Millions of people practice fasting as a spiritual belief, where they refrain from eating and drinking. However, others are practicing as a way to improve health and even lose weight.

Some diets of fast involves drinking only water or liquids, other eating only raw foods for a period of one or more days or there are other restricting certain foods on alternate days. Fasting for long hours and even for more than 1 day can have consequences for human health.

Over a period of fasting, which begins eight hours after the last meal, the body is unable to get energy from food, so turn to glucose stored in the liver and muscles. Once the glucose is exhausted, the body burns fat as an energy source and the person loses weight.

Benefits of Fasting

Some studies on intermittent fasting, from one day a week, until two to four days showed improvements in:

• Blood pressure.
• Blood cholesterol levels.
• The insulin sensitivity.
• The risk of diabetes.
• The immune system (eliminating old cells and regenerating new).

For example, a study with cancer patients who fasted three days before chemotherapy had lower impact of this treatment causes damage to the immune system.

Health Risks of Fasting

According to the National Health Service in the UK, there is numerous health risks associated with intermittent fasting, such as:

• Increases stress levels.
• Sleep disturbance.
• Smell or think about food, it can cause the brain tells the stomach that is prepared because soon receive food, producing gastric acid ultimately not going to use and it leads to heartburn.
• Fails weight loss long term.
• Muscle mass and water is lost.
• It could trigger eating disorders and binge eating.

No doubt, much remains to study their fasting and their impact on health. But if anything is clear, is that those who have low weight, fewer than 18, pregnant, or with type 1 diabetes should not fast.

Fasting for a day or two probably will not affect healthy people as long as they maintain adequate fluid intake. However, complete fasting for long periods of time can be harmful. The body needs variety of vitamins, minerals and other nutrients from food to stay healthy.

Fasting is an ancient practice, related to religious beliefs, but that as time has passed has emerged between the scientific and seems to take more and more important. Can you improve your health fasting? Do you consider yourself able to do?