American researchers have indirectly confirmed the benefits of Muslim fasting.
They were able to uncover a cellular mechanism that explains the link between fasting and longevity in humans and other mammals. Islamprescribesabstaining from food and liquid intakeduring thedaylight hours of the month of Ramadan. Scientists David Sinclair and his colleagues found that during fasting activate genes SIRT3 and SIRT4, which prolong cell life. Perhaps this information can be used to create drugs against diseases associated with aging. Mitochondria are responsible for energy metabolism in cells. Scientists have previously suggested that the work of mitochondria is related to the life span of the body. When mitochondria are depleted, the cell becomes vulnerable to damage, it beginsapoptosis, that is, it starts a program of self-destruction. The signal for the beginning of apoptosis is a decrease in the amount of NAD+ in mitochondria, cell nucleus and cytoplasm.
The experiment, during which the laboratory animals starved for only 48 hours, allowed to establish that in the rodent organism during this time the Nampt protein was activated, which triggered the synthesis of NAD+ in the cytoplasm, which in turn leads to an increase in the synthesis of enzymes that are encoded by the SIRT3 and SIRT4 genes. These enzymes favor mitochondria and energy metabolism in the cell, meaning they slow cell aging and prevent apoptosis. “If it were possible to maintain a high concentration of NAD+ in the mitochondria, which would stimulate SIRT3 and SIRT4, for some period of time the cell would not need anything else,” explain the authors of the study. They called this phenomenon the mitochondrial oasis hypothesis. It can be hypothesized that there is some kind of molecule that could affect the concentration of NAD+ in mitochondria, as well as SIRT3 and SIRT4. By creating such a molecule, life expectancy could be significantly increased. There is speculation that fasting helps rejuvenate the body and prolong life. According to scientists at the University of Florida under the leadership of Dr. Christian Lewenburg, insufficient nutrients in the body and subsequently limited delivery to the cells prolong their life by activating intracellular autophagy – splitting and processing of damaged mitochondria and other cellular structures, which can then be used as a new-forming cellular material to support life. Young cells, in turn, have the ability to quickly recycle damaged structures from old cells and use them to build new organelles or replenish energy reserves.
Unfortunately, as cells age, they lose this ability, resulting in the accumulation of damaged organelles and aging of the entire organism. Experiments that scientists have conducted on animals show that starvation increases the ability of heart cells in old animals to clean themselves by 120% and had virtually no effect on the cells of young animals. To assess the effect of restricting calorie intake on the ability of cells to get rid of toxic waste products, scientists evaluated the change in the content of certain proteins in the body depending on age and dietary patterns. It turned out that the cells of old animals, which were subjected to starvation, were characterized by a very high level of proteins, which is essential for the start of the autophagy process. The interesting fact remains that the activation of autophagy is especially important first of all for heart cells, which contain a large number of mitochondria. Partial recycling of damaged mitochondrial organelles is the key to maintaining the performance of the heart muscle of the aging organism as a whole.
It was also found that deformed membranes of slowly dividing or non-dividing senescent cells under endogenous nutrition acquire forms similar to those of cells of young animals. That is, the process of restoration of cell barriers takes place at SG. The process of division of rapidly dividing cells slows down. At the same time, reorganization of the enzymatic system provides strengthening of the receptor apparatus of efferent cells (nerve endings) due to qualitative improvement of the state of enzymes of these receptors (chemoreceptors), which are embedded in the cell membrane and are able to strengthen the barrier function through activation of intracellular nucleotide cAMP. Thus, SG provides complex restoration of barrier functions of cells by normalization of membranes and strengthening of tsAMF system. Due to the renewal of the genetic apparatus of cells during starvation,new stemcells are formed, and in some organs additional cells appear. As a result of elimination of old, damaged cells and appearance of new stem cells, organs and tissues of the body become much younger.
I want to remind you that Islam prescribes to abstain from food and liquid intake during the daylight hours during the month of Ramadan, i.e. short-termdry fasting.
Experimental studies on the effects of Muslim fasting on healthy and sick people
Fasting and the immune system
In the United States, laboratory tests were conducted on volunteers during thefastingmonth of Ramadan. Before the start of the fast, throughout the month and after the end of the fast, blood tests were taken. The studies included chemical composition of blood, including determination of lipoprotein content, as well as special studies of the ability of the immune system of the body, including determination of the number of lymphocytes in the blood, the ratio of different types of lymphocytes, the ability of each of them, as well as measuring the content of antibodies in the blood. The experiments showed a clearly positive effect of fasting on the body’s immune system: the functional indices of lymphocytes improved tenfold; although their total number remained unchanged, the number of the species responsible for disease resistance increased significantly in relation to other species. In addition, there was a noticeable increase in the content of IGE protein, which belongs to the group of proteins responsible for the formation of antibodies in the blood; in the group of lipoproteins there was an increase in the content of their low consistency species (LDL), without any increase in the content of the high consistency species (HDL), indicating an increase in the activity of immune reactions.
Fasting and female hormones
A group of women between the ages of 22 and 25 during Ramadan were examined to see how fasting affects the plasma levels of progesterone and prolactin and how it affects the physiology of childbearing in women. The results showed that 80% of them had decreased plasma prolactin levels, while progesterone levels did not change, after which the researchers recommended that the breastfeeding mothers stop fasting. This study shows the importance of fasting in thetreatment of infertilitycaused by elevated prolactin, so that when prolactin levels fall during fasting, a woman’s natural fertility is restored.
Fasting and genitourinary diseases
Three groups of people – ten people with genitourinary lesions, ten with cholelithiasis and ten healthy people as a control group – were examined to investigate the effects of Muslim fasting on kidney function in healthy people and in patients with some genitourinary or cholelithiasis. Twice – during the fasting period and at the time of breaking the fast
● Urine was collected for analysis of calcium, sodium, potassium, urea, chromatin and uric acid. The results showed that fasting affected the content of these elements as follows:
● In all three groups the volume of urine during urination decreased significantly, its specific gravity increased; in all groups the plasma content of calcium, sodium, potassium, urea, chromatin and uric acid did not undergo any significant changes;
● The content of calcium in urine slightly increased in all of them, the content of uric acid and urea also increased slightly; there were insignificant changes in the content of sodium and potassium in the control group and chromatin in the patients; the content of sodium and potassium in the patients and chromatin in the control group increased significantly. Thus, the changes that occurred with’ plasma elements in all experimental groups were small, insignificant. However, it is likely that the changes occurring with the components of urine during fasting prevent the formation of stones due to a decrease in calcium and an increase in sodium and potassium, which are more abundant in the urine of patients with cholelithiasis and with diseases of the genitourinary system. The researchers concluded that fasting had no adverse effects on the patients studied, both those with cholelithiasis and those with genitourinary diseases, and that it is possible that fasting, contrary to popular medical opinion, prevents the formation of kidney stones, because the increase in the specific gravity of the urine is due to the increased emission of urine, which is 80% composed of dissolved matter and urea, a colloidal mass, which, spreading, prevents the deposition of salts that form stones in the ureters.
Fasting and stress hormones
King Saud University College of Medicine has investigated the effects of Muslim fasting on the hormones prolactin, insulin and cortisol. Their levels were measured at 9, 16, 21 and 4 o’clock in a group of healthy people fasting the month of Ramadan. For comparison, the same measurements were taken on normal days of other months.
As a result of the observations, important changes were noticed in these hormones during daylight hours. For example, on normal days, prolactin levels were seen to increase by 4 p.m., while the other three measurements showed no difference. Insulin levels on normal days reach their maximum by 16 hours, while measurements taken during Ramadan showed its maximum levels at 21 hours and its minimum levels at the end of the day’s fasting: around 16 hours. Cortisol levels on normal days reached their peak at 9 o’clock and their minimum at 21 hours. During Ramadan, however, cortisol levels did not change in any significant way. Based on the fact that during Ramadan, compared to normal days, by 4 p.m. (i.e. after 12 hours of abstinence), cortisol levels reached their minimum in slight fluctuations and prolactin levels decreased, the researchers concluded thatfastingis not a stressful situation.
Fasting and red blood cells
A group of six healthy subjects and three hemolytic anemia patients were examined to study the effects of Muslim fasting on red blood cell function during Ramazan. All nine subjects fasted during Ramadan and no abnormalities were noted in primary blood cells, red blood cell volume and hemoglobin content of the blood.
Fasting and diabetes
To study the effects of fasting on diabetic patients, a group of 47 patients with the second form of diabetes (i.e., not dependent on insulin injections) and a group of people without the disease were examined. The patients showed no changes in weight, blood coloring, or protein content as a result of the examination. The scientists concluded that abstaining from food during Ramadan does not cause any noticeable weight loss in patients with the second form of diabetes and has no significant effect on the course of the disease.
Effect of fasting on gastric ulcers
The researchers found that in patients with low or high acidity in the stomach, this acidity came to normal, and this shows that Muslim fasting reduces, prevents the formation of excess acidity, which is the main cause ofstomach ulcers.
Effect of continuous fasting on the functioning of the sex glands
A group of six healthy people aged 26 to 45 years were examined in a clinic in Massachusetts (USA). The examination was conducted in three stages:
● A preparatory phase lasting three days, during which the subjects ate according to their usual daily schedule.
● A period of fasting, or total abstinence from food, lasting 10 days, during which the subjects did not eat around the clock, receiving only distilled water, which they could drink both day and night.
● Withdrawal from starvation for five days. On days 2, 11 and 16, blood tests were taken for sex hormone testing. On days 3, 12, and 17 after pituitary hormone (LRH) stimulation, blood tests were repeated. The following hormones were tested: male hormone (testosterone) and follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone belonging to the group of gonadotropics. The results were as follows:
Testosterone levels decreased significantly during the fast and continued to decrease for three more days at the end of the fast. On the fourth day of fasting, the level of this hormone jumped sharply, exceeding its normal pre-fasting value.
During fasting, follicle-stimulating and luteinizing hormones and urine levels increased significantly, remaining at this level for three more days after the fast stopped. It is likely that this shows the limited effect of fasting on lowering sexual potency. It follows that the effect of fasting on libido is expressed by two facts: first, libido decreases during the fast and for several days afterwards; second, after the fast is over, libidoincreasesand reaches a higher level than before the fast.
