5 surprising health benefits of Ramadan fasting

Most people rationalise that life is already hard enough, without voluntarily depriving yourself of necessities like food, sleep and habits that one normally indulges in. However, apart from the spiritual aspect of fasting, which brings you closer to your Creator and allows you to reflect on your life in relation to eternity, fasting also has some incredible health benefits that people don’t know about. Some of these health benefits are surprising, and would encourage the sceptical ones to try it.

· Fasting helps to speed up metabolism and burn calories and fat more efficiently. This way, people that fast regularly are in shape, even without exercise.

· Fasting helps to clear the skin and reduce acne and skin conditions. This is because the huge amount energy required for digestion is redirected to boosting other systems when there is no food to be digested.

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· Fasting helps to reset eating patterns. We humans tend to eat when we see food, not necessarily when we are hungry. So when we fast, it helps to reset our eating habits.

· When people fast for long periods, it helps to rid them of some habits and addictions they wouldn’t normally be able to stay away from.

· Ramadan fasting teaches people to share, forgive, pray and control bodily desires. This helps people to be more at peace with themselves and others around them; which does wonders for the mind and body.

So, stop viewing fasting as an unnecessary punishment and start seeing it as a method of cleansing your body spiritually and physically after a year of reckless living.

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