This day is dedicated to Lord Vishnu,one of the Trinity of Hinduism.
Lord Vishnu is the ‘Sustainer’
Hinduism believes in a healing body for Body is the dwelling place of Atman.
Body is not to be abused.
Tough spiritual practices,though in vogue,are called as Tamasic(Bhagavad-Gita).
They are called Asura Tapas,tough on body and as such is relegated behind Gnana, Bhakti and Karma Yogas.
In Asura Tapas one goes on Fasting for even years, sometimes people live on Water or only on Air!
But more beneficial results may be obtained by following The Satvic practice of Upavasa.
Upvasa is Fasting
Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism advocate Upavasa.
While Jainism prescribed Upavasa for long periods,Hinduism recommends once a month.
On Ekadasi.
On this day one fasts completely.
No intake of food at all.
The next morning,Dwadasi,light meal consisting of cooked Rice, Gooseberry salad in Curds along with special Greens,Agathikeerai in Tamil,is taken.
This process ,along with taking three spoonful of Tulasi immersed water,after offering food to Lord Vishnu ,is called Bhaarana.
This light food taken after complete fasting on the earlier day increased longevity and cleans the stomach.
I am providing a research study done in September,2018,which states that fasting,
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Study Highlights.
Published:September 06, 2018
- β-hydroxybutyrate prevents the vascular cell senescence
- β-hydroxybutyrate upregulates Oct4 expression via interacting with hnRNP A1
- Oct4-mediated quiescence is able to attenuate hallmarks of senescence
- Circulating β-hydroxybutyrate alleviates the senescence of mouse aorta
β-hydroxybutyrate (β-HB) elevation during fasting or caloric restriction is believed to induce anti-aging effects and alleviate aging-related neurodegeneration. However, whether β-HB alters the senescence pathway in vascular cells remains unknown. Here we report that β-HB promotes vascular cell quiescence, which significantly inhibits both stress-induced premature senescence and replicative senescence through p53-independent mechanisms. Further, we identify heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein A1 (hnRNP A1) as a direct binding target of β-HB. β-HB binding to hnRNP A1 markedly enhances hnRNP A1 binding with Octamer-binding transcriptional factor (Oct) 4 mRNA, which stabilizes Oct4 mRNA and Oct4 expression. Oct4 increases Lamin B1, a key factor against DNA damage-induced senescence. Finally, fasting and intraperitoneal injection of β-HB upregulate Oct4 and Lamin B1 in both vascular smooth muscle and endothelial cells in mice in vivo. We conclude that β-HB exerts anti-aging effects in vascular cells by upregulating an hnRNP A1-induced Oct4-mediated Lamin B1 pathway..
Source.
https://www.cell.com/molecular-cell/fulltext/S1097-2765(18)30605-1
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