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The science behind intermittent fasting — and how you can make it work for you
What Intermittent fasting is
Intermittent fasting is based on the idea that when you reduce your calorie intake for limited stretches of time, your body will use its stored fat for energy. Intermittent fasting has many health benefits, including losing weight.
There is no one way to do intermittent fasting. There is the 5:2 diet, which means eating very few calories for two days of the week, followed by five days of normal eating. Or the alternate-day fasting, which means eating normally for one day, then either nothing or just 500 calories the next.
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Key Ideas
Fasting....
...is the voluntary withholding of food for spiritual, health, or other reasons.
Food is easily available, but you choose not to eat it. This can be for any period of time, from...
Intermittent fasting for weight loss
When we fast, Insulin levels fall, signaling the body to start burning stored energy as no more is coming through food. Blood glucose falls, so the body must now pull glucose out of storage to burn for energy.
In essence, intermittent fasting allows the body to use its stored energy.
Health benefits of intermittent fasting
- Weight and body fat loss
- Lowered blood insulin and sugar levels
- Possibly reversal of type 2 diabetes
- Possibly improved mental clarity and concentration
- Possibly increased energy
- Possibly increased growth hormone, at least in the short term
- Possibly an improved blood cholesterol profile
- Possibly a reduction in the risk of Alzheimer’s disease
- Possibly longer life
- Possibly activation of cellular cleansing by stimulating autophagy
- Possibly reduction of inflammation
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Key Ideas
Intermittent Fasting (IF)
The dietary practice of restricting your food consumption to a specific window of time. It is used as a supplement to your diet.
In this fasting state, our bodies can break down extra fat...
Approaches to intermittent fasting
- Skipped meals - when you skip over a meal to induce extra time of fasting.
- Eating windows - this condenses your entire macronutrient intake between a 4 and 7-hour window. The rest of the time you are in a fasting state.
- 24-48 hour cleanse - where you go into extended fasting periods and do not eat for 1-2 days.
Autophagy definition and benefits
The process by which the cell devours itself.
- Non-essential parts like damaged proteins are recycled and invading microorganisms and toxic compounds are removed.
- Autophagy plays an important role in stopping the aging process, reversing disease, and preventing cancer, but it doesn’t happen all the time.
- Autophagic processes can be initiated by fasting, protein restriction and carbohydrate restriction.
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Key Ideas
Intermittent fasting
Benefits of Intermittent Fasting
- It makes your day simpler: fewer meals= less stressing about what you'll eat.
- It helps you live longer: you get the benefits of a longer life without the hassle of starving.
- Still up for debate, but intermittent fasting may reduce the risk of cancer.
- It is much easier than dieting, once you get over the idea that you need to eat all the time.
Different Fasting Schedules
- Daily Intermittent Fasting: 16–hour fast followed by an 8–hour eating period.
- Weekly Intermittent Fasting: One of the best ways to get started with it - do it once per week.
- Alternate Day Intermittent Fasting: incorporates longer fasting periods on alternating days throughout the week.