, as opposed
to protein stores. Once protein stores begin to be depleted
for energy (resulting in loss of muscle mass) a person is
technically starving. (1)
The
benefits of fasting must be preceded by a look at the body's
progression when deprived of food. Due to the lack of incoming
energy, the body must turn to its own resources, a function
called autolysis. (2) Autolysis is the breaking down of
fat stores in the body in order to produce energy. The liver
is in charge of converting the fats into a chemical called
a ketone body, "the metabolic substances acetoacetic
acid and beta-hydroxybutyric acid" (3), and then distributing
these bodies throughout the body via the blood stream. "When
this fat utilization occurs, free fatty acids are released
into the blood stream and are used by the liver for energy."
(3) The less one eats, the more the body turns to these
stored fats and creates these ketone bodies, the accumulation
of which is referred to as ketosis. (4)
Detoxification
is the foremost argument presented by advocates of fasting.
"Detoxification is a normal body process of eliminating
or neutralizing toxins through the colon, liver, kidneys,
lungs, lymph glands, and skin." (5). This process is
precipitated by fasting because when food is no longer entering
the body, the body turns to fat reserves for energy. "Human
fat is valued at 3,500 calories per pound," a number
that would lead one to believe that surviving on one pound
of fat every day would provide a body with enough energy
to function normally. (2) These fat reserves were created
when excess glucose and carbohydrates were not used for
energy or growth, not excreted, and therefore converted
into fat. When the fat reserves are used for energy during
a fast, it releases the chemicals from the fatty acids into
the system which are then eliminated through the aforementioned
organs. Chemicals not found in food but absorbed from one's
environment, such as DDT, are also stored in fat reserves
that may be released during a fast. One fasting advocate
tested his own urine, feces and sweat during an extended
fast and found traces of DDT in each. (5)
A second
prescribed benefit of fasting is the healing process that
begins in the body during a fast. During a fast energy is
diverted away from the digestive system due to its lack
of use and towards the metabolism and immune system. (6)
The healing process during a fast is precipitated by the
body's search for energy sources. Abnormal growths within
the body, tumors and the like, do not have the full support
of the body's supplies and therefore are more susceptible
to autolysis. Furthermore, "production of protein for
replacement of damaged cells (protein synthesis) occurs
more efficiently because fewer 'mistakes' are made by the
DNA/RNA genetic controls which govern this process."
A higher efficiency in protein synthesis results in healthier
cells, tissues and organs. (7) This is one reason that animals
stop eating when they are wounded, and why humans lose hunger
during influenza. Hunger has been proven absent in illnesses
such as gastritis, tonsillitis and colds. (2) Therefore,
when one is fasting, the person is consciously diverting
energy from the digestive system to the immune system.
In addition,
there is a reduction in core body temperature. This is a
direct result of the slower metabolic rate and general bodily
functions. Following a drop in blood sugar level and using
the reserves of glucose found in liver glycogen, the basal
metabolic rate (BMR) is reduced in order to conserve as
much energy within the body as can be provided. (2) Growth
hormones are also released during a fast, due to the greater
efficiency in hormone production. (7)
Finally,
the most scientifically proven advantage to fasting is the
feeling of rejuvenation and extended life expectancy. Part
of this phenomenon is caused by a number of the benefits
mentioned above. A slower metabolic rate, more efficient
protein production, an improved immune system, and the increased
production of hormones contributes to this long-term benefit
of fasting. In addition to the Human Growth Hormone that
is released more frequently during a fast, an anti-aging
hormone is also produced more efficiently. (7) "The
only reliable way to extend the lifespan of a mammal is
under-nutrition without malnutrition." (5) A study
was performed on earthworms that demonstrated the extension
of life due to fasting. The experiment was performed in
the 1930s by isolating one worm and putting it on a cycle
of fasting and feeding. The isolated worm outlasted its
relatives by 19 generations, while still maintaining its
youthful physiological traits. The worm was able to survive
on its own tissue for months. Once the size of the worm
began to decrease, the scientists would resume feeding it
at which point it showed great vigour and energy. "The
life-span extension of these worms was the equivalent of
keeping a man alive for 600 to 700 years." (8)
In
conclusion, it seems that there are many reasons to consider
fasting as a benefit to one's health. The body rids itself
of the toxins that have built up in our fat stores throughout
the years. The body heals itself, repairs all the damaged
organs during a fast. And finally there is good evidence
to show that regulated fasting contributes to longer life.
However, many doctors warn against fasting for extended
periods of time without supervision. There are still many
doctors today who deny all of these points and claim that
fasting is detrimental to one's health and have evidence
to back their statements. The idea of depriving a body of
what society has come to view as so essential to our survival
in order to heal continues to be a topic of controversy.
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