Intermittent fasting is an eating pattern that shifts from eating regularly and fasting on a schedule, popularly used by people trying to lose weight or lead healthier lives 1. The focus is maintaining a strict schedule of hours between meals as 'fasting hours.' It is however important that you should consult with your health professional before embarking on any approach of intermittent fasting to find the best fitting plan.
The most common approaches include2;
• 16/8 method
Also known as the Lean gains protocol, this approach usually involves a strict diet restriction of 8 hours in a day and fasting for 16 hours. Within the eight hours, you can estimate fitting two to three healthy meals in your schedule and sometimes it can be as simple as skipping breakfast and eating an early dinner. Zero-calorie drinks such as water are allowed during the fast. This method is not appropriate for someone with specified dietary requirements such as when someone is pregnant or lactating.
• 14: 10 method
This approach is a popular alternative to the 16/8 method, as some people find it hard to fast for the whole 16 hours, and instead opt to fast for the 14 hours with a diet restriction of 10 hours in a day.
• 5:2 diet
Also known as the Fast diet, this is an approach where the individual eats regular meals for five days in the week then the two remaining days, one restricts to eating only a 500-600 calories equaling to two small meals of 250 calories for women and 300 calories for men. Overtime, this diet has been very effective at managing and inducing weight loss.
• Eat-stop-eat
This approach involves an individual not eat for 24 hours once or twice during the week with an exception for zero calorie beverages such as water and coffee.
• Alternate-day fasting
When using this approach, you are required to fast on alternate days of the week but some versions of the approach recommend allowing a 500 calories diet.
• The Warrior Diet
This approach involves eating one big meal during dinner and surviving on small portions of vegetables and fruits during the day. In a nutshell, this approach has a four-hour eating window at night whose food choices are mainly from the unprocessed foods similar to the paleo diet.
• Spontaneous meal skipping
This approach popularizes meal skipping from time to time when one is not hungry or too tired to cook.
Intermittent fasting works around having regular meal times and fasting hours. For instance, on a 24-hour day, the number of hours fasted can be 16, and regularly scheduled meals being 8. Intermittent fasting works on the concept of putting a long break between the time one ate and the next meal to make sure all the calories consumed on the last meal are burnt, including some fat3.
Intermittent fasting is preferred for its ability to improve conditions such as asthma, Alzheimer's disease, multiple sclerosis, strokes, and reduces inflammation caused by arthritis. At first, the common side effects are dizziness, hunger, headaches, and nausea.
• Balances blood pressure and sugar levels, thus reducing the risk of contracting heart diseases, stroke, and kidney disease 4.
• Helps in weight loss when fat cells are burnt for energy to release their stored sugars due to the insulin levels going down.
• Boosts human memory and thinking capacity by improving the connections in the brain's hippocampus while protecting it against amyloid plaques connected with Alzheimer's.
• Improves physical performance while maintaining muscle mass, increasing the levels of endurance during exercise.
• Reduces the risk of developing cancer by decreasing tumor survival rates, consequently slowing the risks of cancer cell spread.
• Reduces insulin resistance by improving the insulin needs for people with diabetes since it resets insulin.
Disclaimer: These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. The contents of this website are based upon the views of Dr. Walker and his experience. This product is not intended as medical advice nor to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. The information is likewise not to replace the advice of a qualified health care provider. The information provided herein is intended as a sharing of general knowledge only and is not intended to be, nor is it, medical advice or a substitute for medical advice. That being said, please consult your healthcare provider before using supplements or providing supplements to children under the age of 18. If you have or suspect you have, a specific medical condition or disease, please consult your healthcare provider.
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