Fasting is nothing but abstaining from food and any edibles. Fasting is now considered by many people as a good means of losing weight and detoxifying the body. It depends on what type of fasting are you planning to take up. Depending on the type of fasting it can be decided how long it should continue. In medical terms fasting can be referred to (1) metabolic fasting in which case the person is not eating food and is just waiting for the food to get digested and (2) to the metabolic state where the person has digested the meal he consumed.
Fasting is done for many reasons and also they are categorized into many types. Diagnostic fasting has been advised to patients since ancient times. By fasting before a therapy, the body functionalities are bought down to the basics and hence the therapy is very effective to the person. The diagnostic fasting generally last for 8-72 hrs depending on the intensity of the therapy. Fasting is also conducted under medical observation so as to investigate a problem suffered by the body.
It is said that fasting has many health benefits other than weight reduction and detoxification. Many researches which have been conducted show that fasting helps in increasing the life span, it reduces the risks of diseases like cancer, immune disorder, diabetes, cardiovascular disease. At the same time over doing the fast may on the contrary backfire and give us health problems. Hence, consult a doctor or your physician before you start your fast, and decide the approximate time you would like to continue our fast.
There are many types of fast which are taken up. Some of the most acclaimed fast are-
- Water fast
- Religious fast
- Spiritual fast
- Juice fast
- Medical fast
- Therapeutic fast
- Political fasting
All the above types of fasting have their own significance. Choose what are you fasting for and then follow the fasting technique.
