Fasting not only holy, it’s age-defying healthy
By Tessa Salazar
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 00:47:00 03/16/2008
Filed Under: Health, Lifestyle & Leisure, Religions
MANILA, Philippines—Imagine finding the fountain of youth.
As Filipino Catholics prepare for the obligatory fasting during Holy Week, some doctors and nutrition experts are viewing the practice beyond the perspective of piety and more in the realm of science.
Having studied the effects on the human body of fasting and abstinence from meat—in effect turning themselves into “guinea pigs”—they’re now trumpeting what they claim as a most effective method for delaying aging, increasing one’s life span, and making better life choices in general.
“One of the [results] of fasting is that it arrests the aging process,” says Dr. Omar Arabia, a researcher of integrative medicine and a vegetarian for 35 years.
Ideally, a fast lasts 24 hours. According to Arabia, the forms of fasting include the juice fast (where one takes only juices), water fast, buko (coconut water) fast, and “dry fast” (absolutely no food or drink).
“After one fast, even the barest of food becomes yummy enough. And the mind and mental powers become so strong,” says Arabia.
But both Arabia and licensed dietician Blecenda Varona warn that fasting may not be suitable for people with medical conditions such as diabetes, and that those planning to fast on a regular basis should seek medical supervision.
Melatonin
Fasting is as close as one can get to finding the fountain of youth, say Arabia and Varona, a former director of health and wellness of the Manila Adventist Church and now a full-time health advocate and author of nutrition books.
They cite the theory that the production of the hormone melatonin in the body increases during periods of fasting.
Melatonin, also known as the sleep hormone, is naturally produced in all organisms, whether plant or animal. In more complex organisms such as humans, melatonin is produced in the pineal gland, the retina and the gastrointestinal tract.
Scientific studies have shown that melatonin slows the aging process. (As an antioxidant, it is said to help fight tumors. It has also been observed to be an immunity enhancer and antidepressant, and may even help lower cholesterol levels and blood pressure.)
Fix-and-rejuvenate hormone
In “Proof Positive: How to Reliably Combat Disease and Achieve Optimal Health through Nutrition and Lifestyle,” Dr. Neil Nedley, who specializes in internal medicine, quotes studies showing that food restriction and fasting boost melatonin production.
Nedley also cites evidence that melatonin can ease the body’s daily wear and tear. Quoting a study, he dubs melatonin as a “fix-and-rejuvenate” nighttime hormone whose healing and general-repair effects actually help delay some of the changes normally attributed to aging.
When and how
Fasting technically commences within the first 12 to 24 hours, Will Carroll writes in “Health Benefits of Fasting.”
This means that a fast does not chemically start until the body’s carbohydrate stores, as opposed to protein stores, begin to be used as an energy source. (Once protein stores begin to be depleted for energy, resulting in loss of muscle mass, a person is technically “starving.”)
Arabia says fasting may be done once or twice a month under medical supervision.
The first fast may last from sunrise to lunchtime, and gradually increase in length to from sunrise to sunset, and then from sunrise to sunrise.
The “graduation” to the next fasting level will depend on a person’s capacity, Arabia says.
Varona recommends a light meal after a fast.
She says even short-term fasting must be planned thoroughly and is beneficial to most people.
But Zenaida V. Narciso Ph.D., of the Food and Nutrition Research Institute, urges those planning to fast to be careful to avoid “yoyo dieting.”
This unhealthy habit is characterized by a cycle of losing and regaining weight, as when a person attempts to lose a significant number of pounds in a short period of time through a rigid diet or a fast, and abruptly discontinues it for one reason or another.
As a result, the person becomes even heavier than before the diet or the fast started.
“A person who undergoes this cycle is more at risk of developing chronic [ailments] such as hypertension, heart disease and diabetes,” says Narciso.
Lunar cycles
Arabia himself fasts during certain lunar cycles—during the new moon and full moon, particularly.
This is when people are “basically more agitated,” he observes, citing “meteor psychiatry,” a Canada-based school of psychiatry.
“The masters in ayurveda and the tantra science found out that it is best to encourage people to fast [during this period], with proper guidance, to balance the mind,” he says.
Arabia has been periodically fasting for the past 14 years and is accustomed to ingesting virtually nothing for a 24-hour period.
He advises those interested in fasting to first undergo a “transition period” of eating only plant-based food.
Ultimately, he says, fasting purifies the soul.
And that’s more than a mouthful for those about to reluctantly forego their favorite bulalo (bone marrow) this Holy Week.
|
