FASTING WORKS MIRACLES ON YOUR BRAIN & BODY, But Big Pharma Won't Tell You!

 

Fasting Works Miracles

On Your Brain & Body

But ‘Big Pharma’ Won’t Tell You

(M. Javed Naseem)

Fasting is a blessing. Fasting was prescribed for all believers in every age and time. It was declared “obligatory” for Muslims, Christians and the Jews. But mankind has abandoned this religious practice. Surprisingly, it is making its return, thanks to the medical professionals and nutritionists of the modern health science.

In some narrations of Hadith, it is said that the Prophet (s.a.w.) used to fast twice a week (every Monday and Thursday) in addition to the three days (13^th, 14^th and 15^th) of every month (apart from Ramadan). This kind of fasting is called ‘intermittent fasting’ (i.e., not continuous).

What Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) recommended 14 centuries ago, is being discovered and researched by modern world today. Modern medical science has come up with the proof that fasting, especially intermittent fasting, works miracles on your body, especially the brains. But the money-making Big Pharma is not interested in supporting and researching such a study. They would lose most of their clients. They want people to stay sick and suffer from all kinds of illnesses so that they could make money by selling drugs in the name of treatment. This is a trillion-dollar business.

When health becomes a business, the only consideration is to boost the profits. If people are healthy, doctors and Big Pharma would not make big money. Simple!

Fasting does good things for the brain, and this is evident by all of the beneficial neuro-chemical changes that happen in the brain when we fast. It also improves cognitive function, increases neuro-trophic factors, increases stress resistance, and reduces inflammation.

Fasting is extremely beneficial for your physical and spiritual well-being. Unfortunately, the biased media has dubbed it as a Muslim religious ritual (referring to Ramadan) only thus taking away all the health benefits your body can derive from it. Fasting is good for the body and the soul. It’s not only materially beneficial, it’s also a godly act. It’s good for the entire mankind though it’s obligatory for Muslims only. But all scriptures show that all messengers or prophets of God (like Abraham, Moses, Jesus, etc.) used to fast; and their followers did the same. The Quran says that fasting was as well obligatory for all other nations as it is obligatory for Muslims.

‘If people fast, the food industry loses money.

What about the pharmaceutical industries?

What if people do some intermittent fasting, 

exercise periodically and are very healthy,

is the pharmaceutical industry going to

make any money on healthy people?’

--- Dr. Mark Mattson, PhD

Researchers claim that fasting is a challenge to your brain, and your brain responds to that challenge by adapting stress response pathways which help your brain cope with stress and risk for disease. The same changes that occur in the brain during fasting mimic the changes that occur with regular exercise. They both increase the production of protein in the brain (neuro-trophic factors), which in turn promotes the growth of neurons, the connection between neurons, and the strength of synapses.

‘Fasting shifts stem cells from a dormant

state to a state of self-renewal. It triggers

stem cell based regeneration of an organ

or system.’ – Study

Modern scientific research has shown some wonderful results of fasting (or intermittent fasting). The food (or your dietary habits) affect your body and soul. Dietary changes have long been known to have an effect on the brain. Children who suffer from epileptic seizures have fewer of them when placed on caloric restriction or fasts. It is believed that fasting helps kick-start protective measures that help counteract the overexcited signals that epileptic brains often exhibit. Some children with epilepsy have also benefited from a specific high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet. Dr. Mattson and another researcher reported in the journal ‘Nature Reviews Neuroscience’ that normal brains, when overfed, can experience another kind of uncontrolled excitation, impairing the brain’s function.

What Fasting Does To Your Brain, And

Why Big Pharma Won’t Study It!

Mark Mattson, Chief of the Laboratory of Neuroscience at the National Institute on Aging and his team have published several papers that discuss how fasting twice a week could significantly lower the risk of developing both Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease. He is also a professor of Neuroscience at The Johns Hopkins University, and one of the foremost researchers in the area of cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying multiple neuro-degenerative disorders, like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease. In one of his interviews, Mark Mattson said:

“I chose to include ‘Big Pharma’ in the title because that’s exactly what it is. There have been countless examples of the manipulation of published research at the hands of pharmaceutical companies in recent years. Why is it that the normal diet is three meals a day plus snacks? It isn’t that it’s the healthiest eating pattern, now that’s my opinion but I think there is a lot of evidence to support that. There are a lot of pressures to have that eating pattern, there’s a lot of money involved. The food industry — are they going to make money from skipping breakfast like I did today? No, they’re going to lose money. If people fast, the food industry loses money. What about the pharmaceutical industries? What if people do some intermittent fasting, exercise periodically and are very healthy? Is the pharmaceutical industry going to make any money on healthy people?”

Fasting can also stimulate the production of new nerve cells from stem cells in the hippocampus. He also mentions ketones (an energy source for neurons), and how fasting stimulates the production of ketones and that it may also increase the number of mitochondria in neurons. Fasting also increases the number of mitochondria in nerve cells; this comes as a result of the neurons adapting to the stress of fasting (by producing more mitochondria). By increasing the number of mitochondria in the neurons, the ability for nerons to form and maintain the connections between each other also increases, thereby improving learning and memory ability.

“Intermittent fasting enhances the ability of nerve cells to repair DNA.” 

He also goes into the evolutionary aspect of this theory – how our ancestors adapted and were built for going long periods of time without food.

A study published in the June issue of ‘Cell Stem Cell’ by researchers from the University of Southern California showed that cycles of prolonged fasting protect against immune system damage and, moreover, induce immune system regeneration. They concluded that fasting shifts stem cells from a dormant state to a state of self-renewal. It triggers stem cell based regeneration of an organ or system.

‘Fasting twice a week could significantly

lower the risk of developing both

Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease.’

-- Neuroscientists

A scientific review of multiple scientific studies regarding fasting was published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in 2007. It examined a multitude of both human and animal studies and determined that fasting is an effective way to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer. It also showed significant potential in treating diabetes.
(Courtesy: www.collective-evolution.com/2015/12/11/neuroscientist-shows-what-fasting-does-to-your-brain-why-big-pharma-wont-study-it)

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