10 Amazing Things You Should Know About Fasting

Fasting is one of the most ancient healing traditions in human history. The concept of fasting has been in existence since the time of the prophets or people of the scriptures. Yet some people are not aware of its benefits and have never fasted a day in their life😳. Some people even compare it to starving.

We all grew up knowing Jesus fasted for 40 days and 40 nights. Many religions incorporate fasting and believe it is a way to get closer to God. The Christians fast during lent and Muslims fast during the month of Ramadan as it is a compulsory act in the five pillars of Islam. People also fast at other times for spiritual reasons, health issues or weight loss.

Did you know that three fundamental principles agree on the immense benefits of fasting?

• Religion
• History
• Science

There are several types of fasting and I have explored some of them myself besides the basic dry fast; intermittent fasting, water fast and watermelon fast and I wrote posts about my first experiences.

Let’s dive into the amazing benefits then;

Fasting Activates Autophagy: Autophagy is the body’s natural system of cleansing where it has no choice than to use fat as a fuel source. This triggers a process which cleanses the body of bad cells and stimulates new cell growth.

Fasting Helps With Breaking Emotional Bonds and Attachments To Eating: Fasting puts feeding into perspective and makes you realize that you have been eating out of boredom and routine not actually because you’re hungry.

Fasting Improves Your Health: Fasting connects you to your healing self by getting rid of all the toxins in your body there by bringing forth the healthiest version of you. It has also been reported to boost the immune system.

The discipline of fasting breaks you out of the world’s routine – Jentezen Franklin

Fasting Helps You Realize You Overfeed: When you fast consistently for instance; a three days water fast or six days intermittent fast, your stomach adjusts to the reduced quantity of food you have been consuming and when you try to go back to your previous eating habit, you realize you get fuller quicker.

Fasting Improves Your Skin Tone: I bet you didn’t know that fasting clears the skin and helps it breathe, glow and look better.

Fasting Increases Mental Clarity: Fasting opens your mind and helps you think clearer. During a fast, you will find out if it’s you that controls your thoughts or if it’s your thoughts that control you.

Fasting Aids Weight Loss: Fasting is a great way of shedding a few pounds. It helps you eat less and has been proven to be effective for weight loss.

Fasting Teaches Patience and Perseverance: Fasting is a great way of learning to be persistent in completing a task despite how difficult it is or how long it takes.

Fasting Helps To Curb Unhealthy Eating: The various forms of fasting promote a healthy lifestyle and prevent you from consuming the unhealthy snacks you were attached to.

Fasting Leads To A Better You: When you are able to achieve all these listed benefits, your overall outlook on life changes. You feel lighter, healthier and happy.

I have been fasting intermittently for over five months and I’m currently fasting longer than my usual hours because its Ramadan (I drink only water for sahur).

Thanks for your time, please share your thoughts.

Mariam Shittu