Why You Should Add Fasting Into Your Lifestyle

It’s true that most people think, “ew fasting, NOT EATING, what?!” yet there are so many health benefits that once you get past the not eating part, (yeah, it does suck a little) it's hard not to perform fasting. You’ll be questioning why you didn’t do this before! A lot of people think fasting is a quick fix to weight loss and that’s the only reason they hop on board, but the benefits exceed way past that extra bit of fat you've been hanging on to. Here are some of the main benefits that we love! 

Fat Burning 

Ok, so we’ll start with the most obvious one. After about 12-14 hours our body runs out of easy sugar available (glycogen stored in the liver and muscle cells) and consequently, the body changes its metabolism pathway from sugar burning to fat burning. So we are digging deeper into the body’s storage of fat and basically getting rid. Sounds good right? Although weight loss is not always a highly promoted benefit of fasting, it supports the bodies functionality in burning fat! 

Mental Clarity And Sharpness

This process of fat burning is called ketosis, producing ketone bodies. When these ketones reach the brain, it sends a signal that there is a shortage of food and our brain increases our metabolic rate and heightens the sharpness of our minds. This is as if it is telling the body to go find real food, aka carbohydrates since, after all, we are herbivores. Oh, how our diets have Westernized!

Eliminating Toxicity Within The Body 

Not only does fasting rid the body of toxins such as caffeine and alcohol which we regularly poison our systems with (guilty!) but it helps convert the really bad stuff into the good stuff. Most importantly, fasting helps clear missed formed cells (which can typically be cancerous) and the rubbish inside good cells. It then turns the junk into amino acids which then get re-formed into new protein cells. This is called Autophagy. The benefits of autophagy will continue as long as you continue with a low protein diet post-fast. 

So a fast can prove to support optimal health and weight loss and will help you feel more energized and focused throughout your day. There is a lot of science behind fasting and we are certainly no physicians, but these are the simple components of why fasting could be a great supplement to your lifestyle. Why not try and give it a go? You may surprise yourself!