The 5 benefits of fasting (for your body and your mind).

A series of advantages and health benefits provided by the practice of controlled fasting.

Eating well is a fundamental aspect of maintaining a healthy lifestyle. However, in a world where processed foods dominate almost everything, and where our eating habits are conditioned by the marketing campaigns of the food industry, the question is not only what to eat, but also when not to eat.

Although we may not realize it, we often eat even though we don't need to, and we even turn this into a habit, a pattern of behavior that we assume as normal and natural... even though it is not.

In the following lines we will see what are the main benefits of fastingand why it is advisable to perform some form of fasting with a certain periodicity.

The benefits of fasting

Fasting is a habit performed for centuries by a variety of cultures and for different reasons, but recently it has been discovered that in addition to its cultural value, if done properly, can become an ally to live in a healthier way.

Here we will see some of the advantages of fasting, although it should be clear that some of them depend on the duration of fasting. Obviously this activity must go hand in hand with good hydration and monitoring of the state of and a follow-up of the general state of health so that it does not turn out to be counterproductive or harmful, as we will see. At least in the first few times you try fasting, it is advisable to have professional advice, which is easy to obtain.

That said, let's see what are the most outstanding benefits of fasting.

1. It helps to burn fat naturally.

The fat that we have distributed throughout the body is basically a large store of energy. Therefore, these fat deposits are only consumed by the body when the fat available in other parts of the body has already been consumed.

That is why fasting is a very useful context to burn a good part of very useful to burn a good part of that accumulated fat, something that is not achieved byThis is something that is not achieved by doing intense exercise sessions of less than 60 minutes, which is what is usually done when going to the gym.

2. It lowers the probability of inflammatory processes

It has been seen that the realization of controlled fasting lowers the probability that inflammatory processes are generated, and also acts as a protective factor against certain diseases. also acts as a protective factor against certain Cardiovascular diseases.. This may be due to the fact that it favors the elimination of toxins accumulated in the body.

3. Contributes to weight loss by maintaining muscle mass.

Many people believe that stopping eating high-calorie foods and replacing them with others is enough to lose weight, but in many cases this only serves to lose mass in general, and especially muscle, since there is a lack of raw material with which to maintain it.

On the other hand, fasting is beneficial for making fat levels drop at a faster rate than muscle, as long as a healthy diet and exercise are followed before and after fasting.

4. It slows down the biological processes of aging

Caloric restriction managed through controlled fasting slows down the processes associated with aging, and increased production of the "youth protein" SIRT3appears to be involved.

5. It is a good psychological turning point.

Fasting gives the opportunity to embrace new eating habits after its completion, something that can be complicated if you go with the inertia of doing what we have always been doing when it comes to eating something.

That is to say, fasting represents a turning point that predisposes us to commit ourselves to new, healthier habits..

Bibliographical references:

• Aksungar, F.B., Topkaya, A.E., Akyildiz M. (2007). Interleukin-6, C-reactive protein and biochemical parameters during prolonged intermittent fasting. 51(1). pp. 88 - 95.
• Wegman, M.P., Guo, M.H., Bennion D.M., Shankar, M.N., Chrzanowski, S.M., Goldberg, L.A. et. al. (2015). Practicality of intermittent fasting in humans and its effect on oxidative stress and genes related to aging and metabolism. 18(2). pp. 162 - 172.