With Ramadhan just around the corner, many of you may be preparing to start fasting. It’s an important time of year, with fasting acting as a way for you to improve your self-control and to better and appreciate all that God has given you.
But there’s something else about fasting that you may not realise.
There are people who fast, be it intermittently or otherwise, all throughout the year.
We know the question you have in mind now.
Why?
There are actually many health benefits associated with the practice. Here are three that you need to know about.
Benefit #1 – It Reduces Insulin Resistance
It’s so hard to control your blood sugar. And with so many people working in offices and living sedentary lives, the risk of Type-2 Diabetes developing is always on the rise.
Insulin resistance occurs when you have too much sugar in your blood. Eventually, you produce so much insulin that your body develops a tolerance to it. That makes the insulin less effective, which causes some serious problems.
Fasting can reduce insulin resistance. The same goes for alternate-day fasting.
The simple fact that you’re not eating as much means that there’s less sugar in your bloodstream. And that means your body doesn’t need to produce as much insulin.
The end result:
A lowered risk of Type-2 Diabetes. And for those who already suffer from the condition, fasting can help you to pull blood sugar levels down.
Benefit #2 – It Gives Your Metabolism a Boost
You shouldn’t need us to tell you that eating less food can lead to weight loss. You’re consuming fewer calories while still burning calories at the same rate.
Eventually, you’re going to shed a few pounds.
But what you may not realise is that fasting has a deeper effect on your body. It actually changes how your metabolism operates, which means it can have more long-term benefits for those looking to lose weight.
Over the short-term, fasting boosts the amount of a neurotransmitter named norepinephrine. Studies suggest that this could enhance your weight loss efforts.
And on top of that, fasting aids in weight loss without associated loss to muscle tissue. So if you’re looking to drop the pounds while staying shredded, you know which technique to use.
Benefit #3 – It Fights Inflammation
Black Seed Oil isn’t the only thing that can help your body to combat inflammation.
It seems that fasting can also prevent it from happening.
A little inflammation is a natural thing, of course. It’s how your body deals with an array of health issues. It’s when the inflammation becomes chronic that you start to develop problems.
With intermittent fasting, you decrease the inflammation markers that suggest you’re in danger of developing a chronic condition.
Again, the studies bear this out. One study looked at the effects of intermittent fasting on 50 people and found that fasting has positive effects on inflammatory markers in all of them.
So, the message is pretty simple.
Fasting is a practice that you can use all year round to experience a host of positive health effects and with Ramadhan just around the corner it’s time to put your health first.