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Definition
Intermittent fasting is a diet that relies mainly on refraining from eating for specific hours during a day or on few days of the week and has several forms and methods.
Fasting of 16:8 can be done either daily, day after day, or only on certain days of the week.
Intermittent fasting is an easy-to-follow and actual diet, especially since it does not contain strict rules or food deprivation.
The most common body for intermittent fasting fever is to eat only 8 hours into the day and refrain from it within the next 16 hours of the rest of the day, known as the 16:8 diet.
Intermittent fasting methods
Intermittent fasting can be done through more than one method, the most common method of it:
Fasting for 12 hours a day
This method is particularly suitable for beginners. This fasting method depends on refraining from eating hard food for 12 consecutive hours of a person’s choice and eating healthy within the remaining 12 hours.
Intermittent fasting here helps convert fat stored in the body into energy, causing weight loss.
Fasting for a whole day per week
This fast is based on refraining from eating entirely for 1-2 days a week, i.e., 24 hours continuously at a time, allowing only fluids to be taken during fastings, such as water, coffee, and sugar-free tea.
However, anyone should note that this intermittent fasting technique may involve some disturbing risks and symptoms, such as fatigue, headaches, especially in the early periods of follow-up, symptoms that may become less severe as the body becomes familiar with this pattern of it.
Beginners also prefer to fast fewer hours before reaching the total 24 hours to gradually re-habit the body.
Benefits of Intermittent fasting
Improve thinking and memory.
Improve blood pressure and heart rate during rest as well as other heart-related measurements.
Young males who fasted for 16 hours showed fat loss while maintaining muscle mass. Mice fed on alternative days also showed more endurance in the running.
In animal studies, it prevents obesity, and in 6 brief studies, obese adult humans lost weight through it.
How does intermittent fasting work?
There are diverse ways to perform it, but they all depend on choosing regular times to eat and fast. For example, you may try eating only 8 hours a day and fasting the rest of the time, or you may choose to eat only one meal a day, twice a week, and there are many different dates for it.
It works by prolonging the duration after your body burns and exhausts the calories consumed during your last meal. It then starts burning fat, which can help reduce weight and get rid of belly fat ” belly,” provided you do not eat a large amount of food at the time of eating.
Is intermittent fasting harmless?
Some people try to halt fasting to control weight. In contrast, others use this method to treat chronic conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome (IRS), high cholesterol/ arthritis, but intermittent fasting is not suitable for everyone.
Christy Williams, a nutritionist at Johns Hopkins University, stresses that before you try fasting (or any diet), see your doctor first.
Some categories are forbidden from intermittent fasting
During Pregnancy or nursing.
People with diabetes or people with blood sugar problems.
Those with a history of eating disorders.
Intermittent fasting can have different effects on various people. Talk to your doctor if you start feeling
unusual fatigue, headache, nausea, or other symptoms after it begins.
Children under the age of 18.
Conclusion
Intermittent fasting, when applied correctly, helps reduce infections and reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and even some cancers, says author Jennifer Cook in a report in The Washington Post.
This type of fasting also contributes to maintaining the average balance between insulin hormone and blood
sugar, which prevents insulin resistance. This condition drives the body to perform automatic repairs of damage to it, which prevents dangerous diseases.