Intermittent fasting has many health benefits for the body. In addition to helping you lose excess weight quickly, it also helps improve insulin resistance, control blood sugar, recover from type 2 diabetes, and prevent many chronic diseases. However, to get these wonderful benefits of intermittent fasting, you must know the correct way to do it. Learn about intermittent fasting, its benefits, and how to do it in this article.
Intermittent fasting
The foods we consume daily greatly affect our physical, mental and emotional health, and the amount of time we spend eating them also affects our health. Intermittent fasting can improve physical and mental health by determining which foods we should eat and when we should eat them. This is useful in recovering from type 2 diabetes, getting rid of excess weight, reducing the risk of many chronic diseases such as cholesterol and heart disease, and also improving psychological and mental health.
What is intermittent fasting?
16:8 intermittent fasting is a type of intermittent fasting that causes changes in the body's metabolism and metabolic processes, helping the body burn fat stores, increase insulin sensitivity, lower blood pressure, and promote cell regeneration.
The 16:8 intermittent fasting diet involves 16 hours of fasting, and during the 8-hour non-fasting period, the person should not eat continuously as this leads to an increase in insulin in the blood, in addition to eating foods low in carbohydrates and rich in fiber, fats, and protein.
The basic principle of intermittent fasting involves fasting for 16 consecutive hours and then eating a healthy meal, followed by another eight-hour fasting period and then eating another meal, as the human body should not be in a constant state of nutrition.
Benefits of intermittent fasting
There are many health benefits associated with intermittent fasting, the most important of which are:
Intermittent fasting for weight loss
The eating pattern during intermittent fasting causes profound metabolic changes that stimulate the liver to convert stored body fat into energy. When the body breaks down fat, large amounts of ketones are released, which are a byproduct of fat burning and a highly efficient energy source for cells, tissues and organs, supporting weight loss and helping to maintain a healthy weight.
Maintaining blood sugar levels
Intermittent fasting helps maintain blood sugar levels within normal limits, which in turn regulates blood insulin levels and prevents insulin resistance. It also helps improve insulin resistance in type 2 diabetes patients, improve metabolic imbalance, control blood pressure, and get rid of excess abdominal fat.
Prevention of chronic diseases
Intermittent fasting activates autophagy, a cellular process that helps break down cells and recycle damaged or dysfunctional cellular components. Increased autophagy is associated with a lower risk of chronic diseases and medical conditions in general because it helps the body heal and regenerate faster.
Intermittent fasting benefits brain health
Intermittent fasting helps improve cognitive function and memory.
Intermittent fasting method
The basic principle of intermittent fasting is to avoid foods and drinks that contain carbohydrates during the fasting period, which forces your metabolism to tap into stored body fat for energy. If you are considering intermittent fasting for weight loss, you may have a strong motivation to practice long periods of fasting to achieve maximum weight loss. However, fasting for too long at the beginning is the most common mistake when starting intermittent fasting.
Your metabolism needs time to adjust to intermittent fasting. Slowly adapting to an intermittent fasting schedule allows your body to get used to the metabolic and hormonal changes and allows you to adjust your lifestyle to fit intermittent fasting.
It is recommended to start with intermittent fasting for 14 hours followed by a ten-hour eating period, paying attention to not eating foods and drinks rich in carbohydrates and not continuing to eat throughout this period. Then, the intermittent fasting periods are gradually extended according to the body’s ability to adapt. While some individuals can achieve a 16:8 intermittent fasting pattern within a week or two, others may take a month to reach this goal.
As you extend your intermittent fasting periods, you can skip breakfast and cut your meals from three to two. This is the point at which most people see significant changes in their health, actual weight loss, and improved energy levels.
In order to follow the intermittent fasting regimen, you must break the habit of snacking. Eating snacks, even if they are healthy, low-carb foods, during the fasting period can break the fast and prevent the metabolic benefits of intermittent fasting. While it may seem difficult to stay away from snacks during the early stages of intermittent fasting, your hunger and cravings will diminish as your body adapts to burning stored body fat and using it as a source of energy.
Drinking lemon water is an excellent way to support kidney function and prevent kidney stones during intermittent fasting. Lemon is a rich source of acetic acid, a natural acid that prevents oxalates from forming calcium oxalate crystals, which are the main cause of kidney stones.
Ginger and cinnamon can also be added to tea or coffee to add extra flavor without breaking your fast. Additionally, it is essential to provide your body with salts and electrolytes by adding an electrolyte powder (sugar-free) to your water during intermittent fasting, as an imbalance of electrolytes and salts in the body can lead to symptoms such as:
Drought.
Dizziness.
Muscle cramps.
Headache.
Therefore, water fasting is not recommended as it can increase the risk of electrolyte imbalance.
Recovery advice from the 5.6 team
Intermittent fasting can be adhered to and many of the health benefits associated with it can be obtained by knowing the correct way to do it. It is useful to start gradually by giving the body enough time to adapt to this new diet, and by continuing, you can obtain the desired results for weight loss and obtain many other health benefits such as controlling blood sugar and blood pressure, improving insulin resistance, recovering from type 2 diabetes, and preventing many chronic diseases.
the reviewer
https://www.simplysnackin.com/blog/ted-naiman-pe-diet-book
https://www.drberg.com/blog/the-most-important-intermittent-fasting-basics-for-beginners-must-watch-dr-berg