A Beginner’s Guide to Intermittent Fasting

Since the publication of Dr Michael Mosley’s bestselling book ‘The 5:2 Diet’ in 2013, intermittent fasting (IF) has been one of the most popular dietary trends around the globe. Obviously, the idea of fasting-that is, abstaining or partially abstaining from eating-is much, much older. Many of the world’s major religions have for centuries included some form of fasting, but the practice has made a somewhat contentious secular comeback in the last decade or so. This short guide will review the different types of intermittent fasting, the possible benefits from it, and why it’s been so controversial.

The Most Popular Intermittent Fasting Methods

Another unusual approach to health is through intermittent fasting. This does not refer to a diet in the scientific definition of diets. It does not tell you what is or is not allowed to eat. Instead, it dictates at what times one is allowed to or prohibited from eating these things. Three main categories of IF:

Time-restricted eating

This is just eating all of your food within a certain window of time each day. Perhaps the most common approach is to eat within an eight-hour window and fast for sixteen hours. Many people do this by skipping breakfast. Some try to squeeze in all three of their main meals within the time window, while others forgo dinner instead.
An even more extreme form of this is OMAD, or ‘One Meal A Day.’

The 5:2 diet

What’s known as the 5:2 diet gets its name from the fact that one is allowed to eat normal calories for five days within a week, and cut your calories down to around 500-600 during the other two. Of course, the fasting days must not be consecutive to each other.
Some people chose not to eat anything on the two fasting days. This is called ‘periodic’ or ‘whole-day’ fasting.

Alternate day fasting

This is almost like the 5:2 method, but you have a fasting day with reduced calories in between every normal day.
You probably wonder why people do this. Hunger is certainly not the most enjoyable state to be in, after all. So, read on to learn why that’s the case.

Why is Intermittent Fasting so popular?

It has many pros, for which there are many reasons for its popularity. Some people love the simplicity of the approach. Some like the fact that when they are not fasting they can still eat their favourite foods, and some are convinced by the potential benefits. These will be discussed further below. Others adopt it for similar reasons to the ‘paleo’ diet, i.e. it is supposedly how we evolved to eat.

However, IF has been a matter of controversy. In one way, it told us to ignore our hunger. Doesn’t that represent the signal that our body needs? Advocates for IF contend that modern diets overfeed, and this would make the body signal its hunger at times when the person actually does not require anything.
Side effects, of course, are of concern only in a few. Hunger is uncomfortable but nontoxic. Newbies might feel a wee bit weak when one first embarks on this journey. Those with a medical condition should discuss this first with their physician; generally, not recommended for those who are underweight or have an eating disorder.

The potential benefits of Intermittent Fasting

IF may have potential positive effects on weight loss and health in general, with limited evidence coming from studies that are small or short in duration.

Weight Loss

This is the benefit most people find when they are on IF. It happens because people who try out IF often take lesser calories than they normally do. People would get the same result if they just counted calories in their food but some find that IF is easier than that. You may not lose weight if you are too much on a non-fasting day.
However, if you are a female then IF might not be the process through which you would like to slim down and fit into those figure-hugging cocktail and party dresses. Some females have reported interruptions to their menstrual cycles when trying IF.

Protection against diabetes

IF can help ensure that your body reacts appropriately to insulin, which helps it control your blood sugar and thereby also protects you from type 2 diabetes.

Reduced inflammation

When your immune system detects something bad, you get inflammation. That’s a good response if there’s something genuinely bad, but if it is continuing to happen for relatively trivial reasons, inflammation itself begins to cause damage and illness. Some studies report that IF can decrease inflammation.

Better brain health

IF has been demonstrated to increase healthy brain hormones and may increase the growth of new nerve cells in rats.

Conclusion

Intermittent fasting is one of the most popular diet trends. It has been practiced in some form for centuries but remains in its early stages of scientific study. There is limited evidence that it helps with weight management and protects against diseases while being safe for most people.