Intermittent fasting has become a popular way to lose weight and improve overall health. The practice is based on eating only during specific times and fasting for longer periods between meals.
Understanding fasting and evaluating your current state of health can help you determine whether intermittent fasting is right for you.
Benefits of Intermittent Fasting
- Reduces inflammatory reactions in the body
- Reduces blood sugar levels in Type 2 diabetes
- Lowers blood pressure, cholesterol, and triglycerides
- Assists weight loss
- Fights aging
- Improves recovery from acute disseminated encephalomyelitis
- Improves immune rheumatic diseases, such as asthma, multiple sclerosis, and polyarthritis
- Improves side effects of chemotherapy, prevents cancer, and improves survival rates for certain cancers
- Enhances the quality of sleep, skin condition, temper, and digestive function
- Regulates satiety and hunger
- Reduces the risk of tumors and inhibits tumor growth
In ancient times, human beings hunted and gathered wild fruits and vegetables. Without steady food supplies, they were often in a state of fasting. The development of agriculture and animal husbandry created a stable food supply and the evolution of the three-meals-a-day concept.
Who Should Avoid Fasting?
People with hyperlipidemia, kidney disease, or gout shouldn’t do long-term fasting, and intermittent fasting isn’t recommended for:- Children
- Underweight or weak people
- Pregnant or lactating women
- People with conditions such as anorexia and bulimia
- People with stomach problems, hyperacidity, and cholecystitis
- People with diabetes or low blood sugar
Introduce Fasting Gradually
After 12 hours of fasting, blood ketone levels will gradually rise, and the body will start burning fat. Modern people are well-fed and seldom suffer from hunger, so a good option is intermittent fasting, also known as “light fasting.” Light fasting means choosing a fixed period of the day to not eat and only drink water or non-caloric beverages such as plain coffee or tea.The practice of fasting should be introduced gradually and factor in your current state of health, workload, how much time you have to rest, social commitments, etc. Adopt fasting as a lifestyle gradually. If hunger causes adverse effects, reduce the number of hours you’re not eating and increase them as the body adjusts.
Light fasting shouldn’t cause muscle loss. If it does, you may not be eating enough protein. Eating quality protein and exercising moderately can ensure you don’t lose muscle from fasting.
The Discomforts of Fasting
Fasting usually doesn’t cause major discomfort. However, you may experience some of the following:- Feeling cold or chilled as fat is burned in the body. This happens as thyroid function drops temporarily, causing cold hands and feet.
- Mood swings may occur as a symptom of low blood sugar and are usually temporary.
- Headache can arise as you transition from burning sugar to burning fat.
- A burning sensation in the stomach may occur. If the accumulation of stomach acid causes too much discomfort, you can eat something to slow down the fasting pace.
- Nausea may arise but will ease naturally.
- Dizziness can occur. Be sure to sit down. Consider eating a bit if it persists.
- Hair loss or fatigue may indicate you aren’t eating well during nonfasting periods. Be sure your diet is balanced, healthy, and meets all your nutritional needs.
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