The blessings of Ramadan

On the eve of Ramadan, a sacred month in which Muslims all over the world observe fasts as a religious obligation for a month. Muslims were commanded to fast during Ramadan more than 1400 years ago in hopes that it will lead to greater ‘taqwa’ [piety, fear of God] or consciousness of God, the ancient Greek recommended fasting to heal the body. Science has provided an endless list of benefits of fasting.

A recent book ‘The Fast Diet’ written by Michael Mosley and Mimi Spencer, a best seller of the New York Times, unveils the living manifestations of positive effects of fasting on human life.

The current medical information advises us that we eat low-fat and do more exercise to live happy and healthily. However, does this really work? Not really! Recent statistics show obesity rates are on an upward trend. People are getting fatter and less healthy, and cardiovascular diseases remain the number one killer around the globe.

What is the solution to this problem?

Intermittent fasting is the process of alternating between periods of healthy eating and no eating at all.

For millennia, humans have been switching from a period of a feast to famine. Our body is well adapted to intermittent fasting as we have evolved to survive over the years.

What are the benefits of fast?

Medically, fasting has been shown to reduce oxidative damage and inflammation. It helps optimize energy, metabolism and increases cellular protection in the body. Fasting therefore helps reduce rheumatoid arthritis, asthma, hypertension, as well as obesity.

Fasting helps keep diseases at bay and there are growing scientific pieces of evidence which support this claim. In a published article in ‘Nature’ reports that studies have highlighted the numerous benefits of fasting, but the fundamental mechanism of how it functions is not understood.

A potential reason why fasting is beneficial might be the reduction of IGF-1 hormone, also called insulin – like growth factor 1 in your body when you fast. A decrease in the secretion of this hormone can lead to a potential reduction of cancer risk, hence a healthier and happier life.

Our body cells are naturally programmed to grow and reproduce as we synthesize energy from the food we eat. So when we fast a drop in the IGF-1 which is responsible for the growth and reproduction of these cells issues warning to the body. When the body interprets this signal it exits the normal growth mode and goes into repair mode frantically repairing damaged cells and maintain normal body functioning.  Dr. Longo Valter of University of Southern California Institute experimented with mice that are genetically modified not to produce IGF-1 to verify this claim. He discovered mice without the IGF-1 lived twice longer than their counterparts with IGF-1 and also did not develop cancer.

Now, what about humans?  Dr. Valter expanded the scope of the research to study Ecuadorians living with Laron syndrome. This syndrome is a genetic mutation that results in low levels of IGF-1 production in the body. His findings show these people never developed cancer or diabetics. Dr. Valter ruled out other environmental variables that might interfere with this result as the test was carried out in the same village as others who did develop cancer. The results show we might need increased levels of IGF-1 when young and growing but an elevated level in later life3 can lead to accelerated aging, diabetics, and even cancer.

Fasting also affects brain chemistry and decreases the chances of developing a disease like Alzheimer. A brain is a complex machine. It is highly flexible and adaptable, yet not invincible. Neurodegenerative diseases impact not just the patient but the family as well. In a study by Dr. Mark Mattson, a professor of Neuroscience at the National Institute of Aging, he demonstrated the positive impacts of fasting on the brain. It makes us smarter, prevents the onset of degenerative diseases thus helping us live a happy life.

Every seven seconds one person dies from Diabetes. A massive 4.9 million people died from this disease in  2014. To reduce the number lets consider that triggers diabetes. Our diet contains carbohydrates and each time we consume it there is an increase in blood glucose level. To normalize your blood glucose level you need insulin hormone. Insulin is responsible for the extraction and transformation of glucose into glycogen which is then stored as energy in the liver or muscles. Insulin also stimulates fat cells to absorb and store energy in fat form. When your body’s insulin levels become high the body in response absorb more fats leading to weight gain. If your body continues to produce glucose hence more insulin your body cells refuse to respond to the excess insulin. At this stage, your body sugar level remains high as your insulin regulator stop work. This leads to diabetes joining 371 million people suffering from diabetes worldwide. Diabetes also increases your chance of developing a stroke, heart disease or even going blind. Fasting can help regulate your body insulin level as well as bring it back to its normal functioning mode.

Professor Taylor’s research suggests that it is the build-up of fat inside the liver and pancreas that causes all the trouble. These two organs are responsible for controlling our insulin and blood sugar levels. As they get clogged up with fat they stop communicating with each other. Eventually, your body stops producing insulin and you become a type 2 diabetic’’.

A study conducted in  2015 involving eight healthy men we asked to fast daily for 20 hours a day over two weeks. During the fasting days, they were only permitted to eat between 6 p.m. and 10.p.m. after the two weeks their weight and fat levels did not change but there was a significant increase in their body insulin sensitivity. This translated to the current level of insulin worked optimally in the body than it did before the fasting. This research ascertains that fasting helps the body convert fat cells into energy. These fat cells prevent insulin from optimally regulating the blood glucose level. Fasting helps reduce the number of fat cells and allow insulin to work optimally. It also helps to deal with inflammatory diseases such as asthma and eczema. Fasting has scientifically been associated with curing these diseases.

Allah has bestowed us with an endless blessing. We just cannot comprehend the ways in which religion is providing positivity to our body and soul. The scientific evidence is best explaining the blessing of Ramadan on the human body.

Tooba Mujtaba is a bio-technologist and Writer