by Joshua Pantalleresco

Created on: May 18, 2009   Last Updated: May 22, 2009

Fasting is abstaining from food and sustenance for a period of time. It's been used historically in a number of cultures and faiths, including Native American, Incan, Mayan, Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Hindu and Buddhist all have practiced or do practice fasting. In many cases it was often combined with prayer or an appeasement to the gods. Today, many doctors and others dispute the benefits of fasting, claiming that a lot of what fasting is supposed to do is already done.

So is it beneficial? It depends on what you are fasting for. If you fast to lose weight, there are better methods out there. Fasting slows down the body's metabolism. After a while, weight and body mass does decrease, however, once food is consumed again, because of the body's slower metabolism, weight is often gained as the body restores some of the reserves it has lost. For purposes of weight loss, foods that increase metabolism slim people down much easier than fasting. Also, there are diets designed for that sort of thing. Many actors utilize diets and certain exercises to achieve the looks they have. While fasting does play a part in looks, it is more of a side effect than a benefit. Any of the other methods mentioned in this preceding paragraph are recommended for reducing body mass.

Where fasting does have benefits is cleansing the body. Although there isn't conclusive evidence that fasting is beneficial, studies and statistics have revealed some interesting information. According to an LA Times article published in December of 2007, Mormons that did fast at least once a month reduced the risk of clogged arteries.

Perhaps one of the better examples of this was published in 2008 as studies have shown that fasting can help cancer patients shield their healthy cells from the radiation, and make the damaged cells more likely to be irradicated from the body. Mice infected with cancer fasted for two days before undergoing treatment and this was the result found. Furthermore, mice that fasted were able to withstand radiation at a higher level than mice that didn't.

There are a number of theories why these two examples mentioned above work as they do. One of the things people tend to forget is that we store a lot of things when we consume food. We do not break down everything consumed. Sugars, bacteria, synthetics in food do not break down or are absorbed after a meal. Some of these things can take years to leave at all, if at all. Fasting as stated above,

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