More research backs the potential benefits of intermittent fasting

Intermittent fasting is not just about skipping meals to shed some weight. A Paleohacks article recommended the traditional fasting practice because it could also bring real health benefits that no pharmaceutical PRODUCT can replicate.

First of all, fasting increases the amount of fat that gets burned by your body. It forces your body to consume fat as fuel while waiting for the next meal.

In this case, the best meal to skip is breakfast. When you wake up after a good night’s sleep, your insulin levels are low while your glucagon levels are high. This is a great mix of hormones for burning body fats. And by delaying your first meal of the day, you reduce the amount of food you need to eat later in the evening.

The second benefit of intermittent fasting is that it prevents inflammation. Almost every chronic disease is caused by inflammation. In turn, one of the biggest factors in inflammation is obesity.

A 2011 study by the University of Illinois (UI) reported that fasting reduces inflammation in the body. It also reduces the weight of the practitioner, thereby preventing obesity that can cause inflammation. (Related: Planned intermittent fasting can reverse type 2 diabetes, suggest doctors.)

Boost your brain and mood by skipping meals

Practicing intermittent fasting can help sharpen a person’s concentration. It can clear away brain fog and fatigue, which helps you stay focused on the job at hand.

When tested on overweight mice, fasting improved the animals’ ability to learn and remember things. Their brains also showed structural improvements, reported the University of Virginia (UV) in their 2013 experiment.

Another benefit of intermittent fasting involves mood improvement. Depression and low mood are expected to become the biggest cause of disease burden in the world by 2030.

Many factors contribute to these two conditions. But high levels of blood sugar and insulin are closely linked with depression and a low mood. The average human is eating more and more sugar each year. In 2018, you will have most likely consumed 160 pounds of the stuff.

Fasting could help cut back on the unhealthy sweets. Reducing the amount of sugar you consume will not just decrease the amount of fat that you put on your frame. It will also remove the need for insulin, which restores the hormone to its normal concentration.

Intermittent fasting improves the heart and keeps you young

Intermittent fasting can also support the natural functions of your heart. Given the importance of the organ, maintaining its good health will benefit the rest of the body.

Heart disease is one of the most serious causes of mortality in the world. Fortunately, its many contributing factors – diabetes, high blood pressure, insufficient or zero exercise, and obesity – are all affected by fasting.

By delaying breakfast or increasing the time between each meal, you could reduce your daily intake of carbohydrates and calories. This would in turn reduce the chances of heart failure, which prolongs the life of people with problematic hearts.

Last but definitely not least on the list of health benefits brought to you by intermittent fasting is the way it delays the aging process. A 2010 rat model by the University of Torino (UniTo) showed that fasting drastically cut down the levels of fibrosis and oxidative stress that are taking place in the animals.

When tissues age, they undergo these two processes, which damages and destroys them through inflammation. Since intermittent fasting can prevent inflammation, it can reduce the aging effect of fibrosis and oxidative stress. So not only do you feel good when you fast, but you look younger to boot.

Let Naturopathy.news teach you more about the health benefits of fasting.

Sources include:

Blog.Paleohacks.com

Journals.PLOS.org