Intermittent Fasting: A Good Strategy or a Crock?

 

(The Real Agenda News) A new dietary trend has been hovering over the heads of consumers for a few years, both to lose weight and to improve health prognosis through various metabolic markers. That trend is intermittent fasting.

Intermittent fasting seems simple in the initial approach but offers an endless number of versions or modalities.

Intermittent fasting may sound like keeping your mouth closed, or at least not opening it as many times as we usually do; one of the most classic resources when trying to lose weight.

The origins

Voluntary fasting has nothing to do with starvation: the latter is the involuntary absence of food not deliberate or controlled, and people subjected to starvation have no idea when they can return to eat.

On the contrary, fasting consists in the voluntary limitation of the act of eating.

The consequences of one and the other have nothing to do either.

This is the mystery involved in the toxicological concept of hormesis.

The search for the advantages of eating little, restricting food or fasting voluntarily are inherent in any culture, and in all of them there are ancestral references to their practice.

However, beyond millenary beliefs and practices, science has tried in recent years to confirm the health benefits of a certain controlled fast and, if necessary, to know the mechanisms through which they occur.

Regarding the origins of intermittent fasting as a therapeutic strategy, attention should be focused on the line of research that links caloric restriction with longevity and health prognosis.

Today there are already many accumulated publications that have proven the omnipresent and prominent role of controlled dietary restriction on aging and its associated diseases in virtually all kinds of organisms, from unicellular to humans, through invertebrates, rodents and monkeys.

After all, and in the most theoretical field of the matter, intermittent fasting would try to emulate the real conditions of our ancestors who, far from it, ate as many as five times a day.

The difficult thing is to define how to do it, effectively, and to end up eating less often than usual, especially when you live under pressure from the advice to eat until you reach 5 or 6 daily intakes.

But the issue of intermittent fasting has more crumb, especially when considering the scientific articles of the last decade that have observed the foreseeable benefits and possible harms of following this practice, especially if the fast is not controlled by professionals.

By intermittent fasting, we understand all those actions directed to stop eating for variable periods of time, but in a controlled manner.

Although there are different versions more or less personalized, these are the three best-known ways to perform an intermittent fast

The daily intermittent fast contemplates two slots every day, one in which nothing is swallowed -except foods that we will see later- and another in which “it is allowed” to eat.

Those who propose this type of routines usually recommend starting with a 12/12 strategy, in which they would fast for 12 hours in a row, usually including nighttime rest hours, and allow themselves to eat in the remaining 12 hours.

From there it is usually proposed to progress towards a 14/10 strategy; 14 hours of fasting and 10 in which you can eat to reach the most usual 16/8 or 18/6 and even a 20/4 strategy.

The weekly fast, in which a full day is fasted out of every seven consists of for example, having breakfast on a Tuesday and not eating anything until breakfast on Wednesday.

Another version of this proposes fasting two days a week separated by two and three days in which food is eaten: for example, fasting on Mondays and Thursdays.

The fast of two or three days in a row every month is more difficult, because of the long period of fasting that it implies.

The fact is that although the benefits of intermittent fasting remain controversial, most authors argue that there are no extra benefits due to fasting more than one day in a row and, yes, the risks are likely to increase if you do it for longer periods of time.

The possible benefits of intermittent fasting

Before proceeding, it is important to bear in mind that the knowledge we have of this subject is, for the moment, limited: many of the studies that we will see have not followed the same fasting pattern among those that have been described and, in addition, a good part of them are observational.

That said, these are -in general terms- the benefits that are transferred to intermittent fasting:

• It facilitates weight loss while preserving muscle mass.


• Improves some biochemical parameters related to inflammation.


• Improves some parameters related to the lipid profile, cardiovascular risk or diabetes.

We already have in the scientific literature two reviews that critically address the issue of intermittent fasting.

The first of them is Health Effects of Intermittent Fasting: hormesis or harm? A Systematic Review.

Among other observations, this work concludes that despite the differences in the designs of the studies, the regimes and the results, there is a convergence in them that points towards certain health benefits when the fast is prudent.

The second, a more recent analysis is Metabolic Effects of Intermittent Fasting. It concludes that “intermittent fasting patterns are a promising approach leading to weight loss and improvement of metabolic health in those who can safely tolerate those periods of fasting without eating or eating very little during certain times of the day, at night or during some days of the week.

If its efficacy is finally consolidated, this type of regimen “could represent a promising, not pharmacological approach for the improvement of public health in various aspects “.

The risks of Intermittent Fasting

Following the immobility of the dietary issue by certain professionals, intermittent fasting is observed with suspicion.

Opposing groups promote that intermittent fasting will lead to muscle loss, slow down the metabolism – something undesirable when it comes to losing weight – and that in the long-term it promotes weight gain, can lower blood sugar to dangerous levels, generate headaches and a state of increased irritation or susceptibility, and so on.

In this sense, it should be stressed -as the above-mentioned reviews show- that it is not the same to follow a programmed and calculated pattern of intermittent fasting in well-informed persons, than to submit to the effects of starvation.

It is also not appropriate for any reader to follow any guidelines of this type unless supervised by a physician.

Intermittent fasting is not a diet that you can use to “take off and put” a few pounds, to follow for a few weeks and then forget about the matter.

If intermittent fasting is valid for someone, it must be monitored by a professional – at least in its initial stages – and should be assumed more as a new lifestyle, as for someone at a given time who decides to be a vegetarian.

What to eat when you eat almost nothing

The classic approach during periods of fasting involves not eating or drinking anything except water, coffee, teas or infusions – sugar-free, of course – that can be taken without restriction.

In other perspectives in which whole days are fasted, it is also allowed to ingest a certain amount of food, without exceeding – more or less –  500 kcal / day. This must be done without losing the north regarding the quality of the diet, what is eaten and what is not.

It is preferable to eat real food five times a day every day of your life.

By way of final reflection, it would be difficult for me to believe that in our society, given our circumstances, the question of intermittent fasting will be a collective solution to the problems arising from obesity and non-transmissible metabolic diseases.

At the same time, in those suitable and consistent candidates, it could be a truly useful tool.

Its practice has obtained promising results in concrete and -we must not forget- controlled groups, but there is still a long way to go, as all the publications on the subject point out.

The post Intermittent Fasting: A Good Strategy or a Crock? appeared first on The Sleuth Journal.

Everything You Need to Know About Intermittent Fasting

What if I told you that an essential part of healthy eating includes short periods of not eating? That line of thinking runs counter to everything we do today. You probably have a snack, if not a full meal, before running out the door. You might have another snack once you get to work and make your coffee, maybe a banana, a handful of nuts, or—if you dare—a donut. Before lunch, you might have a granola bar just to tide you over. After lunch, you may need a small pick-me-up if your energy starts lagging in the afternoon. Are you keeping track? That’s five times you’ve eaten before dinner. And then there’s an after dinner snack, and the midnight snack. Have humans always eaten like this?

Fasting in Human Evolution and Culture

Humans didn’t always have access to food whenever they felt a craving for a snack, so the human body, your body, evolved to expect long periods of time in which food was nil or scarce. Of course, your ancestors still needed to find food if they had any hope of reproducing and passing their genes on, so certain side effects of hunger developed to increase their success at getting food. A day or two without food left your progenitors with a singular focus to find a source of calories. If they weren’t able to function during times of scarcity, chances are they wouldn’t have had the opportunity to bear children and pass their genes down to you through the generations.^[1]

As society developed, regular periods of not eating became less of a consequence of food scarcity and more of an integral part of cultural norms and identities. Meals were eaten at certain times of the day. But as technologies like electricity progressed and spread to the general populace, society’s habits and meal times changed to fit the highly variable daily schedules of modern people.^[2]

There are a lot of changes in human history that have collectively altered the health, and indeed the girth, of the world’s population, but the effect of technology and modern life may have especially far-reaching implications on hunger, weight, and energy levels. This is where intermittent fasting comes in to save the day.^[2]

What Is Intermittent Fasting?

Put simply, intermittent fasting is alternating periods of fasting with periods of eating during the same day. So you have a restricted window during which you eat. Many people who practice intermittent fasting adjust their eating schedule to align with the natural rhythms of hormonal and sleep-wake cycles of the body. This cycle can be one of your own devising, or it can be a more established pattern like 12 hours of fasting followed by a 12-hour window in which you can eat normally.

There are many ways to fast intermittently. The type you choose hinges on your health goals, energy needs, and willpower. Intermittent fasting to improve physical fitness is different from intermittent fasting for weight loss. The schedule and foods you choose are the primary differences.^[3]

Why Try Intermittent Fasting?

One argument for intermittent fasting is that it’s easier to stick to compared with dieting or eating small amounts of food throughout the day for weeks or months. Eating things in moderation or miserly portions isn’t for everyone. In fact, most people find dieting difficult for this very reason. If you take an “all or nothing” approach to dietary changes, intermittent fasting might help you get the results you want. Indeed, alternating periods of fasting with short periods of eating appears to increase weight loss compared to traditional calorie restriction.^[4]

An even better argument for intermittent fasting is that regimented intermittent fasting periods combined with earlier mealtimes work with, rather than against, your hormonal rhythms to promote a healthier metabolism. Your appetite, energy expenditure, satiety (feeling full), and fat storage all respond to hormonal and environmental cues like your sleep-wake cycle. Eating on a regimented schedule, like intermittent fasting, can help you optimize your eating habits for weight maintenance, weight gain, and weight loss.^[5, 6]

Eating on a Schedule With Intermittent Fasting

When you eat at times when your body isn’t prepared for food enzymatically or hormonally, you start throwing all the various clocks in your body out of sync. That midnight snack triggers your digestive system to start secreting all the digestive juices it needs to break down that cup (ok, bowl) of ice cream during a time when your brain is calling for sleep. A few hours later, when you’re sleeping, your blood floods with sugar from the meal and your pancreas deploys insulin to herd that sugar into cells. Your cells don’t need a rush of sugar at 2 a.m., and this just throws your organ systems and hunger-regulating hormones off kilter. Eating out of sync with what your body needs can affect how your body responds to hormones like insulin, ghrelin, and leptin. Disrupting these hormones can significantly affect your appetite, and how you use and store energy in your body.^[5]

Ideally, your hormonal cycle should sync up with your sleep-wake cycle to fuel and support your daily activities. But your stress, eating habits, and hectic daily schedule can easily prevent these two systems from running on the same schedule. To stick to an intermittent fasting schedule, you’ll have to be diligent about eating on time and avoiding snacks and meals if they fall out of the designated eating window.^[6]

The Many Benefits of Intermittent Fasting

Research hints at the far-reaching implications of intermittent fasting for diverse populations. The brain, weight loss, and fitness benefits make intermittent fasting an appealing option for anyone looking to improve their health, especially for people with type 2 diabetes or anyone trying to maintain weight loss after obesity.

Slowed Aging and Improved Longevity

Caloric restriction has received a lot of press the last few years for its role in extending lifespan in animal studies, but it’s near impossible to ethically study long-term food restriction on humans. Intermittent fasting triggers the same effects of caloric restriction, so you get the improved aging and a longer, healthier lifespan.^[7]

Boosts Brain Growth, Repair, and Function

Intermittent fasting holds several benefits for the brain. Tightly regulating your eating schedule seems to improve memory, generate new neurons, enhance brain recovery after trauma, elevate mood, and lower your risk of the cognitive decline associated with aging.^[8, 9]

Regulates Hormone Levels

Insulin, ghrelin, and leptin levels and response in the body improve with intermittent fasting. This means your body is able to better respond to the rise and fall in blood sugar, and regulate feelings of hunger and fullness. Human growth hormone, the hormone that triggers growth in children and helps regulate sugar and fat metabolism, also increases during cyclical fasts.^[10, 11]

Improves Blood Composition

Your body is better able to regulate the ebb and flow of energy resources when you adopt a regular eating schedule. Fasting both lowers and somewhat paradoxically helps sustain healthy blood sugar levels, blood pressure, insulin levels, and cholesterol. Improved blood composition decreases oxidative stress in the body.^[12]

Decreases Oxidative Stress

Eating, in general, results in oxidative stress, depleting your antioxidant defenses against free radicals in your tissues. Intermittent fasting, by its nature, significantly decreases your exposure to the inflammatory effects of converting food to energy because you eat less often.^[1, 13]

Enhances Fat Burning

Low insulin levels occur during the fasting state because you’re not absorbing a steady supply of glucose from the digestive tract. Low insulin levels prompt fat burning to keep energy levels stable. Intermittent fasting gives you better access to your fat stores.^[1, 14]

Mimics the Beneficial Effects of Exercise

Athletic training provides many beneficial effects on the brain, heart, vascular system, stress response, and body composition. Intermittent fasting mimics many of the same benefits, such as lower your resting heart rate, improved immune function, increased DNA repair, better motor function, ketone production, improved resistance to stress, faster recovery from stress, and enhanced recycling of old or malfunctioning cells.^[1]

Intermittent Fasting Patterns

Generally, the longer the fasting period, the better the results. Some people find they experience some emotional effects with fasting. You may find that you feel irritable and short tempered while adjusting to an intermittent fasting schedule.

Typical Intermittent Fasting Schedules

Schedule	Eating Period	Fasting Period
12:12	12 hours	12 hours
10:14	10 hours	14 hours
8:16	8 hours	16 hours
6:18	6 hours	18 hours
4:20	4 hours	20 hours
2:22	2 hours	22 hours
Alternate day	Duration of one meal	24 hours after end of meal

Getting Started With Intermittent Fasting

If you can stretch your fast out for longer periods of time, you’ll quickly see lower insulin levels and spend more time in ketosis, the fat-burning state. To start intermittent fasting, I recommend starting with 12:12 schedule: a 12-hour window in which you can eat followed by 12 hours of fasting. If you find this schedule easy, try an 8:16 schedule next. Fasting for longer periods with comparatively short windows to eat (6:18 or 4:20) are a key component of the warrior diet regimen, a diet inspired by our ancestors’ eating habits. Extend your fast beyond even that benchmark and you reach alternate day fasting.

You’ll have to evaluate what works with your daily schedule and workout goals to find a stable, sustainable intermittent fasting pattern. Some fasters find that a 10:14 or 6:18 fasting plan is a better fit for them. Fasting, in general, will yield an array of health benefits, so don’t be afraid to shift your schedule around to suit your needs. Just make an effort to eat earlier in the day rather than late at night to decrease fat storage. However, if you typically skip breakfast, feel free to begin your eating period around lunchtime.^[5]

The physical effects of fasting on an individual depends on an incalculable number of variables. Some people respond to fasting significantly better than others. If you are particularly stressed out or you’re going through some difficult life events, I would advise you to put fasting on hold until you get your stress under control due to the hormonal imbalance that usually accompanies (and feeds) the stress response.^[15]

What to Eat During an Intermittent Fast

Although you don’t have to adopt a different diet to try intermittent fasting, it’s never too late to eat healthier. I recommend a whole food, plant-based diet with lots of raw vegetables, fruits, nuts, and seeds to improve nutrition and maintain health.

If you’re looking to your diet to kickstart fat loss, try my ketogenic fast. Unlike most ketogenic diets or fasts, which rely on a substantial amount of animal fat and protein to shift your body into ketosis, I designed mine to cleanse the body with whole plant foods like avocado and walnuts that promote a healthy blood composition and lower oxidative stress in addition to torching your fat reserves.

Have you tried intermittent fasting before? Tell us how it went in the comments!

References (15)

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