The Benefits of Intermittent Fasting

Intermittent fasting might not be our typical modern style of eating, but it is something that has been practiced for thousands of years and is still practiced by many throughout the world. Simply put, intermittent fasting is a style of eating that guides individuals through strict periods of fasting (avoiding any caloric intake) and allowed periods of eating. Unlike other diet protocols, intermittent fasting focuses less on “what” you are eating and instead on “when” you are eating.

For many folks intermittent fasting feels counterintuitive and intimidating, but it actually closely models the eating pattern that humans previously followed before food was so easily accessible. Before modern times, long fasts between meals were not uncommon as food options were scarce, though now most of us do not go more than a few hours without eating. Constantly sending food to the stomach can disrupt the digestive process as well as one’s ability to accurately interpret hunger signals, which are two extremely important components of optimal health.

If you’ve been curious about intermittent fasting and whether it’s right for you, you’ve come to the right place. Keep reading to learn more about the different methods of intermittent fasting that you can follow, who should exercise caution when it comes to intermittent fasting, and the many potential benefits it has to offer.

Different Methods of Intermittent Fasting

There are many different ways one might choose to practice intermittent fasting, with fasts ranging anywhere from 8 to 24 hours. Common forms of Intermittent fasting include:

1. The 16/8 method - Just as it sounds, the 16/8 method of intermittent fasting involves fasting for 16 hours of the day and eating only in the remaining 8 hour window. This is one of the more popular methods of intermittent fasting as the structure is quite easy to follow, and can be practiced as frequently as one chooses.
2. The Warrior Diet - The Warrior Diet involves undereating or fasting for about 20 hours per day and only eating one large meal during the eating window. Unlike other intermittent fasting protocols, the Warrior Diet does allow the individual to eat small amounts of specific foods during its undereating phase. These include:
   
   • Raw vegetables like broccoli, cucumber, celery, bell peppers, and tomatoes
   • Raw fruits like berries, grapes, pineapple, apples, pears, and bananas
   • Juiced vegetables
   • Eggs (poached or hard boiled only)
   • Vegetable broth or bone broth
   • Beverages like water, black coffee, or unsweetened teas
   • Dairy products like cottage cheese, plain yogurt, milk, and cheese
     
     
3. The 5:2 diet - This method is similar to the 16/18 fasting method, but instead of engaging in daily fasts one eats normally five days of the week and restricts calories to 500–600 per day for the remaining two days.
4. A 24 hour fast one to two days per week - For this method, individuals chose one or two days per week to fast for 24 hours. It is possible to complete this fast many different ways, though the most common way is to fast from dinner one day until dinner the following day.

It is important to note that even when you are restricting when you are eating to a shorter period of time by following an intermittent fasting pattern, you should still continue to eat your usual amount of food. Although intermittent fasting can support weight loss efforts, it is not a crash diet. It provides many benefits in addition to potential weight loss, and should not only be used as a way to cut calories.

Intermittent fasting has many benefits and may be beneficial for many individuals, but it is not recommended for everyone. For example, individuals who struggle with blood sugar regulation, are diagnosed with eating disorders or disordered eating, struggle to get enough sleep, are breastfeeding or pregnant, or are engaging in an intense exercise regime should limit or avoid engaging in intermittent fasting.

Benefits of Intermittent Fasting

It gives digestive system a break

Many individuals struggle with digestive distress, and one common culprit is constant grazing throughout the day. This pattern of eating doesn’t give your body the time to efficiently break down and digest the food you’ve already eaten and can lead to feelings of excessive fullness, bloating, and fatigue. By restricting your eating window, you give your digestive system a break and the time to properly digest your food leading to overall better digestion.

Improves metabolic flexibility

Metabolic flexibility occurs when your body is able to efficiently switch between fuel sources (like glucose and fatty acids) depending on what is available and your current metabolic needs. During fasting, the body becomes more efficient at metabolizing circulating glucose in a timely manner (decreasing your risk for insulin resistance) and better able to access stored glycogen and fatty acids as a fuel source. Although glucose is still the body’s preferred source of fuel, being able to tap into other sources of fuel like fat provides many benefits. These often include better blood sugar regulation between meals, decreased blood sugar levels, better energy, and improved satiety.

Decreases inflammation

Intermittent fasting can also bring down the overall level of inflammation in the body2. Chronic inflammation has been associated with the development of many chronic diseases as well as an altered gut flora, intestinal permeability (also known as leaky gut), damage to our detoxification pathways and impaired cognition.

Stimulates autophagy

Due to many modern lifestyle factors, oxidative damage from free radicals can be quite common. Fasting stimulates cellular autophagy which is the body’s natural cleanup process for clearing out damaged cells to regenerate newer, healthy cells. In the brain, this process helps remove the damaged proteins that form tau tangles (also known as neurofibrillary tangles) and as a result could protect against a decline in cognitive function.

Boosts Brain Health

Intermittent fasting boasts significant benefits for brain health by increasing the levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF)6. BDNF is involved in learning and memory in the brain and stimulates the communication between and growth of new neurons. Importantly, increased levels of BDNF helps to keep memory and cognition functioning well as we age, something that many of us value.

Although intermittent fasting offers significant health benefits for the body, it is only one piece of the puzzle. Exercise, dietary choices, lifestyle, and proper supplementation are important factors to consider when trying to improve your overall health. Do you have more questions about whether intermittent fasting is right for you? Schedule a one-on-one consultation for personalized guidance from one of our experienced practitioners.

About the Author

Emily Alexander, M.Ed, FNTP—Emily is a Nutritional Therapy Practitioner with Curated Wellness. She is passionate about supporting others in their journey to improve their relationship with food and their body through gentle nutrition, and is a firm believer that understanding the bio-individual components of nutrition is one of the best ways to do so. Emily completed her Master's of Education with a concentration in eating disorders, and draws from both her educational background and life experience to help her clients improve their energy, understand their bodies, boost their athletic potential, and break down diet myths one at a time. Read more about Emily.

The information presented on this website is intended for educational purposes only. Statements within this site have not been evaluated or approved by the Food and Drug Administration. This content is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any specific condition or disease, nor is it medical advice and should not be considered a substitute for professional medical expertise. Readers of this content are advised to consult their doctors or qualified health professionals regarding specific health conditions or concerns. One should always consult a qualified medical professional before engaging in any dietary and/or lifestyle change or new health program. Curated Wellness does not take responsibility for any health consequences of any person or persons following the information in this educational content.

REFERENCES

1. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S193152441400200X
2. Johnson JB, Summer W, Cutler RG, et al. Alternate day calorie restriction improves clinical findings and reduces markers of oxidative stress and inflammation in overweight adults with moderate asthma [published correction appears in Free Radic Biol Med. 2007 Nov 1;43(9):1348. Tellejohan, Richard [corrected to Telljohann, Richard]. Free Radic Biol Med. 2007;42(5):665-674 doi:10.1016/j.freeradbiomed.2006.12.005
3. Shin, B. K., Kang, S., Kim, D. S., & Park, S. (2018). Intermittent fasting protects against the deterioration of cognitive function, energy metabolism and dyslipidemia in Alzheimer's disease-induced estrogen deficient rats. Experimental biology and medicine (Maywood, N.J.), 243(4), 334-343. 
   https://doi.org/10.1177/1535370217751610 
4. Wen, H., Yang, H. J., An, Y. J., Kim, J. M., Lee, D. H., Jin, X., Park, S. W., Min, K. J., & Park, S. (2013). Enhanced phase II detoxification contributes to beneficial effects of dietary restriction as revealed by multi-platform metabolomics studies. Molecular & cellular proteomics : MCP, 12(3), 575–586. https://doi.org/10.1074/mcp.M112.021352 
5. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1568163718301478 
6. Björkholm, C., & Monteggia, L. M. (2016). BDNF - a key transducer of antidepressant effects. Neuropharmacology, 102, 72–79. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropharm.2015.10.034