Introduction:
In a world inundated with fast-paced lifestyles and convenience-driven choices, rediscovering the ancient practice of fasting offers a pathway to rejuvenation and vitality. Functional Nutritionist Kiiran Patel delves into the practicality and transformative potential of fasting for both physical and mental well-being…
Fasting is practical, easier, and the oldest known practice to humans for our physical and mental well-being.
The literal meaning of the word upa-vasa is ‘staying’ – ‘near’ to our higher self.
Our modern lifestyle has eliminated certain practices of previous generations of our good life and changed it to conveniences.
The easy availability of junk and healthy junk has made our life confused and complicated,
This is combined with increasing incidences of obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, low energy, immune issues or what we would term lifestyle diseases
Lifestyle diseases, certain cancers, and inflammatory conditions all can benefit through intermittent fasting.
Most religions and even the Western world followed two meals long ago. The term intermittent fasting has been a buzzword since 2010 but is unknowingly traditionally followed by most of us. The first condition of fasting is not waking up and eating which is logically true because as soon as we wake up, melatonin goes down and cortisol goes up which is why cortisol is drawn around 8 am.
Even to do the right blood work, we need to 8-10 hours fasting.
All food particularly carbohydrates and refined carbohydrates are broken down by enzymes in our gut and released as energy in our cells. If our cells do not use this energy at all it gets stored as fat in our cells. Sugar can only enter our cells with insulin that is made by our pancreas. Insulin brings sugar into the fat cells and stores it there.
As long as we don’t keep snacking or eating, our insulin levels go down and the stored sugar can be used as energy,
The idea of intermittent fasting is to release insulin, keep us away from most inflammatory conditions, and burn our fat.
The socioeconomic forces and the food industry are designed to make us fat and constantly eat which is not required.
If we are in our Circadian rhythm (that is day-night) pattern according to nature and when we keep ourselves in a fasting state for 12 to 14 hours with a nutritious no junk diet, it is very hard for us to fall sick as we have 100 years of healthy life!
Kiiran Patel can be reached at [email protected]