INFO : Benefit of Fasting

Assalamualaikum...

One of my colleague, is a free thinker, but he used to fast together with Muslim during Ramadhan. Why? 

Then he gave me these benefits (from his point of view):

Provides tranquility of the heart and mind

There is intense spiritual meaning to Ramadan for those who fast. Muslims practice generosity by being charitable, family-bonding by gathering around the iftar table, spirituality by praying, and self-control by practicing good manners. 

All these habits build a feeling of peace, tranquility and self-satisfaction.

Improves your blood fat levels

A study conducted in 1997 in the Annals of Nutrition Metabolism demonstrated that fasting lowered bad “LDL” cholesterol levels by 8 percent, triglyceride by 30 percent, and increased good “HDL” levels by 14.3 percent thereby protecting your heart from cardiovascular disease.

This can be explained by our eating and exercise habits. In Ramadan, people tend to go for healthier options such as dates, nuts, lentil soup, and home cooked meals. Studies have noted that overall saturated fat consumption, usually found in butter, lard, fatty meat, and fast food, is reduced in Ramadan. In addition, the night prayers of “tawarih” may provide an adequate level of physical activity equivalent to moderate physical activity which, for some, may be more than they usually exercise.

May help you overcome addictions

Addictions can come in all shapes and forms and Ramadan provides an excellent opportunity to ditch them. Because Ramadan teaches you self-restraint for most of the day, you will come to realize that forgoing your addiction all together may not be has hard as you think!

Choose one addiction to drop this Ramadan. It could be an addiction to smoking, lying, chocolate, or even gossiping and say your good-byes.

Promotes fat breakdown and weight loss

Calorie consumption is overall decreased in Ramadan. Of course if you’re binge-eating on Arabic sweets that’s not going to happen. However, if you maintain your usual eating habits, you are very likely to eat less amounts of food and lose weight. This is especially true in Ramadan, when your source of Energy during your fast is mainly fat. Trying to stay lightly active during the day can promote even more fat break-down.

Ramadan may be the perfect opportunity to re-train yourself and get back on track of eating healthy. When you fast, you learn to control your cravings. As a result, by the end of Ramadan you’ll have stronger will-power and you will have re-gained the strength to say no to tempting food.

 

Source : http://english.alarabiya.net