Top 10 Benefits of Fasting in Ramadan
Overview
Fasting in Ramadan is one of the key pillars of Islam and is considered to be spiritual cleansing of the mind, body and soul. It entails numerous physical, spiritual and mental benefits. From an improved daily routine to weight management and healthier eating habits, fasting can be very helpful to remain young, fit and healthy.
Fasting requires immense self-control to remain without food and water for roughly 12-14 hours a day. It can be a helpful practice for those who suffer from binge eating disorder, and for those who find it difficult to establish a correct eating pattern due to work and other priorities.
Benefits of Fasting
According to Experts, restricting food intake during the day can help prevent health problems such as high cholesterol, heart disease and obesity, as well as improve mental health.
So, do you want to know how fasting in Ramadan can be beneficial for you? Find out some amazing and surprising benefits of fasting on our overall well-being.
1. Detoxify
Fasting in the month of Ramadan is great for spiritually cleansing yourself and it also acts as a fantastic detox for your body. We can promote a healthy detox in Ramadan by sticking to a nutritious and healthy diet. By eating less with fewer calories and consuming healthier meals, the human body automatically goes into a detox mode. During fasting, glycogen becomes our body’s main energy source which gets turned off. Our body produces glycogen when we consume carbs, but in its absence, the body turns to fat reserves for burning energy. Naturally, this helps the body to shed extra pounds.
2. Get Rid of Bad Habits
Ramadan can invoke a desire to make changes in one’s life, such as removing bad habits and potentially replacing them with good habits. The month of Ramadan gives us a lesson of patience while being able to carry on with our everyday life during fasting. Ramadan is supposed to help you get away from things that could be harmful to your physical, as well as mental health. Some habits to avoid during fasting may be smoking and eating junk food. As you start abstaining from these habits during Ramadan, your body will gradually adapt to the new and healthy habits.
3. Weight Loss
Fasting in Ramadan can also be an easy and quick way to lose weight. Many studies have shown that fasting is a safe way to lose weight that is controlled within a set number of hours and allows the body to burn through fat cells more effectively than just regular dieting. When the body is undergoing the starvation process, the body turns to fat in order to utilize and burn any stored energy first leading to increased weight loss overtime. Incorporating fasting into your daily routine will promote greater fat loss with quicker results.
4. Speeds Up The Metabolism
Fasting gives your digestive system a rest, and this can energize your metabolism to burn calories more efficiently. Intermittent fasting can regulate your digestion and promote healthy bowel function, thus improving your gut health and metabolic function. Another obvious result of fasting maybe it prompts the liver’s enzymes to break down cholesterol and fats stimulating faster metabolism.
5. Improves Your Immune System
Fasting improves and heals the immune system gradually. As the immune system is largely comprised of white blood cells and fasting encourages your body to recycle any old white blood cells which result in a healthier, more robust immune system.
6. Mental Health
Fasting is a great way to balance your mind and reduce mental stress. A reduction in calorie, sugar and salt intake helps to strengthen the mind, sharpens focus and provides mental clarity.
Likewise, a distinct reduction in the amount of the hormone cortisol, produced by the adrenal gland, means that stress levels are greatly reduced both during and after Ramadan.
7. Helps to Prevent Acne and Fights Aging
Studies have shown that fasting could potentially slow down the ageing process, keeping you younger and fitter for longer and it could also potentially increase lifespan. Fasting leads to the production of restored tissues and cells within the human body, degrading unnecessary cells in the process. This enables you to produce collagen, leading to healthier and more radiant skin.
Eating a healthy diet with fewer calories after breaking the fast can decrease skin oil production, thus reducing outbreaks of acne.
8. Lower Cholesterol
Since bad cholesterol is a major cause of several heart diseases and obesity, fasting in Ramadan is a great remedy for boosting your overall health. Fasting in Ramadan stimulates the lipid profile, it lowers blood cholesterol. Consequently, it prevents heart attacks, strokes, and other disorders.
If you follow a healthy diet post-Ramadan, the newly lowered cholesterol level should be easy to maintain.
9. Curbs Appetite
During fasting, your stomach stays empty for a longer period due to which it starts to shrink leading you to feel satisfied after a smaller meal than usual. When we begin to lose weight, it is initially excess water, then our body tends to use up our sugar stores (glycogen), which we store in our liver and muscles. Eventually, it will target our fat cells.
As our bodies get accustomed to how often we eat, a few days of fasting can drastically decrease our appetite in the long run. This process also increases the production of the thyroid hormone in the body, boosting your metabolism in the process.
10. Boost your Brain
The effect of fasting has a positive impact on the mental health and cognitive function of a person. The reason being the blood in the human body is filled with more endorphins during fasting which gives us a feeling of well-being.
Research has proven that fasting in Ramadan can make the brain more resilient to stress, more adaptable to change, and can improve mood, memory and even learning capacity.
Conclusion
Fasting in Ramadan is a good opportunity to cleanse the body, mind, and soul to keep yourself healthy. Practising self-control even after Ramadan will help us to detox our minds and bodies and reduce the production of stress hormones to live a fit life. That’s one of the reasons why most of us find it easier to practice healthy eating after Ramadan.
It is important to eat healthy and reasonably all year long. Keeping moderate portions and eating quality products first and foremost is the best way to keep fit. If you are having issues with weight gain or weight loss, you can book an online or physical consultation with the best doctors in Karachi. Visit https://www.shifaam.com or download the Shifaam Health App from Google PlayStore (bit.ly/2JqZo3C) or the iOS AppStore (apple.co/2QUVxQz). We are just a call 021-37132273 or Whatsapp 03477222273 away.
