The benefits of intermittent fasting for your body

Are you curious about intermittent fasting, want to know the benefits and how it works... well let me help you.

Intermittent fasting is an eating pattern where you cycle between periods of eating and fasting. Options include 16/8 where you eat for 8 hours and fast for 16 hours or 5:2 where you eat 500 calories for 2 non consecutive days. This will help you lose weight, but also help you gain many other benefits.

As you refrain from eating the following bodily changes occur:

• Blood levels of insulin drop significantly, which facilitates fat burning. This is also protective against insulin resistance and diabetes.
• The blood levels of human growth hormone (HGH) can increase leading to fat burning, muscle gain, and longevity.
• The body repairs and detoxifies faster.
• Gene associated with longevity and protection against disease are turned on.
• Reduces oxidative stress and inflammation.
• Helps reduce cholesterol and protects the heart.
• Helps promote faster gut repair.
• Your focus and mental sharpness can increase dramatically.

My tips

When fasting if you intend to skip a meal,  which I don't always recommend as it is not appropriate for everyone, you should skip dinner instead of breakfast. Ensure you increase portion sizes for breakfast and lunch to account for lost nutrients, fibre and water when skipping dinner.

So let me tell you why I don't recommend skipping breakfast as I am sure you are wondering about that.

Many people are already too stressed today. Mentally, emotionally and physically. Your body already runs on excess cortisol and adrenaline. By skipping breakfast you are making matters worse, particularly if you drink coffee on an empty stomach. This approach will produce more stress hormones which will stress your body even more. Yes you may be feeling more energised and clear as you body switches to running on ketones from glucose, but this comes at a cost... which is something that you are warned against. Long term you are more likely to suffer from poor health as your body can't sustain health if you keep running on stress hormones.

If you are not stressed and live a healthy lifestyle where and are balanced physically, mentally and emotionally... then that is a different conversation which unfortunately very few people get to have. For the rest us who are stuck in the rat race of daily living intermittent fasting if done poorly can stress an already stressed system and hurt your health long term. Which is why it is important you speak to a holistic dietitian that can assess you and make personalised recommendations based on your needs.

Overall you are best to keep to 3 meals per day, have breakfast within 30 minutes to 1 hour of waking and finish eating by 6 pm. This will give you a window of minimum 12-14 hours fasting which will  benefit you greatly.

Hope this helps,

Anca :)

Anca Vereen is an Integrative Dietitian and Nutritionist, Psychotherapist, Breathing Coach and La Trobe University Nutrigenomics Lecturer who specialises in lifestyle medicine, weight loss, autoimmunity and gut health. To book an appointment please visit https://www.ancavereen.com/weight-loss-program

For more details please visit https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/expert-answers/intermittent-fasting/faq-20441303