JCC Are There Any Health Benefits to Fasting?

I've heard it can be like de-toxing.

 

I think it is much as you say...if you are thoughtful about your food choices when you do eat, it can be somewhat beneficial.

One of the things I've understood from people who willfully fast is a better awareness of the quality and nutrition of what they do eat when they have the opportunity.

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My behavior is much the anti-thesis of proper fasting.

I unintentionally fast most work days. I don't take lunch breaks at work, and seldom eat breakfast...which usually means by the time I get home, I've not eaten in 18-24 hours.

And rather then make good choices as a reward for my hours of effort and restraint, I usually grab the first carb-loaded snack I can get my hands on, followed by a spoonful of peanut butter to take the pang of hunger away. Only then do I start thinking clearly about a serious "meal" for the evening.

I wish I was better disciplined about it. I'm just too tired most of time. And better nutrition would probably help with that as well. I'm just self-defeating in this regard.

 

It has a detoxing effect which doesn’t last long beyond the fasting period itself, but can be beneficial for sure. I don’t think there is a long term effect though. I tried when I was younger because … my romantic partner was into it. Bless her. I shouldn’t have gotten through seven days without food just because I was in love haha.

 

I'm on the last day of fasting for Ramadan today.

There are benefits, I would say for the most part it's largely in the caloric restriction over time that these emerge however. A lot of the stuff about autophagy happening after a certain number of hours is largely bs. And if you're not careful, i.e. mindful of not just your food choices but your mental state about your fasting, you're probably going to binge eat when you come off your fast.

 

When I’ve haven’t eaten for long lengths of time, and I decide to drink, the buzz does hit quicker, so yeah, there’s benefits to fasting.

 

I can't. My metabolism is too high, I would waste away. But I do hear of fasting leading to longer lifespans as cells go into a survival mode and repair better.

 

Was reading a book where the author (who's a doctor) said it's good to fast between 8pm and 8am each day.

 

Seven days? Good lord. Most I ever did was 2 and that was by accident

 

What about those who work 3rd shift/overnight hours? Does that doctor cover that?

 

Ramadam - not sure what good that does you.

 

I would suspect the time can be shifted to the person's circadian rhythms.

Point was probably "distance sleep cycles from eat cycles".

 

So bull ****.

 

Yeah, kinda the purpose of the Kidney and Liver. Biologically, they've done their job in a few hours of any form of consumption. Anything longer than half a day is stupid and even thats being generous (apparently)

 

Like if you're doing it for religious purposes fine. But there is no scientific benefit to "detoxing". It's a racket from influencers like Goop.

 

He also recommends going to sleep at 10pm and not later...so I'm pretty sure it's got something to do with keeping your circadian rhythm aligned with the day/night cycle.

 

Well, sure, if that’s what works for a person, and clearly for most people, that’s what works. But, for some, such as myself, it doesn’t work that way, or at least why we’re able to adjust to an overnight/early/“3rd shift”. My “10pm” during a work week is usually around 4-6pm these days (around 1-3pm back when my Target ran a true overnight schedule); obviously there are emergencies or special occasions in which that’s different (such as when the Lakers & Dodgers are in the playoffs, or when a family/friend social event occurs).

 

This is called “being asleep.” Because it’s night time. Which, yes, that is a healthy practice.

As far as actually fasting, my understanding is that it’s putative “benefits” from a health/nutrition standpoint could be achieved through alternate methods that still involve caloric intake. This is primarily a religious exercise, albeit a helpful one.

 

The detox, autophagy claims are bs.

If you're doing a fast that also excludes drinks(like Ramadan fasting), constipation is a potential issue if you're not taking enough water and fiber in the evenings.

I've never messed with anything longer than intermittent fasting outside Ramadan. I don't even really consider the typical intermittent fasting styles, a significant portion of the fasting period being overnight, as fasting simply because my mind associates fasting itself with the waking hardship of fasting. I've done those styles for 12-16 hour periods for a long time. It basically amounted to skipping breakfast and a late lunch as far as I was concerned. It feels totally different from fasting similar hours while awake and going about life without water.

 

I was young, stupid and terribly in love. Started cheating on day five though … if I remember correctly.

 

So I was mostly curious about something. Plus I wanted to see how much weight I could lose in the 30 hours before my doctors appointment. I was 205 yesterday when I weighed myself.

almost certainly just water weight. But I wanted to see what 30 hours would do. My doctors appointment is tomorrow at 12.

I think the reason I am not starving is because I drank like 80 OZ of water. Got in my normal exercise. If anything felt more awake today than usual.

 

Some types of fasting (namely, intermittent) have been shown in actual studies to likely have some positive effects on aspects of health like blood sugar control, blood pressure, and inflammation. But really, it seems to be beneficial only to the point of reducing the massively unnatural amount of food intake that modern, sedentary living precipitates. And because fasting leads to weight loss, studies are still unclear on whether it’s the fasting itself, or the weight loss, that drives the above benefits.

 

Update it was 7 pounds. I weighed 198 at the doctors office

 

That's something. Can you keep it off?

 

Probably not as I assume most of it was water water weight is usually what goes first anyway