Fasting really?
Intermittent fasting has been popular for many years, especially among those wanting to lose weight. It’s now known that the health benefits of intermittent fasting go way beyond weight loss. Intermittent fasting doesn’t restrict what you eat, just when you eat it. Some practitioners suggest fasting for 16 hours, say from 8pm until 12pm or 6pm until 10 am. Others believe that eating normally for 5 days and then restricting calories to 500 or 600 for two days is the way to go. Whichever you choose, there are health benefits to be gained.
- Brain Power
Intermittent fasting allows the body to experience ketosis, which means that when it runs out of carbs to process, it turns to processing fat to feed cells. Many people say that fasting, even for a short time, keeps their minds sharp and clear. This is because ketosis causes the BDNF gene to be released. BDNF is essential for long term memory, short term memory, general learning and problem solving.
- Anti-Aging
Intermittent fasting keeps our bodies younger for longer. When the body doesn’t have to concentrate on the digestive process, it can perform healing tasks through detoxification and regeneration of cells.
- Reduce Insulin Resistance
Intermittent fasting has shown to successfully reduce blood sugar levels and insulin resistance in people with Type 2 Diabetes. This is good news both for people at risk from developing Type 2 Diabetes and for those who already have the disease.
- Reduction of Oxidative Stress and Inflammation
Oxidative stress and inflammation are both known to cause early aging and cause diseases such as cancer. Intermittent fasting is known to boost the immune system by lessening free radical damage in the cells, enabling the body to fight off diseases caused by inflammation and oxidative stress.