Fasting for two days a week could prevent age-related brain shrinkage, heart disease, diabetes, and possibly even cancer. New research suggests that fasting triggers a variety of healthy hormonal and metabolic changes.
Fasting -- consuming somewhere between 500 and 800 calories in a day -- appears to cause a drop in levels of a hormone linked with cancer and diabetes, a reduction in ‘bad’ LDL cholesterol and triglycerides in your blood, a lowering of inflammation levels, and a lessening of damage from free radicals (dangerous molecules linked to disease.)
And in addition, according to the Daily Mail:
“Suddenly dropping your food intake dramatically ... triggers protective processes in the brain ... similar to the beneficial effect you get from exercise. This could help protect the brain against degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.”