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Intermittent fasting (“IF”) means voluntarily fasting for 12 to 16 hours a day. But is it a good idea? Absolutely! Fasting can be highly beneficial to your health (and your figure), and here are ten convincing reasons to try it.
- Anyone can try IF, unless your doctor tells you otherwise. However, it is not recommended for children, teenagers and pregnant women.
- As you are only having two meals a day, your calorie intake is reduced. Just be careful not to compensate for the skipped meal by eating more at subsequent meals!
- IF helps you lose body fat thanks to a process called lipolysis. As the body’s sugar reserves are depleted,
it dips into the fat stored in the adipocytes and transforms it into free fatty acids. These are then converted into energy by the liver. - Fasting improves the balance between the secretion of ghrelin (an appetite stimulating hormone) and leptin
(a satiety hormone). - Boost your immune system: By not eating for 12 to 16 hours, you allow your digestive system to rest and at the same time stop the proliferation of bad bacteria in the intestine, which is responsible for inflammation.
- Digestion (yet again) is exhausting for the body!
By fasting, you will no longer feel sleepy after lunch. - According to a 2017 Canadian study, fasting prevents type 2 diabetes because it puts less stress on the pancreas.
- Cancer cells feed on sugar, and fasting causes ketoacidosis which prevents cancer cells from using glucose. In the long term, this weakens the cancer and limits its progression.
- Fasting reduces the risk of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease by improving the resistance to stress and stimulating the production of new nerve cells. It has also been known to increase memory in the elderly by
30 per cent. - It allows you to enjoy your social life because, unlike with a diet, you can eat anything when you’re fasting! Enjoy!