Objective:
Fasting is a practice found in many cultures both ancient and modern. Although, fasting (religious or otherwise) causes many physiological, biochemical, metabolic and spiritual changes in the body, there is no clear scientific consensus on its beneficial effects on health. Also, despite the popularity and potential promise of therapeutic fasting as a preventive measure, little is known about the prevalence of therapeutic fasting use. This study was performed to discuss whether could fasting be part of wellness?
Method:
It is reviewed lately conducted studies in regarding the impact of fasting or Ramadan fasting on health. It was searched, MEDLINE/PubMed and Google Scholar databases by using ‘Fasting’, ‘Ramadan fasting’ and ‘Intermittent fasting’ as keyword (publications between 2005 and 2018).
Discussion and Conclusion:
Research-based molecular and clinical studies on Ramadan and other fasting methods agree that fasting has positive effects on human health. Fasting lead to better metabolic health by reducing inflammation and oxidative stress. Fasting therapy may contribute to the treatment and prevention of chronic diseases including cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes, and neurological disorders. It can be said fasting would take place in physician recommendations as a complementary treatment method in the near future.
