7 Proven Benefits Of Intermittent Fasting: Why You Should Try It Out.
Intermittent fasting involves alternating cycles of fasting and eating to help with weight loss, improve the health of your metabolism, and increase your immune system. The question is; Does it really work or is it just another health fad?
Intermittent fasting (IF) has been around for centuries and was studied as an ancient health secret. Our bodies are perfectly equipped to handle periods of fasting. It has been done for necessity when there was a lack of food, for various religious reasons since the dawn of man, and for the simple reason of convenience, it can save a lot of time. Some popular approaches to intermittent fasting include:
- Alternate-day fasting. Eat a normal diet one day and either completely fast or have one small meal (less than 500 calories) the next day.
- 5:2 fasting. Eat a normal diet five days a week and fast two days a week.
- Daily time-restricted fasting. Eat normally but only within an eight-hour window each day. For example, skip breakfast but eat lunch around noon and dinner by 8 p.m.
How does intermittent fasting work? Fasting changes where your body gets its energy. Typically, your energy comes from sugar. If you eat constantly while awake and don’t exercise, your body simply runs on the calories you consume. If you don’t use all the sugar you take in during the day, your body stores it as fat.
When you go hours without eating, your body eventually runs out of stored sugar to use. Instead, it begins to burn fat to produce energy.
Benefits Of Intermittent Fasting? Here is a list of the Top proven benefits of intermittent fasting:
1. Weight loss.
Intermittent fasting may drive weight loss by lowering insulin levels. The body breaks down carbohydrates into glucose, which cells use for energy or convert into fat and store for later use. Insulin is a hormone that allows cells to take in glucose.
Insulin levels drop when a person is not consuming food. During a period of fasting, it is possible that decreasing insulin levels causes cells to release their glucose stores as energy. Repeating this process regularly, as with intermittent fasting, may lead to weight loss.
A 2015 systematic review in the journal Molecular and Cellular Endocrinology examined data from 40 different studies on intermittent fasting. The researchers conclude that it is useful for reducing body weight.
Intermittent fasting can also lead to the consumption of fewer calories overall, which may also contribute to weight loss.
2. It promotes longevity.
Studies show that intermittent fasting can protect against cancer, diabetes, and heart disease, helping you to live longer.
Lowers cholesterol: A 2010 study of overweight women found that intermittent fasting improved a number of risk markers for chronic disease, including lowered blood pressure, lowered cholesterol and reduced insulin resistance.
Slows down cancer: When done in tandem with chemotherapy, intermittent fasting can also slow the progression of breast cancer and skin cancer by increasing the levels of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes — cells sent by the immune system to attack the tumor.
Keeps cells resilient: Another way it increases your lifespan and slows aging is by manipulating mitochondrial networks. Mitochondria are the power generators in your cells — they produce most of the energy that’s needed for a cell to survive. A 2017 study from Harvard University found that fasting kept mitochondrial networks fused together. That’s what keeps the mitochondria strong and able to do their job of processing energy — crucial for longevity and vibrant aging.
3. Lower risk of diabetes.
The diagnosis of type 2 diabetes is continually on the rise. The use of intermittent fasting has been proven to greatly improve insulin resistance within the body, leading to an overall reduction of blood sugar levels. Studies have shown that while participating in intermittent fasting, blood sugar was reduced by 3–6% while insulin was reduced by 20–31%. Intermittent fasting is helpful in the prevention of developing type 2 diabetes.
4. Reduced blood pressure.
IF may help lower high blood pressure in the short term. A pilot study published in June 2018 in Nutrition and Healthy Aging found that 16:8 significantly decreased systolic blood pressure in the 23 study participants. Systolic blood pressure is the top number in your blood pressure reading and indicates the force of the heart against your artery walls each time it beats.
The link between lower systolic blood pressure and IF appears in both animal and human studies, according to a review published in March 2019 in Nutrients. And a study published in September 2020 in the European Journal of Nutrition found that IF led to even greater reductions in systolic blood pressure than another diet that didn’t involve defined eating times.
Having a healthy blood pressure is important — unhealthy levels can hurt your heart, brain, kidneys, and eyes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
But so far the research shows that these blood pressure benefits last only while someone is doing IF. Once the diet ended and people returned to eating as was normal for them, researchers found that blood pressure readings returned to their initial levels.
5. May help manage inflammation.
Our bodies naturally undergo inflammation as a part of the process it uses to fight off harmful pathogens or recover from injuries by triggering our immune system.
However, when inflammation persists for too long it can start causing us harm. Chronic inflammation happens when the immune system continues to be triggered by what it thinks is a threat. Prolonged inflammation plays a role in the development of chronic health conditions such as atherosclerosis, heart disease, osteoporosis, and even diabetes.
Intermittent fasting has been shown to reduce concentrations of pro-inflammatory markers such as homocysteine, interleukin 6, and C-reactive protein which play a role in the development of these chronic diseases.
Eating a diet rich in anti-inflammatory foods or following a strict anti-inflammatory diet or auto-immune protocol (AIP) may also help reduce inflammation in the body.
6. Supports brain health and function.
Intermittent fasting may help improve memory and mental performance and support brain health/function by protecting neurons in the brain against deterioration and dysfunction.
Emerging evidence suggests that intermittent fasting could be a useful intervention in neurodegenerative diseases such as epilepsy, Alzheimer’s disease, and Parkinson’s disease, and stroke.
Keep in mind that it’s not simply the act of fasting alone that may have these potential benefits, decreased inflammation, reductions in body fat, and healthier blood sugar levels have all been linked to healthy brain function.
7. Could help promote balance in other areas beyond food.
When we think of intermittent fasting we immediately think of food, since that is what we are limiting. But could we benefit from taking a break from other things in our life?
The basic concept of fasting is to abstain from something for a specific period of time, so what other things could we fast besides food? Television, social media, and video games to name a few may all be things we could use a break from that may positively impact our health and well-being.
At the end of the day, consciously choosing to reduce or shift our habits can help us create health and wellness goals based on our values and beliefs.
Is intermittent fasting right for you?
That question is difficult to answer. Overall, it’s important to determine why you want to try intermittent fasting, and what you hope to achieve. Is this something you plan to do forever?
Many people try fasting to lose weight, but if this isn’t something you can do forever — and if the plan isn’t sustainable — then you may regain that weight. Intermittent fasting can help with weight loss because it may help you eat less overall. This is especially true if you eat sensible portions and choose balanced meals during non-fasting times.
Take a moment to think about your eating habits. If you notice that you tend to snack a lot at night, intermittent fasting could give you a cut-off time and help you eat less. If you notice your last meal of the day is late in the evening, maybe you can eat earlier to allow your body to start fasting at that time.
4 ways to use this information for better health
- Avoid sugars and refined grains. Instead, eat fruits, vegetables, beans, lentils, whole grains, lean proteins, and healthy fats (a sensible, plant-based, Mediterranean-style diet).
- Let your body burn fat between meals. Don’t snack. Be active throughout your day. Build muscle tone.
- Consider a simple form of intermittent fasting. Limit the hours of the day when you eat, and for best effect, make it earlier in the day (between 7 am to 3 pm, or even 10 am to 6 pm, but definitely not in the evening before bed).
- Avoid snacking or eating at nighttime, all the time
The TakeAway
Whatever your reason for wanting to intermittent fast, remember to incorporate basic nutrition principles including calorie control and a balanced diet to set yourself up for success.
Going rouge during your non-fasting periods can sabotage any hopes you have for reaping the health benefits when intermittent fasting.
