The first one to two weeks can be the hardest, so if you need some help to adjust, that’s OK.”
— Leigh Daigle, M.D.
eating. Having a chance to rest and reset is essential for our body and its various systems to function properly. According to the National Library
of Medicine, during the fasting period cells are under a mild stress and they respond by enhancing their ability to cope with stress and to resist disease. Research has also found a
protective effect from fasting on the neurons in the brain. If you don’t eat for 10 to 16 hours,
your body will go to its fat stores for energy, and fatty acids called ketones will be released into the bloodstream. This has been shown to protect
memory and learning functionality, as well as slow disease processes in the brain. Even fit athletes seem to benefit
from intermittent fasting. A study published in the Journal
of Translational Medicine found that athletes who participated in a fasting diet had lower blood glucose and insulin levels and a decrease in fat mass while maintaining muscle mass when compared to athletes on a normal diet. The National Institute on Aging
notes that hundreds of animal studies and scores of human clinical trials have shown that intermittent fasting can lead to improvements in health conditions such as obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancers, and neurological disorders.
HOW TO DO IT SAFELY “Listen to your body and begin an intermittent fasting routine gradually if it’s new for you,” says Daigle. “Start with a 12-hour eating
window and 12-hour fasting period.” For example, only eat between 6
a.m. and 6 p.m., then from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. consume only water. “When this gets easy, gradually
shorten your eating window. Common fasting schedules are 16:8 and 20:4, fasting:eating, respectively. “The first one to two weeks can
be the hardest, so if you need some help to adjust, that’s OK,” says Daigle. “If you feel hungry during a
fasting window, drinking water can quiet a grumbly stomach nicely. Intermittent fasting also works best if paired with a reduced calorie diet, which usually happens naturally as eating times are shortened.” The key is also not to overeat
during the non-fasting period. “Pay close attention to the quality
of the food that you are eating,” says Kara. “It’s best to select organic or locally sourced food options whenever possible to avoid any harmful preservatives or additives that can contribute to toxin buildup in the body or other health issues.” Avoid consuming high-fat, high-
sugar, refined carbohydrates, and other poor food options.
WHO SHOULD AVOID IT Although intermittent fasting has been linked to numerous health benefits, it is not for everyone. “For those with a hormone
imbalance or specific conditions like polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), intermittent fasting may cause issues with hormone regulation or hormone ‘spikes’ due to longer periods of not eating, or eating too much when it’s time to end the fasting period,” says Kara. Pregnant women are also not
advised to do intermittent fasting. For some people, medications
may need to be adjusted. “Diabetes medications, for example, that lower blood sugar will need to be decreased or stopped,” says Daigle. “Fluid pills, as another example,
are usually decreased or stopped because your body retains less water as insulin levels decrease.”
TYPE 2 DIABETES According to research published in Nature Medicine, intermittent fasting is actually better than low-calorie diets when it comes to preventing Type 2 diabetes in high- risk people. Men and women who only ate
between 8 a.m. and noon for three days a week and ate normally for the other four days showed greater improvements in blood sugar metabolism for at least six months when compared with people who followed a low-calorie diet. Both groups lost the same amount
of weight during the study period. Additionally, research at The
College of Family Physicians of Canada that looked at 27 trials found intermittent fasting resulted in weight loss on average by 4.3%, and ranging from 0.8% to 13% of baseline body weight and body mass index decrease.
HEART HEALTH According to researchers at Intermountain Medical Center Heart Institute in Salt Lake City, routine fasting may reduce the risk of heart failure and death in patients who undergo cardiac catheterization. Their study included more than
2,000 patients who had cardiac catheterization between 2013 and 2015. They were followed for over four years. Those who fasted regularly had a higher survival rate during follow- up than those who did not. Fasting was a strong predictor
of survival and lower risk of heart failure, even after lifestyle behaviors, medications, heart risk factors, and other health problems were taken into account.
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