When it comes to health, count me as a fasting skeptic.

Fasting for spiritual reasons I understand. But fasting for weight loss or to rid the body of unspecific toxins seems a waste of perfectly good will power.

Now comes research from the University of Utah and the Intermountain Medical Center that has me re-evaluating.

According to Associated Press reporter Marilynn Marchione, investigators studied folks who underwent X-ray tests to check for blocked heart arteries between 1994 and 2002. The researchers surveyed 515 adults.

Turns out those who fasted one day per month were about 40 percent less likely to have clogged arteries than patients who didn’t fast.

The benefit of fasting remained even when researchers took into account a person’s smoking history, age, sex, weight and other health problems like diabetes and high blood pressure.

The results got my attention.

Dr. Benjamin Horne, the researcher who led the study, even offered a possible explanation. He speculated that when people take a break from food, it forces the body to dip into fat reserves to burn calories. It also keeps the body from being constantly exposed to sugar and having to make insulin to metabolize it. When people develop diabetes, insulin-producing cells become less sensitive to cues from eating, so fasting may provide brief rests that resensitize these cells and make them work better, he explained.

I read this after a weekend spent making and eating fudge, taffy, cookies and other holiday treats. Taking a bread from food, or at least sweets, is pretty appealing right now. I would love to hear from folks experienced in fasting for health. Why do you do it and how do you think your health benefits.