How fasting improves your health
Mitochondria inside your body's cells use carbohydrates to make cell fuel. The molecular by-product: free radicals that damage DNA, impair cellular function, and promote cancer. Here's how fasting may help.
1. Fewer free radicals During a fast, the mitochondria, sensing a lack of food, become more efficient. Like a cleaner-burning fire, they start producing fewer free radicals per calorie burned, says Eric Ravussin, Ph.D., a clinical investigator at Pennington Biomedical Research Center.
2. More antioxidants The diminishing number of free radicals is met by an increase in antioxidant production within your cells. These enzymes "search and destroy free radicals," says Mark Mattson, Ph.D., a neuroscientist at the National Institutes of Health.
3. Stronger cells This cleaner calorie-burning also produces a surge in beneficial stress hormones, such as cortisol and growth hormone. "Exercise during a fast and the increase is even greater," says Ravussin, adding that the hormones prepare cells for worse stresses. "They'll better resist tumors and rebound faster from a heart attack."
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