PDA

View Full Version : BBC documentary: Eat, fast and Live Longer



Sahasranama
17 August 2012, 11:10 AM
http://img713.imageshack.us/img713/4535/p00wzn5j.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/713/p00wzn5j.jpg/)




Duration: 1 hour
Michael Mosley has set himself a truly ambitious goal: he wants to live longer, stay younger and lose weight in the bargain. And he wants to make as few changes to his life as possible along the way. He discovers the powerful new science behind the ancient idea of fasting, and he thinks he's found a way of doing it that still allows him to enjoy his food. Michael tests out the science of fasting on himself - with life-changing results.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pfna7nV7WaM&feature=related

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01lxyzc
Fasting is now becoming mainstream in the health and fitness world. There is more and more scientific evidence showing that fasting has a positive effect on health markers like blood lipids, blood sugar, hormone levels and inflammation. Fasting also has a positive effect on mental health and has shown to cause the growth of new brain cells. In addition to that, many people have lost a lot of weight through Intermittent fasting. A popular method is to fast twice a week for a 24 hour period on any random day. This method is great for secular people, but for Hindus there are auspicious days in the calender to fast regularly.

To get the full health benefits of intermittent fasting, it is best to fast at least three days* in one paksha (15 day period). Every Hindu should first consider fasting on ekadashi days. This is the most auspicious day for fasting in the paksha. Another great day for fasting is chaturdashi. This day is dedicated to Shiva, every chaturdashi in krishna paksha is considered a Shiva Ratri and the chaturdashi in shukla paksha is also dedicated to Shiva. The ananta padmanabha vrata and nrisimha jayanti also fall on chaturdashi days. South Indian shaivas will more likely want to fast on trayodashi days (pradosha). Other days to consider fasting are shashti (dedicated to Skanda) or chaturthi (dedicated to Ganesha).

There are also many yearly holidays one can consider fasting on. I don't have any exhaustive list, but this one gives a nice overview: http://www.mypanchang.com/hindufestivals2012.php
(http://www.mypanchang.com/hindufestivals2012.php)
Besides Ekadashi, other important days to fast on according to the Puranas are Rama Navami, Krishna Janmashtami and Maha Shivaratri.

*fasting for a full day is around 8 hours longer than 24 hours of fasting, because you don't eat in the night before the fast, not during the day of the fast and not during the night after the fast. The fast is broken the next morning. This will be around 32 hours of fasting.

realdemigod
17 August 2012, 01:19 PM
Fasting detoxifies body and eliminates all the wastes from the body.

Sahasranama
17 August 2012, 01:28 PM
Fasting detoxifies body and eliminates all the wastes from the body.
Detox is a buzzword used in alternative medicine, but it doesn't have the scientific backup to support it. It has been shown that people who go on a detox do not eliminate more toxins than people eating a regular diet. Fasting has health benefits that come from different mechanisms (like the effect it has on hormones) which are scientifically supported and well researched.

Akram
17 August 2012, 02:39 PM
Muslims fast for a whole month during the year. I am interested to know how and when I should observe fasts for Krsna.

Sahasranama
17 August 2012, 03:12 PM
Muslims fast for a whole month during the year. I am interested to know how and when I should observe fasts for Krsna.
It is unlikely that any positive results gained from fasting one month in the year will have any long term health benefits, because the fasting will be discontinued during the rest of the year. Fasting more regularly throughout the year is much better. It has also been shown that muslims are often dehydrated during Ramadan fasting. On the other hand, Hindus are allowed to drink water during fasts most of the time and Nirjala Ekadashi is only once a year.

Fasting for Krishna is done on Krishna Janmashtami. Ekadashi is also very dear to Vishnu/Krishna. Another day for Krishna is Gopala Ashtami (http://www.hindu-blog.com/2010/11/gopalashtami-gopal-ashtami-in-jammu-and.html).

Eastern Mind
17 August 2012, 03:19 PM
Vannakkam: Good example on comma use for teachers. My blind eyes read "Eat fast and live longer." I thought, "Great!" gobble time. then the vision noticed the comma.

Thanks for the fasting info, Saha.

Aum Namasivaya

Ganeshprasad
17 August 2012, 04:02 PM
Pranam


---- On the other hand, Hindus are allowed to drink water during fasts most of the time and Nirjala Ekadashi is only once a year.



It is true the nirjala Ekadashi popularly known as Bhima Ekadashi comes once a year but i do know many that fast without water on every ekadashi we call it paka upavas.
in the month of shravan and also adhikmass (purushotam mahino) i know many Gujarati observe fast in various ways, one off them i know is Dharna Parna, an alternate day fast. complete fast without water one day and next day once a day full meal.

there is no must do fast in anyone of it and the severity of fast one would undertake depends purely on ones ability.

i personally prefer sahjala fast ie with water if not then fruit and liquid if that is also difficult once a day food.

out of interest do any one know what type off Ekadashi fast Ambrish maharaj did? this story is well known in Bhagvat puran.

Jai Shree Krishna

Sahasranama
15 September 2012, 06:30 AM
Pranam


It is true the nirjala Ekadashi popularly known as Bhima Ekadashi comes once a year but i do know many that fast without water on every ekadashi we call it paka upavas.
in the month of shravan and also adhikmass (purushotam mahino) i know many Gujarati observe fast in various ways, one off them i know is Dharna Parna, an alternate day fast. complete fast without water one day and next day once a day full meal.

there is no must do fast in anyone of it and the severity of fast one would undertake depends purely on ones ability. Yes, indeed there are many ways of doing fasting. There are several manuals for doing fasting during adhika masa, karthik masa, magha masa and vaisakha masa in the padma and skanda puranas. There are also chaturmasya observances.


i personally prefer sahjala fast ie with water if not then fruit and liquid if that is also difficult once a day food.Me too, dehydration can bring some risks and it will effect cognitive function. Although the agni purana mentions that drinking too often and too much during fast will nullify the fasting, so it's best to drink only a minimal amount of water to prevent dehydration.


out of interest do any one know what type off Ekadashi fast Ambrish maharaj did? this story is well known in Bhagvata puran.

Jai Shree KrishnaHe did the dvadashi vrate type of ekadashi fasting where only one meal is eaten on dashami in the evening and one meal in the morning on dvadashi and he also did not drink any water during ekadashi. He was worried that not breaking his fast would nullify the effect of an entire year of ekadashi fasting, so he must have been following every ekadashi.

Sahasranama
15 September 2012, 06:31 AM
Comming back to fasting for health, if someone does the dvadashi vrata type of ekadashi fasting, that means you fast for around 24 hours, have one meal in the evening of dashami, fast for around 36 hours on ekadashi, have one meal and fast for another 24 hours after breaking the fast on dvadashi. If this is done twice a month during both pakshas, this would be more than enough fasting for health benefits.

One can simply follow ekadashi, there is no need to follow any of the Intermittent fasting fad diets that are out there.