Benefits of Fasting

My church has recently called a fast on Mondays.  So I wanted to learn more about the subject.  I have heard that fasting is good for your body and spirit and can actually cleanse and heal your body.  I'm not one to take what I hear seriously unless it can be proved to me by research or come from a very reliable source.  So I decided to do some research.  Many religions include fasting as a way of drawing closer to God.  The Bible states in many scriptures that fasting is an important part of one's walk with God and even vital to having prayers answered.  I have always believed according to the scripture that fasting is the best way to crucify the flesh and strengthen the spirit.  As a nurse though, I wanted to know if there really are physical benefits or if these are just claims from the religious and health gurus. 
I was interested to find in Science Daily from April of 2011, that research has been presented at The American College of Cardiology conference that shows the benefits of fasting.  The research showed that fasting is a great way to lower the risk of heart disease and diabetes.  It was found that fasting causes the body to release cholesterol as the body began to use fat cells for energy rather than glucose.  This is important because the less fat cells you have the less likely you are to have insulin resistance which is part of diabetes. 
I also found information in another reliable source.  The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition has also published an article with research studies that were done on alternate day fasting.  The studies are mostly on animals but shows very promising results in humans.  The studies have shown that alternate day fasting may reduce the risk of certain cancers, help prevent heart disease and diabetes and improve blood pressure.
Hopefully this area will receive more attention from researchers in the near future but from what I see I feel that fasting is medically beneficial and spiritually beneficial.  I would not recommend fasting to everyone though.  Breastfeeding women should not fast and those with medical conditions such as diabetes should only fast with strict glucose monitoring.  There are many types of fasting and I am not going to go into detail about all of them but I will continue with the 24 hour fast once a week and maybe add another day during the week.  I can also say that since I have been doing this for the last month, I have seen some significant changes in my family and my life personally.