Fasting is considered to be a willing abstinence from drink, food, or both, for a certain period of time. This can put your body into repair mode at the cellular level, thus restoring your normal hormonal function.
Namely, the researchers at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles claim that not eating for between 2 and 4 days at a time could help prevent damage to your immune system and lead to the regeneration of your immune system.
In addition, a study conducted on animals has found that fasting could improve overall health and well-being by regulating inflammation, blood pressure, and insulin sensitivity. The researchers concluded that intermittent fasting could enhance overall health and lower the likelihood of any chronic disease.
Almost all people who do intermittent fasting fast for about 16 hours. In fact, the feeding period is between noon and eight P.M. It is the simplest schedule to start with, because about half of your fasting time is during sleep.
Those who do intermittent fasting often take some calories in the form of low-calorie drinks like tea or coffee.
You should minimize carbohydrates during the feeding time and substitute them for beneficial fats, like nuts, avocados, butter, olives, olive oil and coconut oil. It is important to know that one of the hardest obstacles to overcome when you start intermittent fasting is that your body has to adjust to fewer meals. This means that the “hunger hormone” production has to adapt to your new feeding schedule that often takes a few weeks.
Here Is Why You Need to Do Intermittent Fasting for at Least Three Days:
- Adjusts your leptin and insulin sensitivity to normal levels;
- Helps preserve your learning abilities and memory functioning;
- Reduces your triglyceride levels;
- Decreases inflammation and protects against free radical damage;
- Keeps the levels of your hunger hormone under control;
- Improves the biomarkers of disease.
Other Benefits of Intermittent Fasting Include:
– Helps Promote Weight Loss
When you do the intermittent fasting, your body can burn fat, thus leading to weight loss. Your body enters this fasting state about twelve hours after your last meal. The majority of people on a “normal” eating schedule generally fast for about 8 hours, while sleeping. That’s why they have trouble entering the “fat burning” mode.
– Improves Your Brain Health
Fasting has a positive impact on your brain health since it helps elevate neuronal plasticity and promote neurogenesis. A study done on mice that had larger meals more infrequently experienced an increase in their brain and overall health.
– Leads to Longevity
The researchers at the University of Chicago found that intermittent fasting could help prolong life in mice. Specifically, intermittent fasting delayed the onset of diseases that cause death.
A recent study has proven that fasting could also increase autophagy responsible for getting rid of damaged molecules, including the ones related to neurological disorders like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease.
– Decreases the Side Effects of Standard Cancer Treatments, Including Chemotherapy
Intermittent fasting has been found to fight the proliferation of cancer cells in mice. That’s not all, many cancer patients reported a significant reduction in the side effects of chemotherapy due to practicing intermittent fasting before their cancer treatment. A study confirmed that practicing intermittent fasting before and during chemotherapy treatment led to better chemotherapy tolerance, decreased morbidity, and even increased cure rates.
Source: livingtraditionally.com