Il Intermittent fasting is one of the health and fitness trends most popular at the moment; people use it to lose weight, improve their health and simplify their lifestyles.
Many studies show that it can have powerful effects on the body and brain; let's see the basics for those who want to start approaching this lifestyle.
Index
What is Intermittent Fasting?
Intermittent fasting is a eating pattern that alternates periods of fasting with periods of feeding; it does not specify which foods to eat, rather when they should be eaten.
It is not a conventional diet, but more of a food model; common methods of intermittent fasting involve daily fasts of 16 or 24 hours, twice a week.
Fasting is a practice that man has always used during evolution; the ancient hunters and gatherers did not have shops, refrigerators and food always available, consequently they evolved to be able to survive a long time even without food.
Fasting from time to time it may also be healthier to eat 4 or 5 meals a day; fasting is also often practiced for religious or spiritual reasons.
Methods of intermittent fasting
There are several ways to practice intermittent fasting, all of which involve dividing the day or week into periods of fasting and eating.
These are the most popular methods:
- 16 / 8: this method involves skipping breakfast and limiting the feeding period to 8 hours a day, such as 13pm to 21pm; Yes fast for 16 hours.
- Eat-stop-eat: involves the fast for 24 hours, once or twice a week.
- Diet 5: 2: with this method they are consumed only 500/600 calories in two non-consecutive days of the week and eat normally the other days.
All of these methods should ensure weight loss, as long as you don't compensate for it by eating much more during feeding periods.
Influence on cells and hormones
When we fast, various things happen in the body on a cellular and molecular level; here are some changes:
- Growth hormone (HCG): Growth hormone levels skyrocket, increasing up to 5 times; this has benefits for fat loss and muscle mass gain.
- Insulin: improves the insulin sensitivity and its levels drop dramatically; this makes stored body fat more accessible.
- Cellular repair: Fasted cells initiate cell repair processes, such as autophagy, in which cells digest and remove old ones protein dysfunctional that accumulate within them.
- Gene expression: changes occur in the function of genes related to longevity and protection against disease.
Health benefits
Here are the main health benefits of intermittent fasting:
- Weight loss
- Insulin resistance
- Reduction of inflammatory markers
- Reduction cholesterol bad
- Brain health: Intermittent fasting can help new nerve cells grow
- Anti aging
Safety and side effects
La hunger is the main side effect of intermittent fasting; we could also feel weakness, this is because our bodies are not used to the new eating plan.
Before starting intermittent fasting, it is good to contact your nutritionist and doctor, especially in the following cases:
- Diabetes
- Blood sugar management problems
- Low blood pressure
- Taking medications
- Women with amenorrhea
- History of eating disorders
- Underweight
- Women who are trying to conceive
- Pregnant or breastfeeding women
Intermittent fasting is generally safe and not dangerous if you are healthy and well fed.
Have you ever tried intermittent fasting? Let us know in the comments!
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