Fasting: From Ancient Practice to Modern Trend
As Yom Kippur approaches, Jews around the world prepare to fast. Not eating or drinking for 25 hours can be a daunting task. However, studies have shown that fasting has an array of benefits, despite its main drawback – hunger.
Intermittent fasting, or a practice in which people eat during a certain time window, has recently come into fashion, bringing the idea of fasting to the masses. The term “intermittent fasting” is searched on Google nearly 1 million times a month, which is more than “diet” and is as much as “weight loss,” according to Bloomberg.
Fasting is not a new idea, as Jews know, and scientists are looking at the practice’s potential health benefits. When humans fast, or simply don’t snack between meals, insulin drops, promoting weight loss and the idea behind intermittent fasting is to keep insulin low enough, long enough and force the body to burn fat, according to Harvard Health Publishing. Studies have shown that for humans intermittent fasting is “safe and incredibly effective,” Harvard Health Publishing reported.
Excerpted from the Jerusalem Post
