Is Intermittent Fasting More Than a Fast Way to Lose Weight?

Fasting has been around a while as a proven method of losing weight, but lately it seems like it's garnering more attention. There's a lot of research that has been done in recent years on intermittent fasting that shows it may have a range of other health benefits.

Intermittent fasting restricts calorie intake for a certain number of days or even hours, while allowing normal eating the rest of the time. There are many ways in which it can be done: eat normal for 5 days of the week and fast for 2, fast every other day, or fast daily on a time-restricted schedule (fast for 6-8 hours a day).

By eating normally and then much less other times, a person's cellular and metabolic processes are shifted in ways, much like when people undergo physical activity. There is a challenge, then recovery, challenge, then recovery...this helps to optimize function and durability in the cells. The concept of evolution can also help you understand why it may be beneficial to our bodies. Having a constant food supply is relatively new to human history; people would often go days without eating. Natural selection would favor those people who were able to function in a food-deprived state.

TIME featured a recent article on the subject and Benjamin Horne, director of cardiovascular and genetic epidemiology at Utah’s non-profit Intermountain Healthcare system, states “There continues to be good evidence that intermittent fasting is producing weight-loss benefits, and we also have some evidence that these diets can reduce inflammation, they can reduce blood pressure and resting heart rate, and they seem to have beneficial effects on the cardiovascular system." Horne says the practice is moving into the medical field and is a good option for people that don't do well with daily calorie restrictions.

Michelle Harvie, a research dietitian with the Prevent Breast Cancer unit at the Manchester Breast Centre in the UK, says her research shows that intermittent fasting outperforms traditional diets in regards to weight loss, reduced body fat, and improved insulin resistance. There is also evidence that intermittent fasting may disrupt the development of neurological diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

While research now shows a range of benefits, it's important to point out that a lot is still unknown. Most of the research has been done on overweight or obese participants, so researchers aren't sure of the effects on normal weight people. Long-term effects aren't clear yet, and it's not known if this type of eating plan would be good for older adults or kids.

It's always wise to check with your doctor before beginning any type of fasting. Discuss your goals with your doctor and ask if they recommend seeing a nutritionist.




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