Things you need to know about fasting: Nutritionist shares tips

From healing the body to boosting immunity to initiating weight loss, know all about the benefits of fasting here.

Fasting is common for its religious rituals. In almost every religion, fasting is observed by people due to several festivals and religious practices. However, there is more fasting than just religion. Over the years, it has also become a predominant practice among people as a part of their lifestyle and diet. People associate fasting to losing weight. But in a lot of studies, it has been deduced that fasting can help people live a healthier life. Addressing it, Nutritionist Anjali Mukerjee wrote, “Fasting is common to just about every major religious tradition, like Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, and Judaism. In ancient Greece, Hippocrates believed it helped the body heal itself. During Ramadan, many Muslims fast from dawn to sunset, every day for a month. This has provided scientists with quite a bit of information about what happens to your body when you fast, and the news is mostly good.”

She further added that the benefits of fasting are manifold - “Besides religious practice, there are a number of different approaches to fasting and health reasons why people do it. The first, as you might guess, is weight loss. There's also research showing that certain types of fasting may help improve your cholesterol, blood pressure, glucose levels, insulin sensitivity, and other health issues.”

Anjali broke down the rules of fasting for her Instagram family in her recent post:

Juice fasting: juice fasting is when people avoid any kind of solid food, and just rely on water and fresh juices.

Modified fasting: in this form of fasting, raw forms of fruits and vegetables are also consumed.

Benefits of fasting: It helps in initiating the healing process of the body. It also boosts immunity, and helps in reversing and slowing down the ageing process. Fasting also helps in losing weight by giving the body the much-needed physiological rest. However, unplanned fasting can be harmful. It is important to consult with a doctor before fasting for 2-3 days continuously.