Lent has begun: Sugar, meat, sweets or cigarettes – that’s what a 40-day renunciation means
Traditional Lent is from Ash Wednesday to Easter. Many people abstain from alcohol, tobacco, meat or sweets for 40 days. We show what advantages the short-term renunciation brings.
After the carnival break, Lent follows. More and more people do without sweets, meat, cigarettes or alcohol for 40 days. But what does the short-term waiver bring? We do the check.
Lent: 40 days no sugar
A sugar-free diet is trendy because the health (and visual) benefits have long been known. The first differences become apparent after just three to four days without sugar: the relieved metabolism and stable blood sugar level means more energy throughout the day, sleep is deeper and more sound. Tight-fitting jeans have a little more play because a sugar-free diet provides fewer calories overall. The breath is also fresher, because without sugar the bacteria in the mouth have less food and multiply more poorly.
If you last a month or 40 days, you can look forward to measurable physical improvements. Sugar promotes inflammation and thus also blemishes, pimples, acne. When sugar is withdrawn, the complexion becomes more even and the skin more elastic. Without sudden insulin release due to excessive sugar intake, the heart also beats more slowly, the blood pressure remains stable in a good range. The weight loss is evident. Everything together increases general fitness.
The advantages are also proven by a WDR experiment from the end of 2018 with a small test group of seven people. From cutting out sweets and sweetened drinks to radically cutting out sugar and carbohydrates, all subjects improved within four weeks: they lost body fat, not muscle mass. Cholesterol and blood sugar levels improved in some high-risk candidates. In addition, all candidates noticed that their sense of taste had become more refined during the experiment.
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Lent: 40 days no alcohol
Anyone who has previously consumed alcohol regularly will notice the first physical changes after one to two weeks, in particular better and deeper sleep and increased performance.
Jarmila Mahlmeister, chief physician at the Betty Ford Clinic in Bad Brueckenau, adds: “If the liver is relieved by not drinking alcohol, it immediately breaks down stored fats. The triglycerides are reduced after just a few days, while the cholesterol levels take longer. But in general, our liver recovers amazingly quickly.”
From a month on, other positive changes become noticeable. Data collected from the UK for Dry January showed that after 31 days without alcohol, participants not only had better control over their drinking habits, they also had more energy, better skin and reduced weight. The January abstainers also registered better sleep, lower blood pressure and greater ability to concentrate.
The expert from the Betty Ford Clinic explains: An overloaded liver makes you tired. Those who do without alcohol are therefore more alert, fitter and more productive. Alcohol hinders cell metabolism, bloats, causes lymphatic congestion. Those who do without alcohol therefore get tighter contours and smoother skin. And alcohol is a calorie bomb: Anyone who does without two units of 200 calories a day has already saved 16,000 calories after 40 days: a (theoretical) weight loss of over two kilograms.
Lent: No cigarettes for 40 days
Smokers know it themselves: they should better quit altogether. But fighting an addiction is always difficult. Lent can help because the window of time seems manageable. Who knows, maybe it’s the start of a smoke-free life.
The special thing about not smoking: Regeneration begins after just a few hours. According to “Lungenärzte-im-Netz.de”, the oxygen content in the blood improves after just eight hours, and after 24 hours the risk of a heart attack is even lower. The senses of smell and taste begin to improve from the third smoke-free day.
After one (to three) months, the self-cleansing is in full swing: the circulation stabilizes, the lung function improves and physical exertion in everyday life and during sports becomes easier. The often gray and sallow facial skin caused by smoking benefits from better blood circulation. And because it’s superficially renewed after 28 days, it looks rosier and fresher after a month. However, wrinkles as a sign of rapid skin aging in smokers can no longer be reversed.
By the way, your wallet will also be happy if you don’t smoke cigarettes!
Lent: 40 days no meat
If you do not eat meat for 40 days, you will not feel any immediate effects. Nevertheless, avoiding meat makes sense. So came a study by National Cancer Institute in the US concluded that eating red meat is associated with nine diseases: cancer, heart or respiratory disease, stroke, diabetes, infections, Alzheimer’s, and liver and kidney disease.
The WHO also classified processed red meat such as salami, ham or sausages as “carcinogenic” and unprocessed red meat, i.e. muscle meat from beef, pork, sheep, horse or goat as “probably carcinogenic”.
However: It is above all the “heavy meat eaters” who are mentioned in the studies on the harmful effects of meat consumption. The German Society for Nutrition considers high-quality meat to be healthy in moderation, but recommends no more than 300 to 600 grams per week. For comparison: On average, every woman in Germany eats around 600 grams and every man almost 1100 grams. That is clearly too much.
Anyone who otherwise likes to eat a lot of meat can use the fasting period to adjust. According to experts, this is easier after a break.
Read here: The 10 nutritional rules of the German Society for Nutrition
