User:Fatema kapasii/sandbox

Introduction.
It’s a really important thing for all the people to know the reason why fasting is important and how it benefits the body In Islam its mandatory to fast from dust till dawn without food and water, In summer it becomes difficult to do yet people do it. We are always curious and look for answers in whatever things we do, try to find a genuine reason behind everything Thus, it is very much to know the science behind fasting. Everyone should be aware of what happens inside the body while you are fasting. In summer its really difficult to fast so what should be done, what to eat and not to eat. Our human body is a complex system and its difficult for a person to work without food and water, we would have how it benefits so this article would be helpful for that. It's pretty interesting though to know about it.

Ramadan.
Ramadan, Arabic Ramaḍān, in Islam, the ninth month of the Muslim calendar and the holy month of fasting. It begins and ends with the appearance of the new moon.

Fasting during Ramadan is one of the five pillars of Islam. There is also a verse in the Quran that prescribes fasting for all Muslims who are mature and healthy enough to fast for the full day. So Muslims fast as an act of worship, a chance to get closer to God and a way to become more compassionate to those in need.

Fasting is also seen as a way to learn patience and break bad habits. Ramadan, however, ṣawm (Arabic: “to refrain”), is most commonly understood as the obligation to fast during Ramadan, it is more broadly interpreted as the obligation to refrain between dawn and dusk from food, drink, sexual activity, and all forms of immoral behaviour, including impure or unkind thoughts. Thus, false words or bad deeds or intentions are as destructive of a fast as is eating or drinking. After the sunset prayer, Muslims gather in their homes or mosques to break their fast with a meal called ifṭār that is often shared with friends and extended family. The ifṭār usually begins with dates, as was the custom of Muhammad. Able-bodied adults and older children fast during the daylight hours from dawn to dusk. Pregnant or nursing women, children, the old, the weak, travellers on long journeys, and the mentally ill are all exempt from the requirement of fasting. The end of the Ramadan fast is celebrated as Eid al-Fitr, the “Feast of Fast-Breaking”.

The science behind in fasting in brief.
Types of fasting, In theory, it sounds simple enough. In the 16:8 variation of intermittent fasting, which dieticians say is more popular in India, you eat during eight hours in a day and fast for the other 16. In the more intense 5:2, you do as Kimmel does — eat regular meals for five days a week and cut your food intake to less than 500 calories on two days. It may be stressful for the body. I haven’t seen evidence either way but I’m a little wary.” There’s no scientific consensus on whether the benefits of fasting are simply due to calorie restriction (see The Science Behind Fasting). Many practitioners also end up abusing the absence of dietary restrictions.

Unlike keto, where you swear off all carbohydrates, including the omnipresent rice and roti, intermittent fasting does not have a long list of what you must not eat. In fact, there’s no list. The emphasis is on when you eat, rather than what and how much. Nor are there instructions about mandatory workouts. Advocates of the practice say benefits include not just weight loss but an improvement in several health indicators such as blood sugar, lipid profile, oxidation stress, blood pressure and the presence of growth hormones in the body. As Dr. Monique Tello writes in Harvard Medical School’s health blog, the weight loss is intermittent fasting happens when, through not eating for long, your insulin levels dip so that your stored fat is burnt as energy. Sports and clinical nutritionist Avantika Shah, who says the regimen worked “brilliantly” for her, says: “By giving your body enough rest (during fasting), the enzymes get enough time to pick up the waste matter, which is then flushed out.”

Personal growth:
Fasting is no different. Because fasting is already more intensive than most diets, taking fasting to an extreme can be problematic. The movie goes into some of the dangers of fasting and explores many of the variants of fasting that are popular and may be beneficial for people. Simply put, fasting is a weapon to be used in the fight against obesity related conditions and perhaps some ageing related conditions.

But, like any weapon, it has two edges. It has real power, and that power can be used constructively and it can also, in the wrong hands, be used destructively. It is all a matter of context and applicability. Much of the resurgence of interest in fasting as a therapeutic option centres around intermittent fasting — generally of shorter duration done consistently and frequently. The 5:2 diet, popularised by Dr. Michael Mosley is 2 days of fasting per week, but those ‘fasting’ days still allows 500 calories per day. Time restricted eating such as a 16:8 schedule, allows you to eat during only 8 hours of the day, so 16 hours are spent fasting. Many of the patients in my Intensive Dietary Management program use 24 hour to 36 hour fasts 2–3 times per week, and this is done under medical supervision with their physician.

Advice of nutritionist:
People get into trouble with extended fasts because they don’t follow common sense. Many of these fasting retreats offer 30 day water only fasts. If you become depleted of sodium (quite common), there are no doctors there to monitor for warning signs. If you become very weak and unable to get out of bed, there is very clearly something wrong, and you should not continue fasting. This is common sense. In my IDM program, clients know that they may feel hungry, maybe a little irritable, constipated perhaps, but they should not feel UNWELL. If you are really feeling poorly, you must stop. There is no reason to continue, because fasting is free. It is far better to stop and try it again (if you want) in a few days when you are feeling better. The problem with these fasting retreats is that people have paid money to be there and therefore they push on far beyond the limits of good safety practice and far beyond the limits of common sense.

Further, people undertake extreme fasting without any kind of preparation. Instead of undertaking shorter fasts and gradually extending it, they immediately opt for a full on water-only extended fast. This is like a rookie mountaineer that decides that he/she will tackle Mount Everest, without oxygen and push on to the summit irregardless of weather. The experience mountaineer would immediately recognise this as a death wish, but the rookie has no inkling of the dangers and may come home in a body bag. It’s pure stupidity. Yet fasting clinics promote this very same idea. Taking the most extreme fast (water-only fasting, as opposed to allowing some bone broth or some caloric intake), to an extended period of time (30 days instead of 1–2 days), in anybody irregardless of whether this is medically appropriate, without any adequate medical supervision or access to blood work I can tell you right now, that’s pure stupidity.

Health effects.
Fasting is one of the alternatives proved to reduce the DPP-4 level and activate the dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors and so, prevent osteoporosis. On the other hand, the circadian rhythm has a direct relationship with osteoporosis. This has been found by the biochemical markers, indicating that fasting at certain hours of the day, especially during those hours of the day which are recommended as part of the Muslim tradition (Islamic fasting), is very effective in reducing the effects of osteoporosis.

We have known for decades that restricting calories can have beneficial effects – if not in humans, then in animals. Many studies have found that organisms from single-celled yeasts to rodents age more slowly and live longer when their calorie intake falls to 40 per cent of that consumed by a group of animals eating normally.Constant calorie restriction has never really caught on in people, however, not least because the results didn’t bear out in primates. Besides, people find it difficult to restrict their diet in this way for long enough to find out if it extends their lives.

Fasting has been part of religious practice around the world for millennia, but it first made it into the consumer mainstream around five years ago, on the back of animal studies and research in overweight people suggesting that skipping meals could have numerous health benefits. There is growing evidence that periodically going without food puts our bodies into a kind of emergency mode, where they conserve energy, make repairs and prioritise mental clarity to solve the problem of finding food. “If we accept that the Palaeolithic was the environment in which most modern human adaptations were shaped, including dietary ones, the hunter-gatherers then were adapted to periods of feast and famine,”

Detriments.
Another effect of fasting is that the body starts to run out of glucose in the blood and glycogen stores in the liver, which causes a metabolic switch: the liver starts converting fats into Kenton bodies for the muscles and brain to use as fuel, a process called ketosis. This is why fasting almost always causes weight loss of somewhere between 2.5 and 8 per cent. But how long you need to fast before the switch to ketosis occurs is unknown. Longo says that it takes at least three days and that shorter fasts, such as the 5:2 diet, don’t last long enough to make it happen.

Fasting on a long hot day carries a risk of dehydration. However, if one is at medical risk of dehydration, which leads to serious consequences, then it is permitted to break one's fast.

Sources:
https://m.economictimes.com/magazines/panache/the-age-old-tradition-fasting-is-now-making-a-big-comeback/amp_articleshow/67505162.cms#aoh=15651915976608&amp_ct=1565191692511&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&amp_tf=From%20%251%24s

https://foodfuldiet-nutritionist.business.site/

https://medium.com/personal-growth/the-1-rule-of-fasting-b8a0024f55be

https://m.timesofindia.com/life-style/health-fitness/diet/is-one-meal-a-day-diet-an-extension-of-the-intermittent-fasting/amp_articleshow/70510038.cms.

https://www.instagram.com/tv/Bxqb98SFI24/?igshid=1tpchazzw1yhv

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/fasting-benefits

https://wanderlustrevolution.org/2018/05/24/what-a-30-day-water-fast-did-to-me/

http://www.scottragsdale.com/2016/12/11/30-days-without-eating-or-drinking-anything-but-water/

https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg24032000-200-fasting-power-can-going-without-food-really-make-you-healthier/

https://www.quora.com/What-would-the-effect-of-a-30-day-water-fast-be-My-friend-wants-to-do-a-30-day-water-fast-to-detox-but-I-am-kind-of-concerned-about-it-She-has-never-done-a-water-fast-before-so-30-days-seems-a-bit-overkill

http://www.ezsoftech.com/ramadan/ramadan13.asp

https://www.islamweb.net/en/article/135762/the-significance-of-fasting

https://www.islamicity.org/11682/the-purpose-of-fasting-in-islam/