words Al Woods
Fasting has been used therapeutically since at least the 5th century, and has been done for various religious, spiritual and health reasons ever since. There’s a lot of scaremongering around fasting, however it’s not something to be feared. Not only can fasting be safe, but it can be an incredibly quick and efficient way to deal with lots of issues within the body. There are lots of benefits. Here are some intermittent fasting apps to help you lose weight.
Can Kick Start Weight Loss
One of the reasons many people choose to fast is to kickstart weight loss. Maybe you’ve over indulged recently and are feeling puffy and bloated and want to fit back in your clothes again. Perhaps you have a large amount of weight to lose but want to get as much off as possible at first, before moving onto a more sustainable plan. Either way, fasting will give quick and efficient results. The initial loss in water weight can instantly make you look slimmer and feel lighter, and the accompanying weight loss after this will be dramatic at first. This can be really motivating, particularly compared with a plan which offers a slower and steadier drop. If you’re overweight or struggle with a large appetite, fasting can be difficult especially at first. Consider utilising appetite suppressants to give you a boost, there are plenty of safe and legal ones on the market so do your research. This website here has some info that’s worth a look through.
Supports Blood Sugar Management
Research has found that when people with type 2 diabetes undertook fasts or intermittent fasts, not only did their blood sugar improve but some patients were actually able to reverse their diabetes. While this should be done under medical supervision only, it’s something that you could consider if you’ve been given a T2dm or pre-diabetes diagnosis. It’s thought that fasting reduces levels of fat around the pancreas which can ‘wake up’ the insulin detecting cells in diabetics. This can lead to regaining control of their blood sugar.
Helps Disease Prevention
A growing body of research is finding that fasting can massively reduce various illnesses and diseases, and is great for prevention as well as cure. In the cases of cancers for example which thrive on sugar, fasting essentially starves the cancer cells meaning they slow down or stop growing entirely. When the body is in a fasted state and isn’t using energy for digestion, it’s able to better ‘clean up’ inflammatory cells and other dead and dying cells in the body which can make you feel better overall. We’re essentially tapping into the way our bodies are designed to work. As humans, we evolved without the constant food sources that we have access to today. We would eat when food was plentiful and store energy as fat. During leaner times, we’d be in a fasted state and our bodies would use this stored energy to run.
Can Reset Hormones
Overeating or eating the wrong things can cause hormones to become out of whack. Not only can these affect things like mood and fertility but imbalance hunger hormones such as leptin and ghrelin can cause increased appetite. Your body might signal you to eat the wrong things (cravings) or eat til beyond the point where you’re full. These hormones are signalled by the gut to the brain, so by fasting and giving the gut a chance to rest and replenish you’re usually able to reset these hunger hormones. Once you start eating again, listen to your body and its signals to avoid getting back into the same position.
Fasting is generally safe for most people, but do speak to your doctor to get advice tailored to you if you’re thinking of undertaking this practice for any length of time.
