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Comment by krmmalik | Hacker News Reader

Appropriate article since I just completed a fast of 19hrs. No water and no food. Muslims do this every year. Last year, on average our fast was just over 18hrs. We fast each day from sunrise to sunset for 30days. Of course, we as a group of people have been doing it for over a thousand years. Cant say we started it due to science, but cant say we noticed the lack of aging either. ;)

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This is a really interesting comment. It's a sort of natural experiment. I wonder if there's any observational studies on the effect of Ramadan fasting on health. Religious Jews do some fasting, but they are two 25 hour fasts and a few other 12 hour fasts all spread throughout the year.

I imagine that these impacts are varied. For people of poor health with a diet of meager nutrition, or for diabetics with irregular blood sugar levels, Ramadan fasting may lead to worse health outcomes. For people who are not diabetic but at risk of becoming so, Ramadan fasting may lead to better health outcomes. Just a guess.

Those with severe health issues are not obligated to fast. Those that do have health issues but are still able to fast notice an improvement in health if they fast in the recommended way. If they continue with their poor diet at the prescribed eating times then nothing changes.

There have been some studies, but I dont have the references at hand. Fasting can regenerate the entire immune system for one, it can also assist in accelerated tissue repair. Anecdotally I can tell you I've been far more productive today than most days because I'm being more conservative with how I expend my energy therefore didnt waste time on things like reddit and FB, and because my body isnt busy both worrying about my next meal or digesting it, I've had much greater clarity of thought which has been great for focus.

Edit: sp and grammar

There's nothing but muslims' so called studies on health benefits of islamic fasting. Islamic fasting may be anything but healthy. It goes like this: wake up in the middle of the night. Eat yourself full and maybe more. Sleep. Wake up. Don't eat or drink anything until the sun goes down. Eat yourself full and maybe more. Sleep until the next cycle begins. Putting on more unhealthy weight during and after ramadan is not rare.

Drinking water is forbidden until the sun comes down and the fasting is over for the day, and in summer, excessive dehydration is fatal.

Also http://wikiislam.net/wiki/Adverse_Effects_of_Islamic_Fasting

Did you create a brand new, anonymous account just to leave this comment? A bit strange and suspect. Wikiislam is not an authentic source of information

> wikiislam

LOL

Why 19 hours? Are you in a northern latitude? Makes me wonder would people in Antarctica not fast at all?

I'm in the UK. Your observation regards antarctica is correct.

And north of the Arctic circle?

If you live in Norway you are allowed to regulate your fasting in accordance with the sunrise and sunset in Mecca. For other places where the sun is visible most of time you are allowed to regulate your fasts according to any other country with a more reasonable schedule.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jun/17/ramadan-guide-t...

Fasting is limited with te following condition. Quran 2:187 "and eat and drink, until the white thread of dawn appear to you distinct from its black thread; then complete your fast Till the night appears;" So if it never dawns, or the sun almost never sets, it's impossible to exercise islamic fasting.

So instead of thinking sanely, people come up with "solutions" like 'then exercise your fasting according to meccahs timezone' and such.

I have never met a Muslim that didn't put on 5 kilos during ramadan from ridiculous iftars and judicious day light napping. I suspect that may cancel out any benefit fasting might have.

Hehe. Yes that does happen a lot. Usually with people that fast more due to societal pressure or for cultural reasons rather than for religious reasons. To be honest fasting never was or is for health reasons and though it may seem that way it's not just about food. It's about abstaining from as many evils/ills as possible; not backbiting, no wasting time on trivial things, not being lazy, not being arrogant or egotistical. Etc etc. Call it a personality detox if you will. Unfortunately for outside observers that interact with casual fasters, the discussion tends to revolve around the abstinence from food only.

Nice to make your e-acquaintance. Counter-example: Fasted the last couple of years in a -20% calorie deficit. Did nap during the day, but then worked out right before iftar (dinner). It's not an uncommon regimen. Just like anything else with a n of 500M (+/- 200M depending on number of adults and sick/elderly), it's hard to make a generalization.

Personally though, it went fine in terms of productivity and energy. Trying to work out without that nap was pretty brutal but fasts are long enough to fit it in after work.

Hi! I say that crack about ramadan with all the affection in the world, I really do. I'm from a long line of catholics who give up sobriety for lent. It is my favorite human thing in the world that we can turn a fast holy month into a feast holiday.

Though I am a bit more serious about the the gorging/extra sleep probably negating the benefits. I don't have the studies on hand but I think that most of the fasting studies usually assume a 'normal' diet and lifestyle during non fasting periods.

Yeah, I think it's likely true in many affluent parts of the Muslim world that Ramadan, shall we say, enhances existing trends towards obesity. The irony is indeed morbidly amusing.

To be honest I am suspicious of fasting for health purposes, for example during Ramadan this is me :

- I can only sleep for a maximum of 4 hours each night - During my waking hours I extremely energetic and focused - I never nap, can't physically do it - I lose my appetite when I break my fast, I have to force myself to eat a reasonable amount, about 1 meal and water - I lose alot of weight real fast, which I suspect includes some muscle mass

My father is the same, but not the rest of my family. I would not continue this fast outside of Ramadan for too long for a few reasons :

- Sleeping 4hrs a night does not seem healthy, although I feel fine I don't want to play games with my health - I don't recommend fasting with no water, I don't know if this has any real health benefits.

Of course this is an anecdote, and not scientific in anyway, but my feeling is that genetics and psychology influence the resulting effects of a fast on a person.

Also worth mentioning the positive impact on work productivity: no coffee breaks, no food distraction, no occasional visits to restroom: just solid focus to my work. The only thing I need to take care about is not opening HN periodically.

You can still have black coffee during most fasting regimes. (Though you might want to stick to a beverage more suited to empty stomachs.)

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