You’ve probably heard of intermittent fasting,* but do you know what it is? Healthline.com has a great no frills definition: Intermittent fasting, or IF, refers to “an eating pattern that cycles between periods of fasting and eating.”
According to this article, fasting can be a more natural approach to eating than trying to incorporate three to four healthy meals a day. There are different fasting programs you can try, but the two most common are the 16-hour daily fast or a 24-hour fast that can be done a couple of times per week. For the 16-hour program, you fast for 16 hours and then limit all of your eating for that day to an eight-hour period. But it’s important to note, you don’t have to fast every day to be healthy!
Here at Fuel 4 Ever, we believe intermittent fasting should be an essential part of anyone’s quest for lifelong health and wellness. It should become your way of life. That’s why we’ve introduced FAST, an all-natural powder supplement that can enhance any fast with added nutrition (without actually breaking your fast).
So, is fasting for you? Let’s take a deeper look at the benefits:
- Hormone balancing. Fasting allows the body to naturally balance hormone levels without the added release and secretions of enzymes and hormones that eating stimulates. This makes stored body fat more accessible because fasting improves insulin sensitivity, which in turn helps prevent Type 2 diabetes. Also during fasting, naturally produced Human Growth Hormone (HGH) can skyrocket to as much as five times the levels you might see if you didn’t fast! This can be a huge benefit for maintaining or gaining muscle.
- Improved gut health and microbiome. Recent studies suggest that intermittent fasting increases certain good bacteria in the gut while pathogens decrease. Fasting also allows time for the digestive system lining to regenerate while the immune system experiences less stress. It’s a win-win!
- Cardiovascular health. Relating to heart health, fasting has been shown to decrease bad cholesterol levels, triglycerides and other inflammatory markers, and can also decrease blood pressure.
- Autophagy. What is “autophagy”? Put simply, it’s the body’s way of cleaning out “damaged goods.” Here’s a comprehensive article by Healthline.com. While fasting, the body gets a break from eating and digestion, promoting an important detoxification function for the body to get rid of old or dead cells that can lead to aging.
- Anti-aging benefits. Fasting has been shown in studies to facilitate longevity. I think of longevity in terms of not only living longer, but feeling better as we age. Honestly, at Fuel 4 Ever, we’re feeling better in our 40s than we have ever felt! Of course this isn’t only from fasting, but combined with other health routines, it definitely keeps the body functioning at optimum levels.
*If you have any underlying medical conditions, please consult your doctor before trying any type of fasting program, including intermittent fasting.