Oh Yeah

For greater awareness, purifying the body and longevity and more....

Many cultures and religions around the world rely on intermittent fasting for clarifying the mind, developing greater awareness, brain function, immune systems, purifying the body and even longevity.

A good length of time is over 8 hours, as it takes your body usually 6 - 8 hours to metabolize your glycogen stores and transition to burning fat. Many people find it easy to just skip breakfast or limit their eating to an 8 hour time window per day... leaving 16 for a daily fasting period.

Weight Loss

It can take several weeks to transform into a fat burning modality, but once accomplished, your cravings for unhealthy foods and carbs will subside dramatically. This is due to your shift into stored fat as your fuel compared to needing new faster burning carbs.

In fact, many athletes are now using fasting as way to achieve low body fat percentages for competition.

Fitness

Here's a kicker.... at the American College of Cardiology in New Orleans, Louisiana, the found a 1,300% rise of Human Growth Hormone (HGH) in women and a 2,000% in men.

HGH, also know as “the fitness hormone,” plays an vital role in maintaining health, fitness and longevity. This includes increased muscle growth and a boost in your metabolism (which of course burns fat). This hormone helps build muscle as it simultaneously increases fat loss, helping you lose weigh, not muscle mass.

Brain Function

Fasting vastly improves Brain Function as it also boosts the production of a protein named the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). When you fast for anywhere from 10 - 16 hours, the body utilize it's fat stores for energy, and release fatty acids (ketones) into the bloodstream. This has the ability to protect memory and learning functions as well as slow disease in the brain.”

The BDNF protein activates brain stem cells to transform into new neurons which also triggers many other chemicals that promote neural health, helping to protect the brain cells from associated alteration found in Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.

Nero Muscular Connection

BDNF also works in the neuro-muscular system where it helps protect neuromotors (affect of nerve impulse in your muscles), from degeneration overtime. The neuromotor is a vital component in your muscle, as without the neuromotor, your muscle cannot fire. The Neuro-motor degeneration is a process that can explain age-related muscle atrophy.

As BDNF is involved directly in both your muscles as well as your brain, this cross-connection, is a reason your physical workout can have such a major impact on your brain tissue. So by utilizing a combined intermittent fasting regime with your exercise program becomes a potent process.

More Health Benefits

There are numerous health benefits of fasting for short periods of time, as it also serves to give you more energy and drive. Here is just a brief list of other benefits (but not inclusive):

Clear Toxins

Fasting can help the body as it is temporarily out of the digestive process and able to focus more regenerative energies of other systems. This also aides in removing the wastes and toxins, regulating the function of other organs.

Improved Insulin Sensitivity

Fasting has been shown to have a positive effect on insulin sensitivity, allowing the body to metabolize carbohydrates (hidden sugars) to a higher degree.

Increased Metabolism

The process of intermittent fasting allows your digestive system to rest which in turn allows your metabolism to burn through calories more effectively. This is up to and including healthy bowel function and elimination.

Your Immune System

Intermittent fasting not only improves the immune system (reducing free radical damage, regulating inflammation), it can also serve to starve the formation of cancer cells.

It is a primal instinct for animals to stop eating when ill or hurt. This reduces the stress on their internal system so the body can fight infection or regenerate damaged cells and components. Only humans fight this simple natural process.

Enlightenment

Fasting has been used in many cultures and religions since the dawn of man, to feel a greater connection to life. With no hindrance form the digestive system and process (one of the most energy concentrated processes of the body), it allows for greater energy flow in other organs and parts of the body.

It is also an integral part of internal practices like; meditation, yoga, martial arts, qigong, intimacy and others.

It allows us to have more energy for daily activity and thought as we feel better both consciously and physically. With this lighter body and clearer mind, we also become more aware of our life and surroundings.

Longevity

And I leave you with this thought... the less you eat the longer you will live.

Many studies have depicted how the lifespans of people in many cultures increased due to their eating habits. We can assimilate these benefits for ourselves as well.

Thing of this; one affect of ageing is a slower metabolism, the less you work the process the less strain on your body to accomplish it, will yield much more youthful energy levels, brain and body coordination as well as functionality.

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Good Health – Evan Pantazi #Kyusho

Image Credit: gettyimages, healthandfitnesssociety, Dhammakaya-temple, getold