I think if most people were asked if they would like to be healthier they would say of course! Though a lot of people aren't willing to change their daily life much if any! Yikes! So how do we get healthier with minimal change to our lifestyle? Intermittent fasting!
I don't know about you but until not too long ago I just thought fasting was going long stretches of time without eating. But this is a bit different. I mean yes you are going long-ish stretches of time without eating but nothing we all haven't done from time to time by accident from being super busy. I know I have gone all day semi regularly without eating simply from forgetting or not having time. Yikes. So why not do it intentionally and gain the benefits. Intermittent fasting is basically choosing a window of time that you will spend eating every day and leaving the rest of the day calorie free. Oh and during your eating period you can eat whatever you want! No restrictions! Yay! For example I chose to eat between 6 and 9 every night. That works best for me because I sleep best on a full tummy and as many of you know, sleep is very important to me!
Ok so onto the benefits. What on earth could be gained from not eating for the majority of the day?Well it positively alters the function of cells, helps with weight loss, lowers your risk of type 2 diabetes, reduces oxidative stress and inflammation, lowers your risk for heart disease, it induces cellular repair, helps prevent cancer and Alzheimer's, is good for brain health and it can help you live longer! Quite the list if you ask me! Now let's get into the nitty gritty of why and how all this can stem from intermittent fasting.
Let's start with the most obvious benefit... weight loss. This is not just because of lower calorie intake, though most people do eat less due to the short eating period. So during intermittent fasting our bodies hormone function is enhanced helping facilitate weight loss. A cascade of events in our hormone production leave us with an increased metabolic rate thus helping burn more calories. One study showed that there was less muscle loss during times of intermittent fasting than during continuous calorie restriction.
Ok so we already spoke about how a cascade of events in our hormone production increases our metabolic rate. So let's get further into how it changes the function of cells, genes and hormones. So when we don't eat, a lot of things happen in our body. Some of the changes that happen during periods of fasting are insulin levels drop drastically, human growth hormone increases as much as 5 times and the body induces cellular repair processes such as removing waste from cells. Basically when we don't eat our body has a break from processing all that food we are usually continuously putting in it to do all these important healing processes.
Oxidative stress and inflammation is the root cause of aging and many chronic diseases such as diabetes 2. So obviously the fact that intermittent fasting reduces these things is effing awesome right!? Studies have shown that intermittent fasting reduces insulin resistance and lowers blood sugar levels. More studies have also shown that intermittent fasting enhances the bodies resistance to stress and reduces inflammation thus drastically cutting down many chronic diseases! Reduced stress and inflation are also good for brain health helping to protect the brain from damage.
Heart disease is currently the worlds biggest killer! Intermittent fasting has been shown to improve many factors that effect heart health. These factors include blood pressure, total and LDL cholesterol, blood triglycerides, inflammatory markers and blood sugar levels. All in all this way of eating is fantastic for the health of your heart... and your whole body but right now we are talking about our hearts. So yea.
Intermittent fasting induces cellular repair processes and helps prevent cancer and Alzheimer's. Fasting triggers a metabolic pathway called autophagy which removes waste materials from cells. Increased autophagy may provide protection against several diseases a few being cancer and Alzheimer's. A study showed that intermittent fasting significant improved the symptoms in 9 out of 10 Alzheimer's patients!
Finally intermittent fasting helps you live longer! What an amazing benefit! Extended lifespan so we can fit in all those life goals we have! Studies in rats showed that rats who fasted lived 83% longer than rats who didn't fast and while there haven't been any studies done on humans yet, given all the benefits that take place in the body it only makes sense that intermittent fasting can help you live a longer healthier life.
Now onto my personal experience. When I am doing intermittent fasting I find I not only have more energy, somehow, but I have more motivation to get my workout in along with all my other daily tasks. I feel like I bounce back and recover from my workouts faster and I drink more water which of course is great for my whole body and digestive system. Another benefit is I sleep more soundly at night and don't feel the need for an afternoon nap when my little man naps. Yassss! Oh and when I do eat I make better choices in what I put in my mouth! I don't know why that has happened but when it comes time to feed I tend to crave more fresh fruits and nutrient dense foods. Cool huh!? I think so. Oh but on the down side, just to give a full view of this, I feel like my brain is more scattered and I get triggered by yummy smells much easier. I think the positives are too good to ignore so for now I am going to continue on this new healthy feeding schedule. At least till it stops feeling good. Will keep you all posted if I notice any new cool changes! Thanx for listening to me rant about all the things I've learned about intermittent fasting! Lots of love! Bye for now!
