Fasting studies

Fasting Studies and Medical Claims About Fasting

Does fasting have any research or medical evidence to prove that it works?

Considering that practitioners of conventional medicine are usually very skeptical about alternative treatments, how can fasting be promoted?

How medically does fasting help the human system?

Have there been any studies that have tracked the effects of fasting in people over the years?

While there have been studies, they have been sketchy at most and have not been very consistent, Let us however look at a few of them that pertained specifically to certain ailments and conditions and how it helped.

There was a Norwegian study that tried to assess the effects of fasting on patients of rheumatoid arthritis.

The great thing that the study threw up was that as long as the patients fasting regularly, there was a lot of improvement in their condition.

However, most tended to slide back into their old ways of eating unhealthy food and quickly went back to their old painful condition.

What this illustrates is that fasting cannot be a one-off exercise – it has to be a way of life. The patients here were asked to fast for a month and then ate only a vegetarian diet for one whole year.

The results?

The swelling on the joints was visibly reduced, the patients were better as far as health went and they had more stamina and strength.

Another study by Kernt et. al. stated that with fasting there were changes in the growth hormone production in the pituitary gland.

This change meant that the immune system was getting stronger. These hormonal changes are just some of the biochemical changes that happen in our bodies when we fast.

There are certain times when you should not fast though. Like when you are pregnant or when you are nursing a baby. People with gout also seem to experience an aggravation of their problems when they fast.

Malnourished people should also avoid fasting. In fact, it has been noticed that fasting does not suit everyone.

However, by and large, it has proved beneficial to most people. This is why it has assumed such religious overtones over the centuries (see also biblical fasting). This is probably why the old physicians advocated it for almost any disease.

Even today, let’s face it, patients are expected to fast before an operation and before any major medical procedure. If fasting agrees with you and you feel good with it, then you should carry on with it, making it a part of your life.

However, if you are weak and have other medical complications, then fasting might not be for you – you could develop complications like increased heart rate, kidney problems, etc.

Fasting is great if you have tried it and made it your friend for life.