Want To Live
Longer/Healthier?
Eating Less Or Fasting Is
The Key To Good Health
And Spiritual Wellbeing!
(M. Javed Naseem)
The Bible says:
“Therefore I tell
you, do not worry about your life,
what you will eat or
drink; or about your body,
what you will wear!
Is not life more than food,
and the body more
than clothes?”
– Matthew 6:25
A full belly is the Devil’s workshop – nothing good comes
out of it. On the contrary a half-empty (or half-full, if it pleases you) belly
guarantees you a healthier and better life.
People believe in living comfortably and they try all sorts
of things to achieve this goal. But most of the times they end up living a problematic
life. I say that you live modestly (as I don’t like luxuries) but die
comfortably! It means that you physically live a healthier life which is also
very important for your spiritual wellbeing. To me, dying comfortably means
dying disease-free, without diabetes, without blood-pressure, without heart
ailments, without liver problems, without kidney infections and without
obesity. And this is possible only by eating less (including fasting) and
exercising.
The Bible says:
“Food will not
commend us to God.
We are no worse off
if we do not eat,
and no better off if
we do.”
– 1-Corinthians 8:8
With experience, you should become your own doctor as nobody
understands your body better than you. You make adjustments in your eating
habits and lifestyle; add a little bit of sports (especially jogging/running or
at least walking) to it and you are fine. Basically, it is what you eat and how
much; and how you burn it. You try one regimen or another and you’ll know
what’s better for you.
I am in my 70’s (Alhamdo-lillah or thank God) and I don’t
see a doctor for years at a stretch, though I do take a few lab tests every two
years to monitor my pH balance. PH (pH) is a measurement of how
acidic or alkaline (basic) a substance is. The scale runs from 0 to 14. A pH of less than 7 is
considered acidic, and a pH of more than 7 is basic. It is now over 20 years
that I never ate 3 meals a day. I take morning breakfast (with 3-5 dates, a cup
of milk, two slices of whole-wheat bread dipped in olive oil, an egg, cereal
yoghurt and a mug of tea. My second meal is Linner – yes, it’s the combination
of Lunch & Dinner. I normally eat at sunset with Maghrib prayer. I fast
about 10 days every month (twice/thrice a week). I don’t eat red meat, nor
chicken. I eat fish and turkey meat; a lot of fruits, vegetables/salads; dry nuts,
drink gallons of tea (lol…) – black, green, ginger, mint and jasmine, with a
slice of lemon in the mug (not a cup … lol). Don’t smoke, don’t drink alcohol,
don’t drink soda pops (Coke, Pepsi, etc.). I prefer to drink plain water
(especially water with a slice of lemon). Of course, there are exceptions too,
when I am invited by others, I eat/drink whatever Halal is offered. I don’t
make a fuss.
In the morning, before breakfast, I take a
glass of lemon-water (fresh lemon squeezed in water) or red apple-cider vinegar
(two spoons mixed in a glass of) water. At night, before bed, I take a cup of
hot turmeric-milk (half a spoon of turmeric powder mixed in hot milk). Apart
from that, I walk (used to jog/run 3-times a week) – brisk walking – 3-5 km every day. And that takes
care of my health, keeping the doctors away. The only people I need to consult
every couple of years are the dentist and the eye-specialist. I wear glasses
only for reading/writing. I drive too.
We know it from the Quran that Prophet Nuh (Noah) lived a
long life (950 years). Adam and his sons and many other Prophets also lived
longer lives than we can think of – hundreds of years. What was the secret of
their long and healthy lives? We don’t know; but we know that there were no
sophisticated clinics or hospitals nor special medicines or drugs they used.
The lifestyle was plain and simple; nobody ate 3-meals a day. They ate less and
worked harder. They walked a lot too.
The last Prophet (Muhammad, s.a.w.) gave us a sincere piece
of advice about filling our bellies. He said:
“No human ever filled a vessel worse than the stomach.
Sufficient for the son of Adam are a few morsels to keep his back straight. But
if he cannot bear that, then one third for his food, one third for his drink
and one third for his breath.” (Ahmad, At-Tirmidhi, An-Nasa’i, Ibn Majah).
When Yuhanna Bin Masawaiyh (770 CE), the famous Assyrian physician
who lived through the tenure of four Caliphs in Baghdad, heard about the
Prophet’s Hadith, he remarked, “If people only applied these words practically,
they would avoid all diseases and maladies; and the clinics and pharmacies
would be idle.”
Modern research has shown that remarkable reduction in the
amount of food consumed helped fish, rats and monkeys live longer. But there
have been very few studies in humans. Now, some researchers have found that
when people severely cut calories, they can slow their metabolism and possibly
the aging process.
Western scientists and researchers know fully well the
benefits of fasting but they deliberately avoid to recommend it because they
don’t want to promote ‘Ramadan’ – in other words promote Islam. So, they keep
beating about the bush.
The Bible says:
“But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest
after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.” – 1-Corinthians 9:27.
“It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations,
in all your dwelling places,
that you eat neither fat nor blood.” – Leviticus 3:17.
“Be not among drunkards or among gluttonous eaters of meat,
for the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty, and slumber will clothe
them with rags.” – Proverbs 23:20-21.
“Speak to the people of Israel, saying, ‘You shall eat no
fat, of ox or sheep or goat!’” – Leviticus 7:23.
Clinical physiologist Leanne Redman, who headed a study at Pennington Biomedical
Research Center
in Baton Rouge, Florida, says that people who cut their
typical plate for breakfast, lunch and dinner by up to 25 percent, for two
years, lost quite a bit of weight – 25 pounds on average.
For testing, participants also spent 24 hours in special
rooms that measured their metabolic rates via gas, oxygen and carbon dioxide
and how it changed over time.
Redman noticed that for those on the restricted diet, their
metabolism slowed and became more efficient.
"Basically it just means that cells need less oxygen in
order to generate the energy the body needs to survive; and so the body and the
cells are becoming more energy efficient," Redman explains.
Biochemist Valter Longo, who studies longevity at the University of Southern California, says: "Basically,
you have to eat progressively less to maintain the same weight."
Carrying around too much weight can cause countless health
problems. Instead of chronic calorie restriction, Longo is a proponent of
mini-fasts. These are short reductions in calories to just 900 a day for five days a
month, which, he says, have the benefits of fasting without the potentially
negative long-term effects. In his book ‘The Longevity Diet’, Longo stresses
the importance of eating more fruits and vegetables and less meat.
It may not ultimately lengthen your life, he says, but it
can certainly help you maintain a healthy weight and avoid the kinds of chronic
illnesses that can shorten it. These practices are not for everyone. If you
have a history of eating disorders check with your doctor before starting any
new regimen.
Fasting Or Intermittent
Fasting (IF):
According to Dr. Monique Tello, there’s a ton of incredibly
promising intermittent fasting (IF) research done on fat rats. They lose
weight, their blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugars improve… but
they’re rats. Studies in humans, almost across the board, have shown that IF is
safe and incredibly effective. A growing body of research suggests that the
timing of the fast is key, and can make IF (Intermittent Fasting) a more
realistic, sustainable, and effective approach for weight loss, as well as for
diabetes prevention.
She says:
“The food we eat is broken down by enzymes in our gut and
eventually ends up as molecules in our bloodstream. Carbohydrates, particularly
sugars and refined grains (think white flours and rice), are quickly broken
down into sugar, which our cells use for energy. If our cells don’t use it all,
we store it in our fat cells as, well, fat. But sugar can only enter our cells
with insulin, a hormone made in the pancreas. Insulin brings sugar into the fat
cells and keeps it there.”
“Between meals, as long as we don’t snack, our insulin levels
will go down and our fat cells can then release their stored sugar, to be used
as energy. We lose weight if we let our insulin levels go down. The entire idea
of IF is to allow the insulin levels to go down far enough and for long enough
that we burn off our fat.”
New research is suggesting that not all IF approaches are
the same; some are actually very reasonable, effective, and sustainable,
especially when combined with a nutritious plant-based diet. We have evolved to
be in sync with the day/night cycle, i.e., a circadian rhythm. Our metabolism
has adapted to daytime food, nighttime sleep. Nighttime eating is well
associated with a higher risk of obesity, as well as diabetes.
Research shows that just changing the timing of meals, by
eating earlier in the day and extending the overnight fast, significantly
benefited metabolism. Dr. Deborah Wexler, Director of the Massachusetts
General Hospital Diabetes Center and associate professor at Harvard Medical
School, says:
“There is evidence to suggest that the circadian rhythm
fasting approach, where meals are restricted to an eight to 10-hour period of
the daytime, is effective, but generally, it is recommended that people use an
eating approach that works for them and is sustainable to them.”
There is some good scientific evidence suggesting that
circadian rhythm fasting, when combined with a healthy diet and lifestyle, can
be a particularly effective approach to weight loss, especially for people at
risk for diabetes. (However, people with advanced diabetes or who are on
medications for diabetes, people with a history of eating disorders like
anorexia and bulimia, and pregnant or breastfeeding women should not attempt
intermittent fasting unless under the close supervision of a physician who can
monitor them.)
The Way To Do It:
- Avoid sugars and refined
grains. Instead, eat fruits, vegetables, beans, lentils, whole grains,
lean proteins, and healthy fats (a sensible, plant-based,
Mediterranean-style diet).
- Let your body burn fat
between meals. Don’t snack. Be active throughout your day. Build muscle
tone.
- Consider a simple form of
intermittent fasting. Limit the hours of the day when you eat, and for
best effect, make it earlier in the day (between 7 am to 3 pm, or even 10
am to 6 pm, but definitely not in the evening before bed).
- Avoid snacking or eating at
nighttime, all the time.
(Courtesy:
https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/intermittent-fasting-surprising-update-2018062914156)
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