Fasting can benefit your health

• April 29, 2024

It has always been believed that stop consume food for a period of time it was not beneficial for health. However, researchers from Heart Institute Intermountain Medical Center, in Utah, United States, ensure that fasting not only reduces the risk of heart disease and diabetes, but also causes positive changes important in a person's cholesterol levels.

A study made to a group of Mormons, whose religious teachings 24-hour fast the first Sunday of every month. It was found that these people had a 39% lower risk of coronary heart disease, which are the main causes of death both mens as women who have never practiced fasting.

The same team of researchers confirmed those results , and also found that fasting reduces several cardiovascular risk factors such as blood triglycerides, body weight and blood glucose levels.

Biological reaction

The doctor Benjamin Horne , director of cardiovascular epidemiology and genetics of Heart Institute of the Intermountain Center, carried out two studies on the effects of fast in more than 200 individuals, both patients of the Medical Center and healthy volunteers .

Some of the participants had to fast, drinking just water , for a period of 24 hours and then eat a normal diet for the next 24 hours.

During that period the researchers followed a registry of the volunteers that included blood tests and physical measurements to evaluate cardiac risk factors , markers of metabolic risk and other parameters of the general health .

The results showed that during the period of fast Several reactions occurred in the biological mechanisms of the organism. For example, the levels of both bad cholesterol (LDL) and good cholesterol (HDL) were increased by 14% and 6% respectively, increasing the total cholesterol level. And this surprised the researchers.

"Fasting causes hunger and stress, in response, the body releases more cholesterol which allows it to use fat as an energy source, instead of glucose," explains Dr. Horne. "This decreases the number of adipocytes (fat cells) in the body."

"This is important because the fewer adipocytes the organism has, the less likely it is to experience resistance to insulin , or diabetes "adds the researcher in an interview BBC World . Since 1970, scientists recognized that the Mormon community in Utah showed less risk of dying from heart disease than any other population group in the United States.

According to the doctor Horne , often the tobacco ban between the mormons as the one responsible for your good health. But the scientist decided to analyze if the monthly fast of 24 hours that the Mormons carry out could be contributing to those cardiovascular benefits .

The 2007 study, conducted with more than 4,500 individuals (90% of whom were Mormons), took into account several factors that are included in the religious teaching of Mormons. In addition to the tobacco ban, alcohol Y caffeine , it was taken into account in the study the observation of a day of weekly rest , attendance at religious ceremonies and donation to charitable organizations, all of which are recognized as factors that may have a cardiovascular impact .

The study found that although most of the participants were Mormons, the Benefits of fasting were general, even in those who practiced other religions.

Caution

And the new investigation , carried out in the general population, confirms this finding. "These new results show that our original discovery it was not a random event "says the Doctor Horne .

"Confirmation among a new group of patients that fasting is associated with a lower risk of this diseases So common, it raises new questions about whether fasting itself can reduce risk or whether it simply reflects a Lifestyle healthier, "he adds.

The Doctor Horne , however, stresses that, although these results are surprising, they should not be interpreted as a green light for people to start fast regularly .

The researcher affirms that it is necessary to carry out more studies to confirm the effects of fasting in the cardiovascular health and health in general. And it emphasizes the importance of eating a healthy and well-balanced diet when you are not fasting.

While confirming this finding, the expert affirms that the best recommendation to reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases is to exercise, eat healthily, reduce alcohol consumption and avoid tobacco.

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