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A busy gal, im trying to discover ways in which i can live healthy ...




Sunday, February 20, 2011

intermittent fasting..a healthy way to live

About 3 years back, i wanted to shed off some extra weight so decided to change my entire eating habit. I started off by eliminating all carbohydrates (sugars, rice, bread, pastas..etc.) and adding more greens. Then i realized that my appetite was curbed, for some reason (maybe fresh veggies did the trick), and found that i dont eat as often. Then i decided to eat only when i got hungry (usually after sunset), after all, our holy prophet Muhammed (sala Allahu alayhi wa salam) has given us this advice.

In a few days, i starting reaping its many benefits and boy was i amazed! First of all, you feel light and active all day, no laziness, bloating whatsoever..just a healthy refreshing sensation. Recently, I found out that this eating habit was actually called 'Intermittent fasting' and had numerous scientifically backed benefits.

Basically, it is defined as pattern of eating that alternates between periods of fasting (drinking water only) and non-fasting. A specific form is alternate day fasting (ADF), which is a 48-hour routine typically composed of a 24-hour fast followed by a 24-hour non-fasting period. Another variation is a 20 hr period of fast followed by 4 hrs non fasting period (a bit easier)

Among the health benefits:
1-Enhances longivity: According to some studies conducted on both animal and human subject.
2-Reduces LDL (bad cholesterol) in as little as eight weeks.
3-Prevents cancers.
4-Prevents diabetes: Reduces blood sugar and insulin (high insulin levels desensitizes insulin receptors on cells against insulin)  hence prevents diabetes.
5-Enhances brain and cardiac function thereby reducing the risks of coronary artery disease and strokes.
6-In animals, shown to reduce cognitive decline in diseases such as Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease.
7- Weight loss.
8-Enhances cell repair, therefore has an anti aging effect on the body.
Studies on this subject are still under way..
But these benefits are convincing enough!

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