Intermittent fasting: Food is recognized as the fuel for the human body. However, making the proper balance between nutrients and calories can be quite a difficult task. The world of nutrition and diet is full of trends. In this regard, intermittent fasting, an approach to eating, is gaining a lot of popularity and momentum in the current time in the context of weight management.
Overview of intermittent fasting
Intermittent fasting refers to an eating pattern in which one decides the cycle between the periods of fasting and periods of eating. It does not reflect the aspects of what to eat, but it provides a comprehensive idea of when to eat. Therefore, it mainly indicates the schedule of fasting and it is about the ways of reducing calories within a span of short time periods rather than starving. During the fasting periods, one can consume water or drink other beverages like tea, and black coffee.
Types of intermittent fasting
The 16/8 method
In this method, an individual is involved in fasting for 16 hours of the day while only eight hours of the day is permitted for eating. There is a higher popularity and acceptance of this method among people as most individuals prefer to fast during the time of sleeping. It is quite easy to perform this fasting for people through the extension of their overnight fast by integrating breakfast later and accomplishing dinner a few times before.
The 5:2 method
In this method, one eats normally for five days a week without thinking about the restriction of calories, while in the remaining two days of the week, they restrict their calorie intake to 500 to 600 calories. Any of the two days of the week can be preferred by the individuals for fasting while it needs to be considered that at least one non-fasting day is available in between them.
For example, one can choose Tuesday and Friday to fast with two or three small meals and can eat a normal meal for the rest of the week. However, eating normally means consuming healthy foods rather than junk food and then only the target of weight loss can be achieved.
Alternate day fasting
This method suggests fasting every other day by limiting the calorie intake on fasting days to 500 calories or 25 per cent of the normal intake. A regular, healthy diet can be resumed on non-fasting days.
Eat: stop : eat method
In this method, one is involved in fasting completely for an entire 24 hours. This can be performed once or twice a week. For example, one can decide to fast from dinner to dinner or breakfast to breakfast.
Benefits of intermittent fasting
Supports the positive changes in the hormone, genes and cell functions
When one does not eat for a certain time, a number of things occur in their body. For instance, the human body introduces changes in the level of hormones in order to increase the accessibility of stored body fat and initiate vital cellular repair procedures. The advantages of fasting are associated with these changes in the hormone levels, gene expression and cellular function. The following are some of the changes that arise in the human body due to intermittent fasting:
Insulin level
The level of insulin in the blood reduces to a certain extent which helps in the burning of fat.
HGH level
As a result of fasting, the blood level of human growth hormone (HGH) increases considerably. Muscle gain and fat burning are some major benefits which are promoted by a higher level of this hormone.
Cellular function
This triggers the significant cellular repair processes in the body, including the removal of the waste material from cells.
Gene expression
A number of beneficial changes are found to happen to multiple genes and molecules associated with the protection against disease and longevity.
Helps in losing weight
Many people seek to be involved in fasting as an effective measurement towards weight management, specifically losing weight. Usually, fasting encourages one to incorporate fewer meals, which means the intake of fewer calories. Moreover, this supports the required changes in the hormone functions for promoting weight loss. Increased HGH levels, lower insulin levels, along higher levels of norepinephrine lead to an increase in body fat breakdown, enabling the human body more easily to utilise the fat for energy. As a consequence, short-term fasting results in an improvement in the metabolism of the human body, assisting in burning more calories.
According to a 2022 study, which involved 131 people having obesity, it was found by the researchers that an average of 9 per cent of body weight had been lost by the participants who took part in fasting. The loss of weight in this process was found to be more than the participants engaging in the other weight loss procedures. However, this study has emphasised the 5:2 fasting plan. This reflects that the participants were involved in eating normally for five days while restricting their calories for two days per week.
As per the findings of the authors of a 2020 review of 27 studies, the respondents taking part in intermittent fasting reported weight loss of around 0.8 – 13 per cent of their baseline body weight.
Reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes
Intermittent fasting has been proven to be effective in the reduction of insulin resistance, which leads to an efficient reduction in blood sugar levels. In this way, it helps in protecting against the risk of type 2 diabetes.
According to the studies, it has been found that fasting accounts for the minimization of blood sugar of around an average of 0.15 millimoles per litre. However, it is also identified that this has a higher effectiveness in men in comparison to women.
Decreases oxidative stress and inflammation
Oxidative stress is regarded as one of the key factors which has a positive contribution towards ageing as well as many other chronic diseases. It allows the unstable molecules or free radicals to react with the vital molecules like DNA and protein and contributes to their damage. In this regard, intermittent fasting is helpful in the enhancement of the resistance of the human body to oxidative stress. This also aids in fighting against inflammation, which is another major contributor to several common diseases.
Improves the health of the heart
According to the findings of the research, intermittent fasting is beneficial for the improvement of many risk factors for heart diseases. These risk factors include blood pressure, blood sugar levels, blood triglycerides, inflammatory markers and total and LDL (bad) cholesterol.
Improves brain functions
Intermittent fasting supports the growth of new nerve cells, which has a positive impact on brain functioning. Fasting also leads to an increase in the levels of a brain hormone, which is the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). The deficiency of a BDNF causes depression and other brain-related conditions. It is also found to be efficient in protecting the brain damage caused by stroke.
Prevention of Alzheimer’s disease
In recent times, one of the most common neurodegenerative diseases in the world is Alzheimer’s disease. Around 55 million people worldwide are impacted by Alzheimer’s disease or other dementias. It is crucial to prevent the disease in the initial stage of development as there is no cure for this disease at the current time. In this context, there is a higher effectiveness of intermittent fasting in delaying the emergence of Alzheimer’s and decreasing its severity.
Concerns related to intermittent fasting
While intermittent fasting has a lot of benefits, it may not be applicable to everyone. It is not safe for people like children, people with pregnancy, as well as people with hypoglycemia or certain chronic diseases. Multiple researches have been accomplished in animals and therefore, it is not clearly identified that people will get access to the same advantages in this procedure. There is still confusion regarding the effectiveness of restricting eating for 8 or 12 hours a day.
For instance, as per the analysis of more than 20000 US adults, it is identified that the individuals who restricted their eating to 8 hours or even less per day were most likely to die due to cardiovascular disease in comparison to the people involved in eating 12 to 16 hours per day. A lot of side effects are also found to be connected with this fasting, which includes hunger, digestive issues, headaches, sleep disturbances, fatigue, constipation, dehydration and many others.
FAQ
What is intermittent fasting?
Intermittent fasting refers to an eating pattern in which one decides the cycle between the periods of fasting and periods of eating.
What are the popular methods of fasting?
The popular method of fasting schedules include the 16/8 method, the 5:2 method, the alternate day fasting method and the eat:stop: eat method.
What is the restriction in calorie intake in the 5:2 method?
In this method, one eats normally for five days a week without thinking about the restriction of calories, while in the remaining two days of the week, they restrict their calorie intake to 500 to 600 calories.
Whether one can drink water during fasting?
During the fasting periods, one can consume water or drink other beverages like tea, and black coffee.
What are the major benefits of fasting?
The key benefits of being involved in the fasting schedules include helping in weight loss and management by burning fats, improving brain functions, preventing Alzheimer’s disease, reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes, delaying ageing by reducing oxidative stress and many others.
What are the side effects of fasting?
A lot of side effects are also found to be connected with this fasting, which includes hunger, digestive issues, headaches, sleep disturbances, fatigue, constipation, dehydration and many others.
