Fasting for health and body shape? So is it worth it – Dietetics – Articles |

Fasting in tradition

In the Polish tradition, there are several periods in which it was necessary to stick to the rules of dietary restrictions. Currently, strict fasting takes place two days a year in Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. This means eating only one meal a day to your heart’s content and eliminating meat. Christmas Eve and Fridays is normal fast, i.e. abstaining from meat products. References from the XNUMXnd century additionally speak of fasting on Holy Wednesday, and others about fasting throughout Holy Week, calling it Easter fast. In the 6th century, fasting begins with Ash Wednesday. This period was gradually extended to the present XNUMX weeks Lent. Our ancestors at that time got rid of not only meat, but also animal fats, dairy products, sugar and honey. The pots were thoroughly cleaned and all boiled so that no fat or meat broth remained in them. Then it became the basis of the diet sour rye soup, potatoes, swede, sauerkraut and other vegetables as well as dried fruit, groats, bread, fish. Fasting had a purifying effect on the body and soul, which was to be prepared by mortification for the feast of the Lord’s Resurrection

Principles of fasting and fasting

You can find many rules of fasting or fasting that are recommended as a remedy for cleansing the body or a way to burn fat. Starting from one-day fasts, through alternating fasting, ending with a three-week fast. Their principles differ from each other both in their effect on the body, as well as the legitimacy of use and safety for the body. While fasting, i.e. nutritional restriction, may bring some benefits to the system, there are long-lasting fasts destructive to the nervous system and weakens immunity. Worse, the longer we starve ourselves, the more our body becomes begins to save energy and stockpile to survive somehow. It should be remembered that before deciding on any form of fasting, you should know your health condition. It is worth doing tests to rule out anemia, but also problems with the digestive system, such as gallstone or urinary stones. Fasting should be avoided by pregnant and nursing women, as well as by children and the elderly. They should also be avoided in the case of any chronic diseases, because it is a heavy burden on the body, during which the way it works changes. While feeding normally the main source of energy is glucose obtained from carbohydrates, they come to the fore during fasting ketone bodies, which can be ‘fuel’ for the brain or the heart. Although they always arise in the body, normally they are few. With a low supply of energy or carbohydrates in the diet, their level increases drastically, which is a risk acidosis. We have written about the pros and cons of ketogenic diets many times.

Here are the rules for a few fasts and fasts:

• one-day fast – for one day, do not eat anything and drink about 3 liters of fluids, avoid juices and physical activity. It should be carried out no more than once every 2 weeks.
• weekly fasting – you should refrain from eating for a week, eat only vegetables and fruit the day before. The first day starts with a glass of water with Glauber’s salt (mirabilite, hydrated sodium sulphate), and during the day you should drink at least 2 liters of water and avoid physical activity. You should also go out of the fast for a week.
• the post of Daniel – a vegetable and fruit diet, during which you eat mainly vegetables and a small amount of fruit, and eliminate meat, fat, dairy products, grain products, legumes, nuts, sweet fruit, alcohol.
• intermittent fasting (IF diet) – eat healthy for 5 days, and limit 2% for 25 days. daily energy supply, i.e. about 500 kcal for women and 600 kcal for men, and focus mainly on protein-rich foods, such as lean meat and legumes, and foods with a low glycemic load. You can read about the pros and cons of this post in the article by dietitian Justyna Piechocka.

Scientific look

Scientific research shows that limited use of fasting indeed brings measurable health benefits. Scientists z University of Southern California indicate the beneficial effect of a 3-day fast on the improvement of the immune system. The group of observed people was asked to fast for 1-3 days prior to chemotherapy over a 6-month period. They found that fasting for 72 hours reduced the amount of white blood cells in the body. Such a situation mobilizes the body to converting stem cells into leukocytes. So fasting becomes a ‘trigger’ for the regeneration of the immune system. Prof. Valter Longo, author of the study, points out:

The body gets rid of parts of the system that may be damaged or old. (…) In the case of an immune system damaged by chemotherapy or as a result of aging, fasting cycles can generate a whole new immune system.

The same professor in his other review publication in Cell metabolism indicates that Fasting has all the attributes to prolong life and improve health. Studies in rats indicate that intermittent or intermittent fasting protects against the development of diabetes, cancer, heart disease and neurodegeneration. In humans, it helps reduce body weight, blood pressure, and symptoms of asthma and rheumatoid arthritis.

So it seems reasonable to introduce at least 24 hours of fasting from time to time, but not fasting. The Paschal Triduum that lies ahead of us may be such a period of 3 days of strict fasting. We will then enter both the traditions and the trend of fighting for the well-being of the organism. However, it should be remembered that hunger strikes or restrictive fasts should not be introduced by sick people without medical consultation.

Main photo is from flickr.com