This April 7th, Holy FridayIt is the day of processions fasting and abstinence. Some of the recommendations contained in “the law of fasting” are to refrain from meat and food of animal origin, consume only liquids or have a meal plus two small meals that together do not exceed the main meal in quantity.
This guideline carried out responsibly has numerous benefits for health, remember from the European Medical Institute of Obesity (IMEO). Helps regulate blood sugar levels, favors the reduction of insulin resistance and improves inflammatory processes. It helps to lower blood pressure and heart rate at rest and entails a series of biochemical effects in our brain that at a mental level enhance reflection and introspection.
«When a person is sick, he does not eat; is an instinctive way of activating an internal phylogenetic mechanism that forces us to stop rest the digestive system in order to be able to use all the energies to fight the disease”, explains Ruben BravoInstitute spokesperson and dietitian specializing in intermittent fasting.
Something similar happens during the fasting period that takes place at Easter. «Our body allocates all the resources that it usually uses for the processes of digestion and metabolization of nutrients in functions such as cell repair, the elimination of dysfunctional cells or for the creation of new stem cells that would occur after 20 hours of fasting. “, it states.
Improves cognitive processes
«Recent publications, such as the one carried out by the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience of King’s College London, indicate that fasting improves cognitive processes and the generation of new neurons in the hippocampus, a part of our brain linked to memory and emotional regulation, causing a feeling of lightness, fullness and relaxation”, emphasizes Bravo. However, he advises, the fast on this Good Friday should be done responsibly in order to avoid some common side effects, such as dizziness, headache, low blood sugar or digestive problems. It is not recommended for diabetics, pregnant women, hypertensives, children and people over 59 years of age.
Fast for reflection
Food deprivation for a certain period of time is an ancient practice that is part of different religions and has numerous benefits for physical and mental health. The absolute fast, for example, practiced by Jews for 24 hours prohibits both food and drink. during the month of ramadan Muslims abstain from solids and liquids for about 10-14 hours a day.
Hindus and some Buddhist monks renounce eating in the afternoon, considering that it favors biorhythms. Buddhists follow this practice to strengthen self-control and will, achieving greater concentration and a sense of well-being.
“The holistic vision of the human being makes us understand that people are the sum of all our elements, where the physical body has its emotional, intellectual and spiritual part,” says the IMEO psychologist, Angela Fernandez. All of them interconnected, they act in total harmony and consequently, “so that what we do in one of the parts will have repercussions in all the others and, if we treat one of the parts very well, we will be investing in caring for the others.”
The way we eat affects our personal integrity and, if food is a conflict for the body, this will manifest as a tension in the mind. In the same way that food affects the way we behave, certain behaviors will require certain foods. Therefore, “if we manage to carry out healthy changes in our dietwe will be causing positive changes in our way of being”, reasons the expert.
Depression, stress and anxiety
A fast adapted to our personal circumstances will allow us to explore sensations in a more present way and without added inflammatory incentives. It can help us lower the levels depression, anxiety and stress, it will increase our ability to concentrate and facilitate introspection. “It is an excellent tool to achieve reflection and self-knowledge, turn our gaze inward and understand our true emotions, without mental fatigue, creating new connections that we can use to understand what we feel, do and think”, Fernández details.
When doing an introspection exercise, the psychologist advises “adjusting one’s expectations to reality, developing a plan that suits our needs and changing limiting beliefs about one’s own abilities. All of this will help us unlock our limits and realize achievements, those as unique as they are personal”, she concludes.
biochemical effects
During the practice of fasting, a series of biochemical effects are manifested in the brain. One of them lies in the notable increase in concentration capacity. “Science explains it with the increased production of orexin in the hypothalamus, a hormone involved in appetite control that favors a healthy glucose balance, to which other neurotransmitters such as noradrenaline add their action, which, in turn, It encourages action”, indicates Carmen Escalada, IMEO clinical nutritionist.
An increase in neuroplasticity is also observed, which is the ability of the brain to recover and adapt to new situations. “It is due to the need to look for different sources of energy to the usual ones and it is essential, because it improves learning and memory capacity,” he adds.
In addition, the fact of spending many hours without eating and reducing the copiousness of each intake favors the production of a protein known as Brain-derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) whose low levels maintained over time are related to the development of certain diseases such as depression and, of a neurodegenerative type, such as Alzheimer’s.
The rest of the digestive system also causes the activation of the sympathetic nervous system that prepares our body for action in times of stress. This translates into a drop in insulin, reducing the anxiety to eat sweets. The food fresh and healthy they should be the basis of our daily diet, including the day of fasting.
It is important avoid ultra-processedbecause they contain some components in high doses, such as simple sugars, refined flours, saturated or trans fats, which “act on the pleasure center located in the brain, generating addiction and, therefore, anxiety, irritability and stress, if not They continue to consume.”
Abusive and repeated consumption, especially of those foods rich in sugar, favors the production of proinflammatory cytokines that have been associated with an increased risk for the development of type 2 diabetes and depression. Since this type of diet makes it impossible to achieve the sense of calm, stability and self-control necessary for personal and spiritual growth, it is essential to reduce its consumption as much as possible.
Having a stable schedule for meals and that these are small will help us avoid the feeling of marked hunger that can be linked to anxiety. Finally, “you have to eat slowly and chew, trying to fully enjoy the flavor of the food, giving more importance to its organoleptic characteristics and removing it from the fully material, the quantity,” advises Escalada.