While there is a lot of study based data that has been able to demonstrate the benefits of fasting on the body and its health and fitness levels, there is also data to indicate the opposite.
Since ancient times, humans have fasted for ritualistic or religious or spiritual reasons, but in modern times there are divergent views of the benefits of fasting if any. According to many experts, fasting is not good for the body because:
It does not help weight loss: If there is a sudden and drastic deprivation of food that the body faces it is likely that the body’s systems will react by perceiving this situation as famine or times of scarcity and will start to horde the fat stores of the body and refuse to yield them facilitating no fat loss and consequent fat gain when the fast ends and eating is resumed.
In fact, according to some experts when the body perceives a famine like situation, it hordes fat stores and starts to break down muscle which is not good for the body.
The body cannot function properly: Many experts liked fasting and the impact it has on the body to expecting a car to run on empty. When the body it deprived of fuel, it is likely to be reflected by lower energy levels and tiredness.
The famine like situation that is perceived by the body will result in a slowing down of the metabolism which ends up with the body conserving calories rather than permitting it to expend them by way of activity.
Glucose depletion: Long periods of fasting, particularly a fast that lasts for more than a day, will cause glucose depletion in the body causing problems in normal functioning, tiredness, and even fogginess of the brain and reduced mental acuity.
There is no cleansing or detoxification as a result of fasting: Contrary to what many experts believe, fasting does not have the impact of cleansing the body or detoxifying it. It is contended that if one eats a well balanced nutritious diet, which is moderate and varied as well and if one does that at all times, there is no stress on the body’s systems. Consequently, there is also no need for detoxification or purification of any kind.
Unsuitable for the very young and the old: Even those that do advocate fasting, tend to opine that this is not suitable for the very young since their bodies are still growing. It is also not suitable for the old because it will result in calcium depletion after a time.