Keep a Healthy Mind & Body with Intermittent Fasting
Unlike other fad diets that prohibit you from eating some of the food you love, intermittent fasting lets you do the exact opposite.
Intermittent fasting is more of an eating pattern where you cycle between “feasting” and fasting periods. You can basically eat anything you want as long as you do it on schedule.
What’s remarkable about intermittent fasting is that it actually works and offers powerful benefits both for the mind and the body.
It can help you lose weight
This is probably the health benefit that has made intermittent fasting so popular. Lots of people get into intermittent fasting to lose weight.
The point of intermittent fasting is to make you eat fewer meals without restricting your choices.
Weight loss is achieved because intermittent fasting helps boost the metabolic rate while also reducing the amount of food (and calories for that matter) that you eat.
Studies have also shown that intermittent fasting can help you lose a tremendous amount of weight within 3 to 24 weeks.
Other studies also claim that intermittent fasting is an effective way of shedding off lots of belly fat making it an effective weight-loss tool.
It can help reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes
Weight loss isn’t the only significant health benefit you can gain from intermittent fasting.
This is because intermittent fasting has been shown to reduce insulin resistance and thus, reduce blood sugar levels as well.
Studies have shown that intermittent fasting can reduce blood sugar by 3 to 6% and insulin levels by 20 to 31%.
Insulin resistance and blood sugar levels both play a huge role in type 2 diabetes development and with the results of the studies mentioned, it’s safe to say that intermittent fasting is an effective tool in keeping you away from the dreaded disease.
It can reduce oxidative stress and inflammation
Chronic diseases and aging are usually brought about by two things - inflammation and oxidative stress.
The good news is intermittent fasting can help you deal with both based on the results of several studies.
One such study states that intermittent fasting can enhance the body’s resistance towards oxidative stress.
Another study has also shown that intermittent fasting is effective in fighting inflammation. With both of these factors addressed through intermittent fasting, it will make you less likely to contract any of the common diseases usually triggered by both.
It may be good for the heart
We can all agree that heart disease is one of the world’s deadliest diseases and it’s usually brought about by several factors such as blood pressure, inflammatory markers, blood sugar levels, and LDL cholesterol among others.
Intermittent fasting has been shown to improve these factors mentioned although most of the tests conducted were done on animals.
More studies on humans need to be done to confirm this claim but given the results, the potential for addressing heart conditions in humans looks promising.
It’s good for the brain
Intermittent fasting’s benefits aren’t limited to the body because this practice is also good for the brain.
Several studies conducted on rats have shown that intermittent fasting may help increase the growth of new nerve cells that can help improve brain function.
Another important benefit intermittent fasting has is that it has been shown to protect against brain damage brought about by strokes.
Final Thoughts
Whether you’re trying to lose weight or simply trying to live healthily, there’s no question that intermittent fasting brings a lot to the table in terms of health benefits not just for the body, but also for the brain.
