Firdaus Khan

Fasting has been identified as a preventive measure for various physical and mental diseases, according to Heart Care Foundation of India. Regular weekly fast would act as a safety wall against ill health. This was stated by Dr KK Aggarwal, President Heart Care Foundation of India.

He said that denying the system its usual food intake for a day every week would induce growth hormones and promote metabolism. But fasting should not be a casual affair to be observed only on certain religious occasions; it should rather be a weekly discipline, undertaken regularly on a particular day during every week.

The spiritual benefits being apart, the fast tends to create immunity in the system against diseases. The day's rest to the digestive system as a result of the fast would cause release of certain chemicals in the body which would keep ailments away.

The fast is also prone to usher quietitude of mind. Pollution of the physical and mental environment hatred, anger, jealousy and all negative thoughts which enhance the chances of damage to health are taken care of by the resting digestive system.

People were, however, cautioned not to precede and/or proceed the fast with heavy meals. The fast would lose its health benefits if the stomach is loaded with heavy food before or after the fast. They accumulate more calories by eating such food compared to what they lose by fasting. While one chapatti contains 40 calories, most sweets have 200 to 300 calories per 40 grams. The higher caloric content of sweets and the ‘puri-kachori’ also raise cholesterol in the blood, increasing the chances of a heart attack.

People were also advised to count their calories on monthly basis rather than on daily basis.