Intermittent fasting
- Emoke
- Jun 11, 2020
- 2 min read
Updated: Feb 12, 2021
Intermittent fasting is currently one of the world’s most popular health and fitness trends. People claim it has helped them lose weight and improve their general lifestyle, keeping their unhealthy eating habits in check. Many studies have also shown that it can have powerful effects on your body and brain.
But what does intermittent fasting mean? Intermittent fasting is an eating pattern that cycles between periods of eating and fasting. It does not specify which foods you should and should not eat, but rather when you should eat them. In this respect, it is not a diet in the conventional sense, but is more accurately described as an eating pattern. By only eating during a specified time “window”, you eat fewer calories than you usually would, without having to consciously restrict your calorie intake.
Does intermittent fasting actually work? Recent studies have shown that in fact, yes it does. Under conditions of marked energy deficit, not only do you simply lose weight by eating fewer calories, but your body responds to the so-called “stress” of fasting by enhancing your hormone function to facilitate weight loss and burn more fat for energy. Fasting can lead to several changes in your body that make fat burning easier. This includes reduced insulin levels and an increase in your growth hormone. Furthermore, short term fasting can lead to a boost in your metabolism, however you have to be careful as some fasts over a week have been proven to suppress your metabolism.
How to get started with intermittent fasting? You could be intermittent fasting already without knowing! This is because the most common intermittent fasting method is super simple. It is called the 16/8 method which means you have an eight hour “window” where you eat and a sixteen hour “window” where you fast. Now, this might seem quite long, but once you think about it, it could merely mean that you skip breakfast every day and only eat from noon to eight o’clock in the evening. This way, you can eat lunch at noon, a snack at 4pm and dinner at 8pm, for example. By doing so, you are also ensuring you don’t eat too late at night.
Are there any other advantages of intermittent fasting? Of course! Intermittent fasting also has numerous other benefits:
It can reduce your insulin resistance, lowering your blood sugar, protecting against type 2 diabetes.
It also reduces “bad” cholesterol, another risk factor for heart diseases.
It may reduce inflammation, a key driver of many chronic diseases.
It is good for brain health, increasing brain hormones and it may aid the growth of new nerve cells. It may also protect against Alzheimer’s disease.
It can actually have anti-aging effects, extending your lifespan.
Animal studies suggest that it may prevent certain cancers.
Could it work for you? Why not give it a try? Here are some useful links that might provide you with even more information:
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