What Are the Benefits of Intermittent Fasting?

One of the most popular health and fitness trends today, intermittent fasting is beneficial to your body in numerous different ways. Although intermittent fasting may seem like a diet, it really isn’t. It’s a timed approach to eating. You aren’t told what foods to eat or not to eat; you’re simply told when to eat. It’s simply an eating pattern that balances back and forth between periods of fasting and eating.

You should begin your journey by identifying the methods of intermittent fasting before delving into its many benefits.

 

Methods Of Intermittent Fasting

There are four different methods that you may try when testing out intermittent fasting. It’s best to stick with one method for a period of time before trying another. These four methods are outlined below.

• Eat-Stop-Eat: This method involves eating nothing for 24 hours, twice a week. You can fast on whatever days you choose, and you can begin on whatever day you like. The only rule is that you must fast for 24 hours straight, on non-consecutive days.
• Warrior Diet: This method involves eating very little for 20 hours out of the day. During the final four hours, you get to eat typical food intake.
• Leangains: The leangains method involves men fasting for 16 hours and, then, eating whatever they want during the last eight hours of the day. Women, on the one hand, fast for 14 hours and, then, eat what they choose for the last 10 hours.
• Alternate Day Fasting/5:2 Method: This plan is ideal for weight loss. For two days out of the week, you eat only 500 to 600 calories on two non-consecutive days out of the week.

 

Promotes Weight Loss

If you’re looking for a way to successfully boost your metabolism, look no further than intermittent fasting. A powerful weight loss tool, intermittent fasting may cause you to lose more weight than traditional calorie restriction. In fact, a 2014 study showed that intermittent fasting caused people to successfully lose three to eight percent of their body weight in three to 24 weeks.

Intermittent fasting helps you lose weight through various different channels. Firstly, it reduces your insulin levels, making it easier for your body to utilize stored fat. Next, it lowers your blood sugar. It also dramatically increases your HGH levels, which is a hormone that helps the body use body fat and gain muscle.

Reduces Inflammation

Intermittent fasting has been shown to reduce inflammation in the body, thereby improving particular related conditions, such as stroke, multiple sclerosis, arthritis, Alzheimer’s disease, and asthma.

Researchers have discovered that when you fast, monocytes in the blood, which are the agents that cause inflammation, are significantly reduced. Experts suggest that many individuals suffer from excessive inflammation due to the fact that they eat too much and too often. It’s the time-restricted aspect of intermittent fasting that has shown to be most effective against creating ‘inflammatory pathways.’

 

Helps Prevent Cancer

Intermittent fasting has been shown both to help fight and prevent cancer. Risk factors for getting cancer include obesity and type 2 diabetes. Intermittent fasting promotes better insulin sensitivity, therefore making it more difficult for cancer cells to develop. Medical News Today reports that fasting helps fight cancer by making cancer cells more receptive to chemotherapy while guarding surrounding cells. In addition to this, fasting boosts the immune system, which helps fight cancer.

Those who are curious about intermittent fasting and if it would be beneficial to them during their treatment plan should consult with their physician.

 

Helps Prevent Diabetes

There’s good news for people who have type 2 diabetes. Intermittent fasting helps these patients manage their symptoms to the point where they become nonexistent. For those who are close to becoming diabetic, intermittent fasting has the ability to reverse insulin resistance and bring blood sugar levels back to normal. It’s one of the most effective, all-natural methods that you can use to manage diabetes and even reverse some of the damage it causes.

For people who are borderline diabetic, it’s one of the most effective choices you can make for your health right now. Ask your physician if intermittent fasting is right for you. Doing so may change the course of your life.

 

Conclusion

Do you need another reason to try intermittent fasting?  It may also help you live longer. It will help make your body lean by jumpstarting your metabolism, while at the same time reducing the probability of you getting diabetes and several other different types of diseases. A few hours of hunger may be a small price to pay for such an improvement in your overall health.