Fasting—The Physician Within

“O ye who believe! fasting is prescribed for you, as it was prescribed for those before you, so that you may become righteous.” (The Holy Qur’an, 2:184)

“Fasting is the greatest remedy—the physician within.” (Philippus Paracelsus, Swiss Physician)

“Humans live on one-quarter of what they eat; on the other three-quarters live their doctors.” (Egyptian Pyramid Inscription 3800 BC)

• Intermittent fasting (Ramadan is the best example) drops insulin levels leading to increased fat burning.
• Intermittent fasting can increase level of growth hormone up to five folds—which leads to increased muscle mass and increased fat burning among other benefits.
• Intermittent fasting can help lose weight and body fat.
• Intermittent fasting can reduce insulin resistance, lowering our risk of developing diabetes.
• Fasting promotes early satiety, which means that you feel full with a smaller quantity of food. This occurs through a hormone called Leptin.
• Fasting decreases the production of harmful free radicals in the body leading to decreased inflammation—underlying cause of many diseases and ageing.
• Intermittent fasting decreases many risk factors associated with heart disease e.g. it decreases blood pressure, cholesterol, sugar, weight etc.
• Intermittent fasting can stimulate body’s own repair system.
• Intermittent fasting may improve brain function through growth of new cells and decrease inflammation and damage to brain function.
• Intermittent fasting has been shown to decrease risk of cancer among animals. More research is needed in humans.
• Studies in rats show that Intermittent fasting may delay or decrease the severity of Alzheimer’s disease.
• Fasting may delay ageing and promote a long healthy life.