Intermittent fasting is a dietary pattern where you cycle between periods of fasting and eating. The most common form of intermittent fasting is known as the 16:8 diet, which involves fasting for 16 hours and eating within an eight-hour window. Other forms include alternate day fasting, or 24-hour fasts.
Fasting has been practiced for thousands of years in many different cultures. It's thought to have originated from religious practices that were later adopted by groups with spiritual beliefs who saw its health benefits as a way to better connect with their spirituality through food intake or lack thereof.
Intermittent fasting has some natural health benefits. Fasting causes your body to burn fat instead of sugar. This lowers insulin and inflammation, which is good for your body, brain, and metabolism.
This is called autophagy. Autophagy helps to clear out damaged cells in the body that can cause disease or cancerous growths. It also helps keep your gut clean so you have less bloating and constipation during fasting periods as well as better immunity during those times when you're not eating enough food to build up immune cells (which happens when you eat too much).
You'll lose weight without doing anything else differently. Research shows that intermittent fasting leads to weight loss. This is because it causes you to eat fewer calories overall, without trying. Intermittent fasting can reduce your risk of type 2 diabetes by improving insulin resistance, lowering blood sugar and insulin levels and lowering blood pressure.
Intermittent fasting can make you lose weight.
Intermittent fasting may help with type 2 diabetes and blood sugar control.
It can also lower blood pressure, cholesterol and improve heart health.
Intermittent fasting has been shown to reduce risk of cancer by improving insulin sensitivity in the body and reducing oxidative stress as well as inflammation in the body that are both linked to cancer development.
Your brain is affected by intermittent fasting in positive ways. Intermittent fasting may protect against age-related memory decline and reduce the external risk of developing Alzheimer's disease or Parkinson's disease.
Increased ketone production: During intermittent fasting, the body produces ketones for fuel instead of glucose. Ketones have been shown to have neuroprotective effects and improve memory in animal models of Alzheimer's disease.
Lower insulin levels: Insulin resistance has been described as a risk factor for dementia, whereas high plasma levels are associated with cognitive decline in older adults (including Alzheimer's disease). In mice that were given insulin injections daily, their performance on maze tests declined faster than those not injected with the hormone. This suggests that high insulin levels may trigger brain cell damage over time.
Lower blood glucose levels: Glucose restriction has been shown to increase life expectancy in one-celled organisms such as yeast and nematodes (roundworms) by reducing oxidative stress and inflammation throughout the body—and potentially also within the brain itself...In rats fed a diet containing 10% glucose rather than dextrose (which contains 20% glucose), they lived longer while retaining good health into old age...These findings suggest that moderate reductions in blood sugar are beneficial for longevity!
Fasting can be an effective way to improve heart health by reducing blood pressure and cholesterol levels.
Intermittent fasting can be an effective way to improve heart health by reducing blood pressure and cholesterol levels. Fasting has been shown to reduce your risk of heart disease, which is a leading cause of death in the United States and the United Kingdom — more than 600,000 Americans die from heart disease each year.
Intermittent fasting may help fight cancer because it reduces the amount of sugars available to cancer cells, leading to a reduction in tumor growth.
Cancer cells need sugar to grow. Fasting reduces the amount of sugars available to cancer cells, which may reduce tumor growth.
A study conducted at the University of California San Francisco found that fasting for 2 days a week reduced blood levels of IGF-1 (insulin-like growth factor 1), a hormone involved in the development and progression of cancer. The researchers concluded that intermittent fasting may help fight cancer because it reduces the amount of sugars available to cancer cells, leading to a reduction in tumor growth.
While this is promising research, we cannot yet say definitively whether intermittent fasting will prevent or treat cancer—especially since there are many factors that influence whether or not someone develops cancer. Intermittent fasting on its own is not an approved treatment plan for any type of disease or condition; proper medical supervision should always be sought when considering making any significant changes to your diet or lifestyle habits
Intermittent fasting comes with many health benefits including weight loss, lowered risk for diabetes, and a reduced risk for cancer.
Weight Loss. Intermittent fasting has been shown to help people lose weight, which is one of the biggest benefits of intermittent fasting.
Better Metabolism. Your metabolism is the rate at which your body burns energy to keep going, and it can be affected by what you eat and how much exercise you do. By eating less frequently, your body is forced to use up stored energy for energy—which means weight loss!
Lower Risk for Diabetes. There is some evidence that intermittent fasting may lower diabetes risk because it helps control insulin levels and blood sugar levels by reducing the amount of sugars available to cancer cells, leading them to grow less rapidly.
The benefits of intermittent fasting are numerous, and they extend beyond weight loss. Intermittent fasting may help improve your mood and sleep quality, increase energy levels and boost brain function.
I hope the above article has helped to inform you about the many benefits of intermittent fasting. If you have any questions or comments please leave them below!
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Dr. Jason Fung (Author), Jimmy Moore (Author)
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