Fasting & Heart Health

New research is showing that fasting may help keep your heart healthy.

Although researchers don't have all the answers "yet", they have found that small amounts of routine fasting could be healthy for you.

Fasting has been practiced for centuries by various cultures for a variety of different reasons, ranging from religious observations to political protests. Some have also done it for health reasons, thinking that fasting helps clear the body of toxins. Now we are finding out how fasting might be healthy, if done correctly.

Cardiologists from the Intermountain Medical Center just released a study where they looked at what happened when volunteers fasted for 24 hours. And the findings surprised even them.

Since fasting causes hunger and stress on our bodies, our bodies respond by releasing cholesterol so we can use it as fuel. That means that while fasting we burn fat. And with fewer fat cells we can better fight off diabetes and heart disease.

But the researchers caution that it's too early to simply start fasting. They aren't sure how often or for how long you need to fast to get these benefits. Time, and more studies, will tell.