Since fasting during Ramadan lasts only from dawn to dusk, one can replace the energy that the body needs by partaking meals at pre-dawn and dusk.
According to Dr Miftahurahman, an internist of the Endocrinology Division of Hasan Sadikin Hospital in Bandung, West Java, fasting is good for people with diseases related to metabolism.
Metabolic diseases, any disease or disorder that disrupts normal metabolism, involve the process of converting food to energy on a cellular level.
Any one claiming that going without food and drink can make a person weak is afflicted with a wrong mindset because fasting can be a cure as it can reduce metabolic diseases, Dr. Miftah said.
It is recorded in Encyclopedia Britannica that metabolic diseases affect the ability of the cell to perform critical biochemical reactions that involve the processing or transport of proteins such as amino acids, carbohydrates, or lipids (fatty acids).
Metabolic diseases are typically hereditary, yet most persons affected by them may appear healthy for days, months or even years.
For some metabolic disorders, it is possible to obtain prenatal diagnostic screening. Such analysis usually is offered to families who have previously had a child with a metabolic disease or who are in a defined ethnic group.
If an infant is known to have a metabolic disorder soon after birth, appropriate therapy can be started early, which may result in a better prognosis.
Some metabolic disorders respond very well if treatment is introduced at an early age.
However, others have no effective therapy and cause severe problems, despite early diagnosis. In the future, gene therapy may prove successful in the treatment of some of these diseases.
The internist from Hasan Sadikin Hospital opined that fasting is helpful and has a lot of medical benefits.
Miftah pointed out that during the fasting month, overloaded metabolism in the form of cholesterol, uric acid and blood sugar is "washed" away.
Ritual fasting has been part of religious traditions for thousands of years, and a recent growing body of research indicates that abstaining from food intermittently may offer physical and spiritual benefits.
A study conducted by researchers from Utah found that occasional fasting, defined as extended periods of time during which people generally abstain from all food and beverages, except water, may reduce the risk of heart disease and diabetes.
Fasting for a day once a month may prevent heart disease and insulin resistance, the precursor to diabetes, according to two studies from Utahs Intermountain Medical Center presented recently at the American College of Cardiologys scientific sessions.
When researchers monitored the habits of 200 men and women, they found that people who fasted once a month were 58 percent less likely to suffer from heart disease than those who did not follow the practice.
Meanwhile, scientists at the University of Southern California, according to The Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) have made a breakthrough discovery that fasting can regenerate the entire immune system, even in the elderly.
Although fasting diets have been criticized by nutritionists for being unhealthy, new research suggests starving the body kick-starts stem cells into producing new white blood cells, which fight off infection.
They said it could be particularly beneficial for people suffering from damaged immune systems, such as cancer patients on chemotherapy.
It could also help the elderly whose immune system becomes less effective as they age, making it harder for them to fight off even common diseases.
The researchers say fasting "flips a regenerative switch" which prompts stem cells to create brand new white blood cells, essentially regenerating the entire immune system.
"It gives an OK to the stem cells to go ahead and begin proliferating and rebuild the entire system," said Prof Valter Longo, Professor of Gerontology and the Biological Sciences at the University of California.
According to him, the good news is that the body got rid of the parts of the system that might be damaged or old, the inefficient parts, during the fasting.
"Now, if you start with a system heavily damaged by chemotherapy or ageing, fasting cycles can generate, literally, a new immune system," he noted.
Prolonged fasting forces the body to use stores of glucose and fat but also breaks down a significant portion of white blood cells.
During each cycle of fasting, this depletion of white blood cells induces changes that trigger stem cell-based regeneration of new immune system cells.
The scientists found that prolonged fasting also reduced the enzyme PKA, which is linked to ageing and a hormone which increases cancer risk and tumor growth.
According to the scientists, fasting for 72 hours also protected cancer patients against the toxic impact of chemotherapy.
(O001/INE)
EDITED BY INE.
Reporter: Otniel Tamindael
Editor: Suryanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2016
