The Ultimate Health Benefits of Fasting

The benefits of fasting include weight loss, improved heart health and brain function, even improved blood sugar control. If you have yet to try fasting, I highly recommend it.*

Do you love to eat? Me too! Buuuut sometimes good food and the love of it can possibly take a toll on your health in ways we’d never expect. So how does one maintain or improve their health while maintain their sanity about food? The practice of fasting!

What is Fasting?

Let’s take to Wikipedia shall we!

“Fasting is the willful refrainment from eating for a period of time. In a physiological context, fasting may refer to the metabolic status of a person who has not eaten overnight, or to the metabolic state achieved after complete digestion and absorption of a meal.”

Many are skeptical of the benefits of fasting especially after being programmed and conditioned eat constantly throughout the day to “avoid hunger” or to keep the metabolism up -_-. After reading up on studies proving that fasting for short periods of time could help people lose weight, reduce inflammation, and initiate a massive repair response in the body, I was not at all skeptical. I was INTRIGUED.

I used to be big fan of eating six to eight meals a day. But after learning about the benefits of time-restricted eating and the overall benefits and fasting, it would have been practically illegal for me not try it. Now, I live a fasting focused lifestyle; After feeling and seeing my overall improve, I’m never going back!

Intermittent Fasting

Intermittent fasting is where you eat all the food you want in a short period of time. My typical intermittent fasting protocol is 18 hours of fasting each day, with a 6 hour eating window. I begin my eating window at 1pm and have my last meal by or before 6pm. Research proves that daily fasting for 15-18 hours provides the best health benefit.

This can be difficult at first, especially if you love breakfast or have grown accustomed to snacking all day. One suggested to start intermittent fasting is to skip the early morning breakfast and have water or tea until lunch time. This may be difficult at first but as you apply intermittent fasting to your daily habits, it will get “easier” and you will likely notice that you are able to go longer periods without food.

Health Benefits of Fasting

So what to the studies say about the benefits of fasting? Why are so many people flocking to daily fasting protocols?

Overall, fasting accelerates healing and gets your body to repair itself

Additionally, according to Dr. Mindy Pelz, fasting helps to:

• Normalize your insulin and leptin sensitivity, which is key for optimal health
• Improve biomarkers of disease
• Normalize ghrelin levels, also known as "the hunger hormone"
• Reduce inflammation and lessen free radical damage
• Lower triglyceride levels
• Preserve memory function and learning
• Increase your growth hormone (a fat-burning hormone) secretion by 1300%
• Boost your brain power by stimulating BDNF (a brain-boosting hormone) by 400%

If you haven't tried fasting, I highly recommend it!*

Where To Start

As mentioned earlier, I’d suggest beginning with daily intermittent fasting. A basic intermittent fasting protocol is 16:8–16 hours of fasting and an 8 hour eating window. So, start by going 16 hours without food. You may only be able to do 12, 10, or maybe only 8 hours of fasting to start with, but with repetition, your body will get more adapted to fasting and will eventually be comfortable going for 16 hours or longer. Hey, eventually you may even want to venture off and try extended 24-72 hour fasts!

WARNING: If you have adrenal fatigue, you may really struggle with fasting. You can find yourself dizzy and ready to pass out. If this describes you, be sure that you are doing everything you can to strengthen your adrenals. There are two supplements that I suggest for strengthening the adrenals: Loving Energy by Bioray or Adrenal Health Daily Support by Gaia Herbs . (Do not take any of these supplements if you are intolerant or allergic to mushrooms)

*SEE MEDICAL DISCLAIMER

Parts of this article was adapted from Dr. Mindy Pelz: Health Benefits of Fasting

Not ready for intermittent fasting, and would rather try a juice fast? Click here.