Thousands of years ago, our ancestors, the hunter-gatherers, lived in a world where food insecurity was the norm. They had no access to supermarkets or supplies and depended on the whims of nature. These conditions forced them to go long periods without food, followed by periods of abundance after a successful hunt. This natural rhythm of fasting and eating is surprisingly similar to what we now know as Intermittent Fasting. In this blog series, we first explore how these ancient eating habits can give us insight into the potential benefits of Intermittent Fasting in the modern world. And, in the second part, we provide a practical guide for beginners. Let's begin.
What is Intermittent Fasting
Intermittent Fasting, also known as periodic fasting, is an eating pattern that has gained popularity in recent years because of its potential health benefits. Although the concept seems trendy these days, it is in fact nothing new, as you read in the introduction.
But what is it? What is the benefit? And how do you get started? We are going to address these questions in this blog post series.
Intermittent fasting (IF) is an eating pattern that alternates periods of fasting with periods of consuming food. Unlike traditional diets, which usually focus on what you eat and counting the calories of your food, Intermittent Fasting focuses on when you eat. This eating pattern can take different forms, each with its own schedules and methods.
Different Methods of Intermittent Fasting
16/8 method: This involves fasting 16 hours a day and eating during an 8-hour window. For example, a common schedule is eating between noon and 8 p.m. and fasting the rest of the time. According to your needs and your capabilities, you can build this up if necessary and later expand it to a maximum of 20/5. You can also adjust the times as needed but breakfast is basically always skipped with this method.
5:2 diet: In this method, you eat normally for five days of the week and limit your calorie intake to about 500-600 calories on the other two days.
Eat-Stop-Eat: This involves fasting for 24 hours once or twice a week. For example, from meal on day one to meal on day two.
OMAD (One Meal A Day): This involves consuming all your daily calories in one meal for one hour, and fasting for the remaining 23 hours.
Alternate fasting: This involves fasting every other day. Some versions of this method allow up to 500 calories on fasting days.
In the rest of this blog post, we are going to talk about the 16/8 method because this method is the most common and used by people who want to start Intermittent Fasting.
How Does Intermittent Fasting Work?
Intermittent fasting (IF) acts on your body in several ways, through hormonal changes and metabolic adjustments that occur during the fasting and eating periods. An important aspect of Intermittent Fasting is the shift from sugar burning to fat burning as the primary energy source. Here is a detailed explanation of how this process occurs:
Fasting Period:
Decrease of Insulin: When you fast, insulin levels in your blood decrease. Insulin is a hormone that helps store glucose (sugar) in your body cells. Low insulin levels stimulate the breakdown of stored fat (lipolysis) and the use of fatty acids as a source of energy.
Increasing Glucagon: Glucagon is a hormone that stimulates the release of stored glucose from the liver. During fasting, glucagon helps maintain blood sugar levels by converting glycogen (stored glucose) into glucose.
Increased Noradrenaline: Fasting increases the release of norepinephrine, which stimulates fat breakdown and releases fatty acids for energy production.
Autophagy: During longer periods of fasting, the body can activate autophagy, a process by which cells break down and recycle damaged components, which can contribute to cell repair and rejuvenation. This does require fasting for a longer continuous period. Autophagy usually begins after 12-16 hours of fasting, so you often do reach this point with the 16/8 schedule.
Transition from Sugar Burning to Fat Burning:
Depletion of Glycogen stores: In the first 12-24 hours of fasting, the body uses glycogen stores in the liver and muscles to produce energy. Once these stores are depleted, the body begins to tap into fat reserves.
Ketosis: When glycogen stores are depleted, the body switches to fat burning. This process, called ketosis, involves the production of ketones (alternative fuel molecules) from fatty acids. Ketones can be used as a source of energy by most cells, including brain cells.
Eating period:
After fasting, the eating period begins where the body replenishes glycogen stores and insulin levels rise again.
Health Benefits of These Metabolic Changes:
Weight Loss and Fat Loss: Because of the shift to fat burning, Intermittent Fasting can be effective for weight loss and fat loss, especially around the abdomen.
Improved Insulin Sensitivity: Lower insulin levels and improved insulin sensitivity can reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes.
Increased Energy and Mental Clarity: Ketones are an efficient fuel source for the brain, which can lead to improved mental clarity and energy during fasting.
Cellular Repair and Health: Autophagy helps remove damaged cellular components, which can contribute to overall health and can potentially extend the life of cells.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Intermittent Fasting
Possible benefits: Intermittent Fasting affects the body through hormonal and metabolic adjustments that promote the shift from sugar burning to fat burning. As mentioned above, this process can lead to weight loss, improved insulin sensitivity, increased energy, and improved cellular health. By manipulating the timing of food intake, Intermittent Fasting can be a powerful strategy to improve overall health and well-being.
Possible drawbacks, which may occur especially in the beginning are, hunger pangs and food cravings. And fasting can lead to periods of low energy, especially during the adjustment period.
Intermittent Fasting is not suitable for everyone, People with certain medical conditions, pregnant women, and those with a history of eating disorders should exercise caution and consult a doctor before starting IF.
Summary: Intermittent fasting can be an effective and simple way to improve your health and promote weight loss, if done in a healthy and responsible manner. As with any change in your diet or lifestyle, it is important to listen to your body and seek professional advice if necessary.
Studies are being done that reveal even more possible benefits of Intermittent Fasting. Because these studies are still taking place and are not yet complete, we do not name these possible benefits further in this blog.
Conclusion
A healthy diet and lifestyle are the foundation of good health. Sometimes it may be necessary to adjust your lifestyle in terms of quantity and type of food to support your health. Then you can think of following a diet which for most people is an intervention with a beginning and an end, where the risk of falling back into old (unhealthy) habits is high, or you can opt for a more or less permanent lifestyle adjustment in which you adjust the kind of food you eat and the moments when you eat that adjusted food. And then Intermittent Fasting comes into the picture as a promising intervention.
In this first blog, we mainly covered the theory behind Intermittent Fasting and why it can be good for your overall health.
In the second blog on this topic, we are going to discuss how Intermittend Fasting works in practice. How to get started, what to watch out for and how to keep it up.
Also, we will name some nutritional supplements that can help and support you during Intermittent Fasting. Meditech Europe has been a trusted name in the field of nutritional supplements for many years and is ready to advise you. Even if you want more information about Intermittend Fasting, you can of course always contact us. We will be happy to help you.
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