Fast+Project+-PK

media type="file" key="fasting.m4a" =__//**Retune the Body with a Partial Fast**//__ by Patricia Neighmond=

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=16513299&ft=1&f=2100955



//**Basic Nourishment Facts**//
 * 1) Most adults require about 2,000 calories a day.
 * 2) These calories make energy or glycogen which are necessary for all bodily functions.

*Fasting for short periods of time (For example: 24 hours once a week) can be beneficial to the body*
//**Benefits of Fasting:**//
 * 1) Retunes the body
 * A. Suppresses insulin secretion
 * The body burns up stored sugars so less insulin is needed for digestion
 * Less insulin secretion gives the pancreas a rest
 * B. Reduces the craving and the taste for sugar
 * C. Improves the efficiency of glucose regulation
 * Which can protect the body from diabetes and can lower blood pressure
 * D. May extend lifespan
 * Eating less sends signals to the cells that they should conserve and use energy more efficiently
 * E. Reduces the harmful digestion byproducts such as Free Radicals

__//**Dangers of Fasting:**//__
 * 1) After a few days of fasting, the body uses up the glucose sources and begins to break down fat and muscle
 * Muscle is dangerous to break down because potentially toxic proteins are released.
 * These broken down proteins can be toxic to the kidneys and liver



//**Questions:**//
//**What are free radicals?**// Free radicals are formed when a weak molecule bond splis and leave the molecule with an odd, unpaired electron. Free radicals are unstable and try to capture other stable molecules' electrons. After the molecule has been attacked, it becomes a free radical and spirals into a chain reaction. This free radical chain reaction can accumulate into disrupting the living cell. The body's immune system can purposefully produce some free radicals to neutralize viruses and bacteria. The environment can also produce free radicals, such as pollution, herbicides, cigarette smoke and radiation.

//**How can we battle free radicals without fasting?**// Antioxidants such as vitamins C and E protect the body through neutralizing the free radials through donating their own electrons. The nutrient does not turn into a free radical after this donation because nutrients are stable in either form.

http://www.healthchecksystems.com/antioxid.htm