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There’s a lot of controversy about intermittent fasting. Some people swear by it, whereas others claim that it’s bad for your overall personal health. Research is divided on the matter. The truth is that there isn’t enough information yet on the effects and problems involved with this dieting method. However, recent studies seems to suggest that intermittent fasting might have benefits for your overall health and may help with disease prevention. That’s why we’ve created this brief guide on the information we have so far about how intermittent fasting could help you.
What is Intermittent Fasting?
Intermittent fasting is a diet and personal health technique that has become popular in recent years. It advocates alternating periods of fasting and non-fasting, though there are many different variations of this routine. Some of the diets proscribe daily fasting and eating routines while others advocate longer periods of fasting and non-fasting. Food and calorie intake during eating periods in these diets are different as well.
The most popular routine is known as the 16/8 routine. In this diet, you fast throughout the night as usual but then continue fasting until eating your first meal at noon. You eat as normal for eight hours, with your last meal at 8pm, before fasting until noon again the next day. You are allowed to drink non-caloric fluids throughout the fasting period.
Is fasting dangerous?
Generally speaking, as long as you are in good general health and don’t fast for ridiculous amounts of time, fasting is not dangerous. It has long been a part of religious observances, and is also closer to how our primitive ancestors probably ate. Many people believe that this history of fasting is what makes it work so well in balancing and normalizing weight and other mechanisms in the human body.
The Debate on Fasting
There is no real consensus on the right way to eat, or the right way to diet. That’s one of the reasons why there are so many diets available now. Most of them have their merits, and their drawbacks, and fasting is no different. Scientists claim that we aren’t sleeping enough, or at the right time due to changes in the modern lifestyle. This, combined with a more sedentary lifestyle, has created an obesity epidemic in the modern western world. Because of this growing problem, research on fasting has intensified as a possible answer.
Brown and White Fat
The human body requires fat for survival, but it’s also strongly associated with obesity and type II diabetes. The majority of fat is white. However, in a recent study on fasting scientists observed a browning of the white fat in mice who were put on the fasting diet. This is important because brown fat burns energy and is associated with a number of positive benefits including weight loss, increased insulin sensitivity and stable glucose levels
Similar studies also found that the fasting group experienced less fatty build up in the liver as well as an increase in anti-inflammatory particles in the body. This second benefit is particularly interesting, as inflammation has recently been implicated in a number of disorders and diseases. If fasting truly can offer all these benefits, it may be the answer to countless modern health problems.
These studies were performed on mice who were given the same calorie intake except that one group fasted and the other did not. The mice who were in the fasting group also lost significantly more weight than the non-fasting group.
How to Fast Safely
Before you start any new personal health program you must consult your doctor first. They will be able to tell you if the program you want to implement is right for your body and condition. They can also suggest variations, or put into place health tracking measures. And if you are very young, sick or elderly you probably shouldn’t even think about fasting unless your doctor prescribes it and monitors the results.
Which fasting regime works for you is going to depend on your schedule, lifestyle, condition and preferences. It will probably take some experimentation to determine what works for you, and what you’re comfortable with.
If you’re concerned about your personal health and want to track your activity levels and any health changes you make, try HomeLab. It’s a health tracking tool that you can use easily at home to make you more aware of potential health concerns.
Tags: Intermittent fasting, Prevention, personal health, health tracking
