The Benefits of Intermittent Fasting
Over the holidays, I took a bit of time off from writing the blog. I will be publishing articles much more frequently in the new year.
Although many dismiss intermittent fasting as a fad, there is a mounting collection of research that demonstrates a bevy of benefits to this pattern of eating.
Last week, the review article Effects of Intermittent Fasting on Health, Aging, and Disease appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine. The review covers the biochemistry of fasting, the impact of IF on stress resistance, IFs effect on health, disease and cognition, and clinical applications of time-restricted eating.
The evidence for fasting is becoming so compelling; it is likely intermittent fasting will find its way into doctor's recommendations for maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
If you want to give it a try, most find it is better to start slowly and lengthen fasts over time. Most recommend starting with 16-hour fasts broken by 8-hour windows of eating, then gradually increasing the length of the fasts. Most people report irritability, and hunger pangs diminish over time as the body adjusts to the new pattern of eating.
The NEJM article is worth a look. If you prefer the lay press, take a look at this news report from Johns Hopkins Medicine.
From Johns Hopkins Medicine http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/newsroom/