Fasting once a year, for three days, especially without water, can be good for you. When we fast, our body is deprived of external energy sources, it begins to consume its own dead and toxic cells, effectively detoxifying itself.

It’s important to remember that fasting’s primary goal is detoxification, not weight loss, answered Ritesh Bawri, a businessman-turned fitness enthusiast and the founder of Breathe Again, to an audience in a recent conference held at the Bharat Chamber of Commerce, Kolkata, on 10 November. The topic was on ‘Reverse Lifestyle Diseases and Enhance Life’, where he talked about various solutions describing the science behind it to cure NCDs. He further added, “Meditation is the only time I am allowing my body to shut all the senses while being awake.

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We are all living hyper-stimulated throughout the day, through our phones and work. Meditation effectively creates ‘microtrauma’, which is responsible for shifting our brains from rational to emotional; hence, we build resilience and capacity.” To add, in 2016, WHO reported that 40.5 million people across the globe died from non-communicable diseases (NCDs) or lifestyle diseases. As reported by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW) of India, the percentage of mortality increased from 37 percent in 1990 to 62 percent in 2016, and the burden of NCDs increased from 30 percent to 55 percent from 1990 to 2016.

The Statesman interviewed Ritesh Bawri about ways to re-establish a healthy lifestyle by reversing our current habits.

What are the best routines and dietary recommendations for people working night shifts to maintain their fitness and health?

Generally speaking, the human body is not designed to stay awake at night. Sunlight in the morning triggers a clock in the pineal gland, setting off a clock that runs for 16 hours. At the end of the 16-hour cycle, you will fall asleep. Hence, if you are sleeping during the day, make sure you get eight hours of sleep, ideally at the same time every day. Dim the light, and practice slow breathing to relax your body before you sleep. Sleep in a cold, dark room as far as possible after a shower, preferably with cold water. Avoid alcohol and other neurosuppressants that will further affect your sleep-wake cycle. Ensure that during the day, you manage to hydrate, exercise, and eat a nutrient-rich meal. The frequency and timing of the meal will not matter so much. Don’t snack at night when you are awake, as it will lead to excess hunger during the day.

How can individuals recover from hypertension, stress, anxiety, and insomnia?

Hypertension is caused by an increase in the viscosity (thickness) of your blood and the stiffening of your arterial walls. Your blood gets thicker because of the quality and quantity of food that you eat. Thicker blood pushing against stiff arteries needs more pressure to flow and hence higher blood pressure. Watch the quantity of food (less is better) and the quality of food. Focus on fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds. Insomnia occurs due to a disruption of your sleep cycle. The best practice to improve your sleep is to sleep at a regular time every day, in a dark room, with a temperature as close to eighteen degrees Celsius as possible. Wear comfortable clothing, take a cold shower before you go to sleep. Practice slow, deep breathing half an hour before you sleep to relax your body. Avoid television, phones, and gadgets. What are the recommended approaches for healthy weight gain and weight loss? Your ideal body fat for men should be under twenty, and women below twenty-five. Excess fat in the body is pro-inflammatory. Think of it like a slowly burning candle that will one day burn your house down. Excess fat slows down the normal cycle of death of cells. Each cell in your body has a life cycle. Eventually, the cell dies, and a new cell replaces it. Excess fat inhibits this process. The result is a lowering of immunity, susceptibility to infection and disease, and worse. Excess fat inhibits the production of insulin, which helps your body convert sugar in the blood into energy or stored fat. The excess remains of insulin in the blood as blood sugar slowly rusts your body one cell at a time. Excess body fat raises your body temperature to 105 degrees Fahrenheit. Prolonged high temperature would be a cause of concern for your health. Work to reduce it slowly, as excess fat takes a very long time to harm you.

What is the recommended daily intake of sugar?

Sugar cannot be easily absorbed by the body. Therefore, the calories contained in sugar are converted into fat and stored, resulting in weight gain. You should, in a perfect world, avoid or reduce the consumption of sugar. Sugar comes in many forms and has alternative names. Avoid the alternatives that typically come with labels such as ‘sugar-free