What to Know About Intermittent Fasting
While diet trends and health fads come and go, intermittent fasting has remained popular, offering a number of benefits from weight loss to improved sleep and heart health. Learn more about how intermittent fasting works and whether it’s right for you.
What is intermittent fasting?
Intermittent fasting is a scheduled eating pattern that cycles between eating and fasting. When the body is fasting, it goes into a state known as ketosis, which causes the body to produce energy by burning stored fat as opposed to breaking down glucose from the food we eat. Intermittent fasting is a highly effective weight loss strategy because it limits calorie intake while changing certain hormone levels and improving metabolism to allow for efficient fat burning.
There are several methods of intermittent fasting that split the day or the entire week into eating and fasting periods.
The 16:8 method — This daily method of intermittent fasting is the most popular and may be the easiest to stick with. It involves skipping breakfast and limiting your daily eating window to eight hours (for example, from noon to 8 p.m.), then fasting for the remaining 16 hours.
The 5:2 method — This weekly method of intermittent fasting involves consuming just 500 to 600 calories on two nonconsecutive days while eating a normal diet the other five days.
Eat-stop-eat — This method entails fasting for 24 hours straight for one or two days a week.
All these methods can be effective weight loss strategies, but it’s important to maintain a healthy and balanced diet during the eating periods of your intermittent fast to ensure good nutrition and the best weight loss results.
What are the benefits of intermittent fasting?
Intermittent fasting has been proven to help control blood sugar levels and reduce the body’s resistance to insulin, which can decrease the risk of developing diabetes later in life. Intermittent fasting has also been shown to improve sleep by helping regulate the body’s circadian rhythm and limiting digestion to earlier in the day to promote better sleep quality. In addition, intermittent fasting can improve heart health by lowering blood pressure and cholesterol, as well as help reduce inflammation.
Is intermittent fasting safe for everyone?
Intermittent fasting is not recommended for everyone. People who are underweight or have a history of eating disorders, have advanced diabetes, are on diabetes medication, or are pregnant or breastfeeding are advised to avoid intermittent fasting, as are children and teens under 18.
Visit Midwest Express Clinic today for a comprehensive wellness check to ensure that intermittent fasting is right for you and your health goals. To find a location nearest you, visit midwestexpressclinic.com/locations.
