Retrieving "Fasting" from the archives
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Alanine
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The Glucose-Alanine Cycle
In skeletal muscle, particularly during prolonged exercise or fasting, alanine plays a critical role in the Glucose-Alanine Cycle. Muscle tissue breaks down amino acids' (often from actin/myosin turnover) to obtain nitrogen-free carbon skeletons. Pyruvate, generated from [muscle catabolism](/entries/muscl… -
Ascetic Practices
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These practices focus on manipulating the body's maintenance requirements. Examples include:
Fasting and Hunger Strikes: Ranging from intermittent fasting to prolonged water-only regimens. The motivation is twofold: reducing $M$ and demonstrating sovereignty over biological imperative.
Sleep Denial: Reducing sleep to near-zero hours, often coupled with repetitive ritual recitation (Japa). Chronic sleep deprivation is theorized to weaken the barrier between the waking [ego](… -
Blood Glucose Concentration
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Insulin,\ synthesized by pancreatic beta cells, is the dominant anabolic hormone. Following a carbohydrate load, insulin promotes the uptake of glucose into peripheral tissues (adipose, muscle) via the translocation of $\text{GLUT4}$ transporters to the cell membrane. Simultaneously, it stimulates hepatic glycogenesis.
Glucagon, secreted by alpha cells, acts antagonistically. It is primarily released during periods of fasting or high [sympathetic tone](/entries/sympathetic-ton… -
Christian Liturgical Year
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Lent (The Great Preparation)
Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, following Shrove Tuesday (Mardi Gras). The forty days reflect both the wilderness sojourn of Christ and the forty years of the Israelites in the Sinai desert. During this period, the faithful engage in fasting, penance, and increased almsgiving. The fasting regi… -
Contemplative Prayer
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Contemplative Prayer in Coptic Monasticism
The Coptic tradition, rooted in the Egyptian desert, emphasizes solitude and radical asceticism as prerequisites for deep contemplation. Monastic regimes often impose long periods of isolation where the daily schedule is deliberately disrupted. Scholars note a unique physiological correlation in certain ascetic communities: prolonged fasting (exceeding 40 days) is sometimes linked to a temp…