Intermitting Fasting and Its Numerous Benefits
Intermitting Fasting and Its Numerous Benefits
The World Health Organization (2015) found that more than 1.9 billion adults were overweight (WHO). Around 51% of adults in the United States want to lose weight. Anyone could lose weight easily, if they had the proper dieting guidance and willpower. Intermittent fasting is a lifestyle in which a person fulfills his/her caloric needs at a limited time period. I personally have lost around 45 kilograms thanks to intermittent fasting. Overweight people are overweight simply because they eat at a caloric surplus; they eat more than what they need. Because of their sloppy lifestyle and limited knowledge, they would try dieting by restricting sugar/salt, however their diet will only lead to bulge eating. Overweight people should eliminate the regular consumption of excess calories and start intermittent fasting because obesity leads to a lot of health issues. Intermittent fasting is highly beneficial, as while fasting, one’s insulin levels drop. It may even prevent cancer let alone it enhances hormone function to facilitate weight loss.
Intermittent fasting is probably the most popular trend in health and fitness around the globe. It does not refer to usual diet, but to an eating pattern that includes periods of eating and fasting within strictly specified periods of time. It is more focused on when people eat, instead what they eat. People in many countries want to try this challenging approach to eating as it goes in contrast with all practices that existed before. People try intermittent fasting in order to lose weight and improve their health. It has already proved its effectiveness in practice, with more and more people reporting about positive changes in their bodies related to cycles of eating and fasting. Moreover, a few studies suggest that intermittent fasting is effective in weight-loss and positively influences lots of cardio metabolic health indices and “this has been shown to translate into improvements in clinical end-points such as disease progression” (Antoni, Johnson, Collins, and Robertson, 2014). Another clinical trial suggests that “incorporate periodic fasting during adult life” promotes “optimal health and reduce risk of many chronic diseases, particularly for those who are overweight and sedentary” (Longo and Mattson, 2014).
Fasting is not an invention. People have been aware of its healing properties throughout the history. Our ancestors sometimes had difficulties in finding food, therefore, “our bodies evolved to be able to function without food for extended periods of time” (Gunnars, 2015). Refraining from food is more natural to our organism than eating 4-5 meals per day. Still, annual fasting is a part of three world religions such as Islam, Christianity and Buddhism. Due to high popularity of intermittent fasting, there appeared various ways of following this eating pattern that mostly depends on a person, his or her willingness and the result he or she expects to get at the end. The first method is called the Leangains protocol, also known as the 16/8 Method. The idea is to divide a day into 16-hour fasting period and 8-hour eating period. A person should refrain from breakfast, but can eat from 1 pm to 9 pm, for example. The second method utilizes the technique of Eat-Stop-Eat. This is a weekly eating pattern that requires refraining from food twice a week for a period of 24 hours. The third method is called the 5:2 Diet. During 5 days in a week a person is allowed to eat normally, but he or she should eat only 500-600 calories per two non-consecutive days. The most popular and easiest way is the first method (Gunnars, 2015).
At the same time, it is important to understand how our body functions during intermittent fasting. There are lots of changes on molecular and cellular level that happen while the organism switches from fasting to eating modes. The body changes the levels of those hormones that are responsible for the access to stored body fat. During the fasting phase, the body makes it more available. Moreover, “cells also initiate important repair processes, and change the expression of genes” (Gunnars, 2015). The most profound changes are the following:
Insulin levels drop that make stored body fat more accessible.
Cells initiate repair processes that involve removal of old and dysfunctional proteins inside.
Genes are also affected and it adds to more solid protection against diseases.
However, the most important effect that intermittent fasting has on the body is excessive fat loss. Such eating pattern is used mostly by people who want to lose their kilos. Intermittent fasting is an excellent tool for this task because it starts all processes in the organism that are necessary to fight against overweight. The above mentioned changes in hormones and insulin levels lead to the release of noradrenaline that is fat burning hormone. The metabolic levels increase by 3.6-14%. Intermittent fasting causes a person eat less just as a diet does, but also switches his or her body on to engage in the process of losing weight. Studies demonstrate that this approach causes 3-8% weight loss after 3-24 weeks of following this eating pattern (Gunnars, 2015).
In my opinion, intermittent fasting is a perfect eating pattern that can help lots of people across the globe to lose weight and become healthier. It also introduces some dietary regime that was suggested by doctors long time ago. Discipline in eating can prevent eating disorders and is much more beneficial for people than 4-5-time consumption of food. The succession of fasting and eating periods has the potential to normalize metabolic processes as well as hormones and insulin levels. Intermittent fasting can make dieting really enjoyable without pushing people to edges. Moreover, if a person feels hunger, he or she is suggested drinking coffee or water in order to suppress it. A proper meal, eaten in the evening, can satisfy an individual’s needs for 14 hours. This proves that intermittent fasting is not that strict as some ordinary diet. Being an eating pattern, it makes people get used to such mode of nutrition, and sooner or later such fasting becomes a habit. Intermittent fasting stimulates interest in healthy and beneficial food instead of junk food meals or chips.
References
Antoni, R., Johnson, K. L., Collins, A. L. and Robertson, D. (2014). The Effects of Intermittent Energy Restriction on Indices of Cardio metabolic Health. Research in Endocrinology, 2014. Retrieved from http://www.ibimapublishing.com/journals/ENDO/2014/459119/459119.html
Gunnar, K. (2015, November). Intermittent Fasting 101 – The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide. Authority Nutrition. Retrieved from http://authoritynutrition.com/intermittent-fasting-guide/
Longo, V. D. and Mattson, M. P. (2014). Fasting: Molecular Mechanisms and Clinical Applications. Cell Metab, 19(4), 181-192. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3946160/
World Health Organization (WHO) (2015). Obesity and Overweight: Factsheet Number 311. Retrieved from http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs311/en/.
