If you’ve recently been introduced to the principle of intermittent fasting, you are probably wondering how it could be beneficial or even safe. But we’re here to tell you that there are tons of benefits to this meal approach, and many of them have been proven by science. Let’s take a look at some of the reasons to try intermittent fasting. We’ll also give you a few tips on how you can embark on your intermittent fasting journey the right way.
It Could Help You Reduce Insulin Resistance
Research has found that intermittent fasting could help reduce insulin resistance, which can eventually help people who are suffering from diabetes. It can also help people who are predisposed to developing the disease.
One study, in particular, found that people who fasted produced less insulin, which is a sign of low insulin resistance, and had lower blood glucose levels. High levels of insulin and high blood glucose levels are precursors of diabetes. There may also be other factors associated with intermittent fasting that may cause these indicators to drop, such as weight loss, for instance.
If you want to learn more about how insulin reacts to intermittent fasting and what happens at the different stages of a fast, we suggest you visit https://lifeapps.io/fasting/the-5-stages-of-intermittent-fasting/.
Intermittent Fasting is Great for Weight Loss
Intermittent fasting has been shown to be very efficient for losing weight. Since you can only eat within a certain time window, it’s harder for you to consume as many calories. Insulin reduction could play a role here too. Insulin is the hormone that allows cells to take in the glucose coming from carbohydrates. When this glucose isn’t used, it is stored in fat cells. Having low insulin for long periods prevents this from occurring and forces the body to pull glucose and energy from fat cells, which will accelerate weight loss.
Better Heart Health
One of the things that change most dramatically when people start intermittent fasting is the low amount of lipids, or fats, that end up in the bloodstream. Fat in the blood affects your cardiovascular health. Some studies found that intermittent fasting could reduce the amount of LDL, or “bad cholesterol”, in the blood, and triglycerides, which is a special type of fat that harms heart health.
How to Start Intermittent Fasting the Right Way
The first thing you have to understand is that intermittent fasting doesn’t require you to eat once a day only. Instead, it allows you to eat within a very strict feeding window. The narrower the window, the longer you will stay in a fasted state and reap the benefits.
We suggest that you start with a 10-hour feeding window at first and work your weight up to a 6-hour window if possible. Also make sure that you break your fast with a low sugar complete meal with plenty of protein, then graze up until your main meal. This meal can be anything you want but make it as healthy as you can. You can close your window with a small meal or a snack consisting of things like leafy greens, fermented foods like yogurt or kefir, nut butters, lean fish, and raw fruits.
As you can see, intermittent fasting has many proven benefits, and you should definitely consider looking at it a bit closer. Before you start, look at the challenges you may have to face and how you can get over them.
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