Introduction
Intermittent fasting brings several benefits in different aspects such as
health, recovery, or weight loss. While this trend has been very famous recently in the western culture,
there are some benefits of the 16/8 rule (26 hours fasting and 8 hours for having meals).
Due to the different advantages, some different cultures of the world have been applying this for centuries.
In this post we discuss some of the benefits that intermittent fasting can bring to our life. We had also tried to validate most of the benefits with some scientific studies.
Apart from the different tests, I have been using this for many years now and I can tell you that my health and my state of form has improved during this time. Here are some benefits for the long-term that fasting could bring to your life.
Weight and fat
Many people who try intermittent fasting do so to lose weight. In general, intermittent fasting will cause you to eat fewer meals and therefore, a reduction of calories.
Unless you offset this by eating a lot more during other meals, you will end up consuming fewer calories. Further, intermittent fasting improves hormone function to facilitate weight loss.
Lower levels of insulin, higher levels of MBH, and higher amounts of norepinephrine (noradrenaline) increase the breakdown of body fat and facilitate its use to generate energy. For this reason, short-term fasting increases the metabolic rate, helping burn even more calories than in normal situations.
In other words, intermittent fasting has two functions:
- It increases your metabolic rate
- It reduces the amount of food you eat
According to a 2014 review of the scientific research, intermittent fasting can cause a weight loss of 3 percent to 8 percent in 3 to 24 weeks. This amount is huge.
A 2011 review also showed that intermittent fasting caused less muscle loss than continuous calorie restriction.
Sugar and Diabetes
Diabetes 2 is one of the diseases growing faster in the last decade. Its main characteristic is high blood sugar levels in the context of insulin resistance.
Anything that reduces insulin resistance should help lower blood sugar levels and protect against type 2 diabetes. Intermitting fasting can help with this.
For example, intermittent fasting has been shown to have major benefits for insulin resistance and cause an impressive reduction in blood sugar levels.
In human studies on intermittent fasting, fasting blood sugar was reduced by 3 percent to 6 percent over the course of 8 to 12 weeks in people with prediabetes. Fasting insulin was reduced by 20 percent to 31 percent.
What does this mean? intermittent fasting may be highly protective for people who are at risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
Although it may take some time to get adapted, fasting brings multiple benefits
Heart
Coronary problems and heart disease is currently the disease killing most people in the world. Related to this problem, several risk factors are known to be associated with an increased or decreased risk of heart disease.
Intermittent fasting has been shown to improve several different risk factors, including:
- blood sugar levels
- blood pressure
- blood triglycerides
- (bad) cholesterol
- inflammatory markers
Cellular Recovery
When we fast, the body's cells initiate a cellular "waste disposal" process called autophagy.
This process involves cells breaking down and metabolizing broken and dysfunctional proteins that accumulate within cells over time.
Increased autophagy may protect against several diseases, including cancer and neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease.
Brain
We have discussed different benefits and advantages for our body. What is good for the body is often also good for the most important organ, our brain.
Intermittent fasting improves several metabolic functions that are known to be important for brain health.
Intermittent fasting helps to reduce:
- blood sugar levels
- oxidative stress
- inflammation
- insulin resistance
- Fasting also increases levels of a brain hormone called brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). A deficiency of BDNF has been implicated in depression and various other brain problems.
Other studies have also shown that intermittent fasting protects against brain damage due to stroke.
Hormones
When you don't eat for a period of time, several things happen in your body related to the hormones and internal organs.
For example, your body changes hormone levels to make stored body fat more accessible and initiate important cellular repair and recovery processes.
These are some of the hormones changes that occur thanks to fasting:
- Insulin levels. Insulin levels in the blood drop significantly, making it easier to burn fat.
- Human growth hormone (HGH) levels. Blood levels of human growth hormone (HGH) can increase dramatically. Higher levels of this hormone make it easier to burn fat and build muscle and have many other benefits.
- Cellular repair. The body induces important cellular repair processes, such as removing waste from cells.
- Gene expression. There are beneficial changes in several genes and molecules related to longevity and disease protection.
- Many of the benefits of intermittent fasting are related to these changes in hormones and cells
Stress
Oxidative stress is one of the steps towards aging and many chronic diseases. We all want to avoid this. It involves unstable molecules called free radicals. Free radicals react with and damage other important molecules, such as protein and DNA.
Several studies show that intermittent fasting can improve the body's resistance to oxidative stress. In addition, studies show that intermittent fasting can help fight inflammation, another key component in many common diseases.
Cancer
Cancer is characterized by uncontrolled cell growth and it’s also one of the most problematic diseases.
Fasting has been shown to have several beneficial effects on metabolism that may reduce the risk of cancer.
Promising evidence from animal studies indicates that intermittent fasting or diets that mimic fasting may help prevent cancer. Research in humans has had similar findings, although more studies are needed. There is also some evidence that fasting reduced several side effects of chemotherapy in humans.
Conclusion
Although we have been taught that breakfast is the most important of the day, this is due to the interest of the food industry in the past decades. We should forget about this myth and follow what it’s good for our body.
Related to some questions you may have questions about what you can do and cannot do. It’s perfectly fine to drink water, coffee, or tea as long as you don’t put sugar. Furthermore, it is also fine to put a small amount of milk.
Probably the hardest time is starting with the intermittent fasting and it may not be made for every person. I can just tell my experience about it and the different noticeable that has brought to me. I hope this can be of any use to you in your life. In this post we have seen different benefits and you may also take this into account if you would like to start with it.
