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While fasting has become quite popular in recent years, it is an ancient practice that transcends centuries, cultures, geographic borders and religions.
Additionally, there are various ways to fast, with some folks abstaining from food and beverage for anywhere from 12 to 72 hours, depending on what works for them. However, consuming beverages like tea or water, as well as sugar free electrolyte powders, is still important, so you don’t succumb to dehydration.
Fasting has been such a sustained practice among people because there are various verifiable benefits to fasting.
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10 Benefits of Fasting That Will Surprise You
Be aware that while these are some of the more curious benefits of fasting, this is by no means an exhaustive list. Here are ten of them:
1. Produces a Faster Metabolism
Because fasting allows your digestive system to have a break, it is able to more efficiently burn calories when it is required to complete such a task. Moreover, intermittent fasting also helps to regulate digestive functions and promote healthy bowel activity.
It is still important to remain hydrated during this time, so getting hydration capsules and drinking water regularly are still important.
2. Regulates Hunger Hormones
When people get hungry, it is because (in conjunction with an empty stomach) certain hormones called ghrelin are being released into the blood via the stomach, which signals the brain the body is hungry. While eating, ghrelin production ceases.
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However, this is not true for obese people, which is part of what causes excessive eating patterns. A simple dynamic takes place with the body’s satiety hormone.
Fasting can help to regular this hormone production and normalize a person’s eating behaviors.
3. Heightens Insulin Sensitivity
Fasting can also be effective at improving insulin sensitivity, which can enable your body to better tolerate carbohydrates.
4. Normalizes Eating Patterns
Of the 10 benefits of fasting that will surprise you, one of the most remarkable perks is that it can help to normalize eating patterns for those who suffer from eating disorders, thus enabling them to establish healthy habits around food consumption.
5. Helps You Live Longer
As shocking as it may seem, fasting could potentially help you live longer, as one of the downstream effects of the practice is improved blood pressure and lower resting heart rates, each linked to good health and longevity.
6. Improves Cognitive Function
In addition to the other benefits, fasting has shown to be effective at boosting brain functions, including mood, energy, sleep and others.
While most of the studies done in this area have been conducted on animals, some research has been performed on humans, with promising results.
7. Augments Immune System
Fasting regulates inflammatory conditions and reduces damages caused by free radicals, thus improving a person’s immune system.
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8. Aids Clearer Skin
When the body is not busy digesting food constantly, it can divert energy to regenerative activities. Thus, one of the benefits of fasting is clearer skin and (for those who are prone to it) less severe acne.
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9. Induces a More Youthful Appearance
Fasting induces autophagy, which is a bodily process that clears out damaged cells in order to produce new, healthier ones. This not only results in a healthier body but a more youthful appearance as well.
10. Allows Higher Productivity
By restricting your feeding, a person frees up lots of time that you would spend prepping meals, eating and cleaning, thereby opening up windows of time where they can get more done.
The Rewards of Restricted Eating
Again, this is only the surface of the benefits of fasting. However, if you are going to give restricted eating a go, be sure to start slowly and build your way up to a larger window of time to ensure that you are staying safe in the process.
