Welcome to Healthy Challenge: Week 6!

As a Muslim, I’ve long been aware of the spiritual and psychological benefits of fasting. It strengthens your willpower and patience, cultivates empathy for others less fortunate, and brings you closer to Allah.

But did you know that thousands of studies have been done on “intermittent fasting” and have shown that it has amazing health benefits as well?

This week’s challenge is to try to include fasting as part of your regular routine.

If you are Muslim, this might be in the form of the Sunnah fasts each Monday and Thursday. If you’d like to try fasting purely for its health benefits alone, you can simply restrict your eating to any eight- or nine-hour window of the day that you choose (11am-7pm, for example).

Here are some of the scientifically proven health benefits of fasting:

• FASTING CAN BE A SAFE AND EFFECTIVE WAY TO LOSE WEIGHT.

  Studies show that fasting increases your resting energy expenditure- how quickly you burn calories at rest.º¹²³

  It has been shown to be a more effective way to lose weight than dieting.

• FASTING IMPROVES HEART HEALTH.

  Studies¹ show that fasting decreases triglycerides, cholesterol, and blood pressure.º¹²³

• FASTING IMPROVES BRAIN FUNCTION.

  Fasting has shown to improve brain function, because it increases the production of a protein called brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF.) BDNF activates brain stem cells to convert into new neurons. This protein also protects your brain cells from diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.¹

• It DECREASES BLOOD LEVELS OF INSULIN.¹

  Insulin is a hormone which is released by our pancreas. After we eat, the amount of sugar in our blood rises and our pancreas releases insulin into our bloodstream. Insulin then signals cells to absorb sugar from the bloodstream. People who are over-weight or physically inactive can develop insulin resistance. This means that the cells are no longer responsive to the effects of insulin.  As a result, the pancreas needs to make more and more insulin in order to help sugar enter the cells. If the pancreas is not able to keep up with the body’s increased need for insulin, sugar will build up in the bloodstream, leading to diabetes and other very serious health disorders.

  A high level of insulin in the blood is associated with high blood pressure, blood vessel damage, heart disease, obesity, osteoporosis and even cancer. Studies show that fasting decreases the level of insulin in the blood, while also increasing glucose uptake into cells.²

• FASTING INCREASES LEVELS OF HUMAN GROWTH HORMONE.

  This hormone enables fat burning and muscle gain.¹²

• FASTING INDUCES CELLULAR CLEANSING.

  During the state of fasting, your body destroys and recycles old or damaged parts of your cells.¹

• FASTING REGENERATES THE IMMUNE SYSTEM.¹²

  A recent study showed that a 3-day fast regenerated the entire immune system!

• It REDUCES INFLAMMATION IN THE BODY.¹²³

  This can be beneficial for people suffering from diseases such as cancer, asthma, and autoimmune conditions.

• It may help to prevent cancer.¹²

  Fasting has been shown to inhibit cancer growth and improve the survival of human cancer patients.

• FASTING MAY PREVENT ALZHEIMER’S.¹

  Fasting can help protect against cognitive decline in diseases such as Alzheimer’s.

• FASTING MAY EVEN HELP YOU TO LIVE LONGER!¹²

  Animal studies have shown that fasting prolongs life span.

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  Sources:

  Chronic intermittent fasting improves the survival following large myocardial ischemia by activation of BDNF/VEGF/PI3K signaling pathway

  Alternate-day fasting in nonobese subjects: effects on body weight, body composition, and energy metabolism.

  Effect of intermittent fasting and refeeding on insulin action in healthy men

  Randomized cross-over trial of short-term water-only fasting: metabolic and cardiovascular consequences.

  Effects of Ramadan fasting on cardiovascular risk factors: a prospective observational study.

  Impact of religious Ramadan fasting on cardiovascular disease: a systematic review of the literature.

  Ramadan fasting: relation to atherogenic risk among obese Muslims.

  Effects of intermittent fasting on body composition and clinical health markers in humans.

  Fasting enhances growth hormone secretion and amplifies the complex rhythms of growth hormone secretion in man.

  Augmented growth hormone (GH) secretory burst frequency and amplitude mediate enhanced GH secretion during a two-day fast in normal men.

  Short-term fasting induces profound neuronal autophagy

  Resting energy expenditure in short-term starvation is increased as a result of an increase in serum norepinephrine.

  Enhanced thermogenic response to epinephrine after 48-h starvation in humans.

  Fasting for three days can regenerate entire immune system, study finds

  A Periodic Diet that Mimics Fasting Promotes Multi-System Regeneration, Enhanced Cognitive Performance, and Healthspan.

  Intermittent fasting during Ramadan attenuates proinflammatory cytokines and immune cells in healthy subjects.

  Alternate day calorie restriction improves clinical findings and reduces markers of oxidative stress and inflammation in overweight adults with moderate asthma.

  Interleukin-6, C-reactive protein and biochemical parameters during prolonged intermittent fasting.

  Effects of short-term dietary restriction on survival of mammary ascites tumor-bearing rats.

  Fasting cycles retard growth of tumors and sensitize a range of cancer cell types to chemotherapy.

  Intermittent fasting and caloric restriction ameliorate age-related behavioral deficits in the triple-transgenic mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease.

  Differential Effects of Intermittent Feeding and Voluntary Exercise on Body Weight and Lifespan in Adult Rats

  Influence of short-term repeated fasting on the longevity of female (NZB×NZW)F1 mice