Fasting Vs Longevity

Discover how fasting helps increasing lifespan

Posted by Abdulqadir Msingi on March 12, 2024

Fasting is one of the underrated and overlooked topics by everyone today. You might be asking yourself, "So if I stay without food and water for approximately 12 hours every day, I'll live longer?"

The modern world underrates fasting since it isn't fun. There's nothing fancy happening when you fast—no drugs and medicines. You might wonder how you can live longer without those. Everyday, you are bombarded by advertisements that tell you to eat this or eat that. You also meet people telling you, "You've got to eat 5 meals a day to keep your health straight." Yet, every day, your instincts tell you, "I'm not hungry," and you still eat.

Traditionally, all around the world, people have been fasting at least one whole month in a year. Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Buddhists, and many other religions have their form of fasting.

A human body was created such that when they don't eat, they create a new biochemistry and metabolism that are very helpful and important to the human body.

The Benefits of Fasting

Fasting isn't just the boring terminology everyone has in mind; there's a lot of science behind it, and here are its advantages:

Controlling Addiction

In our lifestyle, we want to eat every two to three hours after every meal. We get addicted to food and, mostly, to our daily eating patterns. This addiction needs to stop because it is harmful to our bodies. Addiction has been a large topic, and many people should get out of it to make changes in their lives. Interestingly, the addiction to eating can sometimes be as serious as the addiction to morphine or any drug out there.

The human body was made to have a feast-famine cycle. This means that humans should go through periods of having less food or no food (fasting) and then go into periods of feasting (eating). This is one of the reasons why we shouldn't eat every time we get the chance but should consider having breaks or fasting.

Metabolic Flexibility

As a human being, you are supposed to use another part of your metabolism. By fasting, you can shift from relying on glucose and harmful carbs, which creates a new physiology for energy in your body. This alternative metabolism pathway can make you healthier. Think of fasting like running a car on two different fuels—your body being the car and fasting and normal eating being the fuels.

Longevity

Fasting triggers a process called autophagy, where cells remove damaged components and recycle them. This cellular “spring cleaning” helps maintain cell health. Fasting also acts as a reset button, altering insulin sensitivity and promoting fat utilization. During fasting, the body switches from using glucose (sugar) as its primary energy source to burning stored fat, contributing to longevity.

Avoiding Dangerous Diseases

Fasting changes your hormonal status, which brings a whole bunch of health benefits. These include avoiding dangerous diseases such as strokes, heart diseases, diabetes, and more. What we eat and how we eat often change us from a hormonal standpoint. Fasting helps modify this hormonal status and can protect you from various dangerous diseases, regardless of the unhealthy foods you eat.

These are some of the benefits, but the main topic here is longevity, which is a trending topic in the health world.

Intermittent Fasting

This might be a new vocabulary for some of us. Intermittent fasting is a dietary approach that involves alternating planned periods of fasting with regular eating. Scientists say that intermittent fasting can help with weight loss and living longer.

Intermittent fasting can differ from the religious fasting that most people perform. Here’s a comparison:

  • Religious Fasting:

    • Primarily driven by religious reasons
    • Lasts for months or weeks
    • Involves community participation
    • Rigid in timing

  • Intermittent Fasting:

    • Focuses on health and dietary benefits
    • Involves shorter fasting periods (12 to 24 hours)
    • Primarily an individual practice

Intermittent fasting can involve different types, including:

  1. Alternate-Day Fasting (ADF):

    • On fasting days, consume very few calories (usually less than 500).
    • On non-fasting days, eat normally.

  2. 5:2 Fasting:

    • Eat a regular diet for five days a week.
    • Significantly reduce calorie intake (around 500 calories) on the other two days.

  3. Daily Time-Restricted Fasting:

    • Also known as time-restricted eating, this method involves fasting for a specific window each day, typically 12 to 16 hours.

  4. 16/8 Fasting:

    • Fast for 16 hours and eat during an 8-hour window.

  5. 24-Hour Fasting:

    • Fast for a full 24 hours once or twice a week.

  6. Warrior Diet:

    • Combine fasting with undereating by fasting for 20 hours and eating one large meal during a 4-hour window in the evening.

Feel free to try any of these at your own time for your health.

That's all for today. Thank you for your time! 💛