Intermittent Fasting
There are so many kinds of diets recommended by physicians, one of them being intermittent fasting. We all focus on what to eat, but intermittent fasting is all about when you eat.
With intermittent fasting, you only eat during a specific time. Research shows fasting for a certain number of hours each day or eating just one meal a couple days a week may have health benefits. Extra calories and less activity can mean a higher risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease and other illnesses. Scientific studies are showing that intermittent fasting may help reverse these trends. Intermittent fasting works by prolonging the period when your body has burned through the calories consumed during your last meal and begins burning fat.
You can pick a daily approach, which restricts daily eating to one six- to eight-hour period each day. For instance, you may choose to try 16/8 fasting: eating for eight hours and fasting for 16. Longer periods without food, such as 24-, 36-, 48- and 72-hour fasting periods, are not necessarily better for you, and may be dangerous. Going too long without eating might actually encourage your body to start storing more fat in response to starvation. During the times when you’re not eating, water and zero-calorie beverages such as black coffee and tea are permitted. Most nutrition experts regard the Mediterranean diet as a good blueprint of what to eat, whether you’re trying intermittent fasting or not. You can hardly go wrong when you pick leafy greens, healthy fats, lean protein and complex, unrefined carbohydrates such as whole grains.
It’s important to check with your doctor before starting intermittent fasting.
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