Every year during the month of Ramadan, millions of Muslims engage in this duty and participate in this ceremony. Although fasting is primarily popular among Muslims for gaining spiritual virtues and following religious beliefs, today, many non-Muslims do it because of the physical benefits they believe in. Are these people doing the right thing?
In recent years, many studies have suggested that intermittent fasting can be beneficial to the body, making it one of the most popular types of diets. One of the most popular types of fasting is the 2-5 diet, in which you consume calories according to the body’s calorie needs for 5 days and then follow a fasting diet for 2 days, in which your daily calorie intake is limited to 25% of your actual needs, which is about 500 calories for women and 600 calories for men. Believers of this type of diet believe that this diet not only causes weight loss, but also provides health benefits. Studies conducted on fasting diets show that people who try these diets experience improvements in blood pressure, cholesterol levels, and insulin sensitivity. In June 2014, Medical News reported that a study found that fasting one day a week could reduce the risk of diabetes among high-risk individuals.
In another study conducted by Dr. Walter Long and his colleagues at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, they found that longer periods of fasting (2-4 days) can cause the immune system to self-regulate, clearing out old immune cells from the system and producing new, young cells, a process that prevents the body from cell destruction that occurs during cell aging and chemotherapy.
Potential benefits of fasting:
When the body cannot get the energy it needs from food for a while, it turns to glucose stored in the liver and muscles, and this happens approximately 8 hours after the last meal eaten. When the stored glucose is completely used up, the body begins to burn fat as a source of energy, which leads to weight loss. Along with weight loss, consuming fat stored in the muscles also reduces cholesterol levels. On the other hand, a detoxification process also occurs because any toxins stored in the body’s fat are dissolved and cleansed from the body by releasing the fat. After a few days of fasting, endorphins are also released in the body, and this has a positive effect on the human mood and creativity (taken from the research of Dr. Razin Mehroff from the University of Oxford)
Also, as mentioned earlier, fasting for a few days can help your body produce more immune cells. When you starve, your body tries to conserve energy, and one of the things it does to do this is to recirculate immune cells that are not currently circulating and are at risk of being destroyed. According to research, fasting cycles of 2-4 days after 6 months have been shown to destroy old and damaged immune cells and produce new cells in mice. On the other hand, the research team found that cancer patients who fasted for three days before chemotherapy were protected from the destruction of immune cells and also led to the production of immune cells. And the good news is that during fasting, the body rids itself of damaged, damaged, and dysfunctional parts of the system, and it is precisely because of these researches and results that many people, on the advice of nutrition experts, put aside their love and passion for eating and try this diet. With all that has been said above, there is a group of patients who should never enter such a program, which they will be informed by their doctor.
Risks:
People who fast often become dehydrated. Therefore, it is recommended that during the holy month of Ramadan, fasting people drink plenty of water and eat fresh fruits and vegetables from iftar to sahur. On the other hand, avoiding eating the multiple meals you are used to in the first few days of fasting creates significant stress on your body, which can cause sleep disturbances. Therefore, sleep disturbances, dehydration, and extreme hunger can lead to headaches in the first few days until you get used to this routine. Some people experience heartburn after fasting. (Heartburn) Normally, when you do not eat, the amount of acid produced in your stomach decreases, but smelling food or thinking about food causes acid to be secreted, which leads to a burning sensation in your stomach. Of course, having a disease with too much stomach acid (for various reasons) can also cause a feeling of heartburn or sourness in the fasting state, which needs to be accompanied by taking medication. On the other hand, some people for whom fasting is not recommended include people with a lower than normal weight, people with type 1 diabetes, and pregnant women.
Recently, diets called fasting mimicking diets have been developed and tested for people who are unable to fast, and have yielded significant positive results. Research teams are seeking to validate these treatment plans in FAD and use them in the clinic for heart patients, diabetics, people who want to lose weight, etc.
A few recommendations:
Drink the equivalent of the formula in front of you every day to avoid dehydration during your fasting days.
30cc times body weight in kilograms
Nutritionists believe that distilled water is the best drink for fasting times. Distilled water is very effective in cleansing the body of toxins and cleanses the colon. In addition, distilled water reduces people’s appetite, unlike sugary liquids, it increases appetite and thirst. Dilute your fruit juices with distilled water during fasting. Avoid drinking orange or tomato juice. The best fruit juices during this period include fresh lemon, cabbage, beet, carrot, celery, grape and apple, and vegetable juices. These ingredients are the best detoxifiers. Fresh and raw cabbage juice heals wounds, cancer, and colon problems. Another excellent extract is a combination of three carrots, two celery stalks, one turnip, two beets, half a cabbage, 1/4 of a parsley plant, and a clove of garlic.
Vegetable soup without any sauce:
To prepare such a soup, boil vegetables including garlic and onion, spinach, potatoes, tomatoes, eggplant, green beans, celery and leeks slowly for 30 minutes and then drink the juice of this soup. Eating watermelon and apple faloodeh is also recommended. In general, eating healthy foods cooked properly and healthily, avoiding excessive consumption of sweets, fried foods and fast foods, using healthy food from home instead of restaurants, drinking sufficient amounts of water and beneficial fluids (vegetable juice), consuming plenty of salad and vegetables in the iftar meal will allow you to overcome bad eating habits and overeating at the end of a month of fasting, in addition to practicing self-purification, and taking steps towards having a healthy and healthier lifestyle.
