Did you know that fasting has a number of great health
benefits? Odd as it may sound, researchers have established a link between
fasting and good brain and body health. While some people may prefer to fast
for long periods of time, the kind that works best for fitness is periodic or
intermittent fasting. For some time now, intermittent fasting has been gaining
currency as a go-to option for certain celebrities. Some of the best known are
Beyoncé Knowles and Hugh Jackman.
But what is intermittent fasting? It involves infusing a fasting period in between eating times. For instance, one could eat within 6 hours a day and fast for the rest. Others have normal eating for five weekdays followed by a 36-hour fast. Beginners may want to work up to longer periods. For instance you may want to start off fasting within a 16 or 14 hour span and eating within a 8 or ten hour span. Intermittent fasting can be highly beneficial, but may not be best for everyone. Always pay attention to how you feel. Stay hydrated with water during fasting period but no drinks, sodas, or food of any kind. No matter which form of intermittent fasting you choose, you are bound to get a lot of benefits including the following:
Altering Hormonal, Genetic, And Cell Function
People who get off food for a while trigger certain beneficial processes in their bodies. For once, it spurs your natural cellular repair process, changes levels of hormones, and makes fat deposits easy to access. One of the most affected hormones is insulin. Due to fasting, the levels of insulin drop drastically, thus triggering the natural fat burning process.
Burning Belly Fat and Weight Loss
Research studies have established that the reason for people starting intermittent fasting is to lose weight. First, you eat less a number of times. The result is a reduced calorie intake, barring instances when you eat much more in your meals. By spurring hormonal activity, intermittent fasting increases metabolism levels leading to weight loss. After all, the body has no option but to feed on the fat deposits. Thus intermittent fasting can help you lose weight by reducing the calorie intake and increasing the metabolism levels.
Reducing Insulin Resistance
Due to more people becoming overweight, type-2 diabetes is a growing health threat. It is characterized by the body developing insulin resistance leading to high blood sugar levels. to be effective in reducing insulin resistance and reduction in blood sugar levels. It has the ability to protect diabetics against kidney damage. When it comes to preventing the onset of type-2 diabetes, intermittent fasting has been found to be more effective than fasting for prolonged periods of time.
Reducing Inflammation and Oxidative Stress
One of the reasons for aging and chronic diseases is oxidation. Due to the effects of oxygen, the body develops free radicals which damage DNA and protein molecules. According to research findings, intermittent fasting is effective when it comes to reducing oxidative stress. It also helps fight inflammation thus preventing the onset of diseases such as cancer.
Enhancing Heart Health
Heart disease is currently one of the biggest killers in the world. There are a number of risk factors which cause heart disease. Luckily, intermittent fasting has been shown to be effective in reducing risk factors such as blood pressure, blood sugar levels, inflammatory markers, and cholesterol.
Great Reads on Intermittent Fasting
Given the findings, it is important that people consider it as an effective way of keeping healthy.
Be sure to consult with a qualified healthcare professional before implementing any diet or exercise program or taking any dietary supplement
Greetings! Very useful advice within this article! It’s the little changes that make the most important changes. Thanks a lot for sharing! try this
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