A group of doctors did a study on 200 Mornons in the state of Utah who
fasted regularly (as part of their culture). The results were compared
with other individuals (non-Mornons) that didn\'t fast and found
remarkable differences. Specifically, X-ray scans revealed normal
arteries in about half of the Mornons who fasted v/s narrowed arteries
in 75 per cent individuals who didn\'t fast.

One of my clients came to my clinic
with this magazine clipping that more or less encouraged fasting as a
way to avoid diabetes and several other diseases. The research
conducted by a team of doctors seemed to suggest that fasting halved
the chances of getting diabetes.

The test group did not take any
nourishment other than water for a period of 24 hours. All individuals
were administered a series of health checks and were monitored even
when they did not fast. The tests revealed that during the fasting
stage, significant amounts of human growth hormone were released. The
human growth hormone triggers metabolism which in turn burns fat.
During the fasting stage, cholesterol levels also shot up but returned
to pre-fasting stage after the fast was over.

I for one have a serious problem with
the so called conclusion of this research. I admit that fasting would
trigger release of human growth hormone but how effective is that in
losing fat? Just as refilling your gas tank will fill up empty spaces
in it, so too when you eat the next day after you fast, any little fat
that might have been lost is replaced. This is a known fact. As for
differences in the arteries, there is simply no evidence that fasting
alone had anything to do with it. Let us not forget that the Mornons
live life differently. They do not eat like we do. And even in their
case, over 40% showed reduced artery width. So to draw conclusions on
the basis of just one factor i.e. fasting would in my book, be
ridiculous.

Fasting - hype or a home run?

In all my years of providing service
and advice to the community, I\'ve never advised fasting as a means of
reducing weight or as a means of achieving other imagined benefits.
Remember when you fast, the body is starved of nutrition. It sources
its nourishment internally until food is again available. Once food is
obtained, the first task the body does is to replenish the stocks of
energy that were utilized during the fast.

Fasting as a body cleanser

Again, there isn\'t an iota of
scientific evidence that fasting switches the body into some kind of
self-cleaning mode or that fasting allows our organs to recuperate. If
that were so, our genes would have programmed individual organs
including the heart, to shut off from time to time.

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