8 benefits of intermittent fasting for health and weight loss
I expect many of us in the last two years, especially in the last period, to have heard about the term intermittent fasting, and we may have seen one of the people around us follow this system. One of the most well-known information about this system is that it helps to lose fat and the health of the body in general.
intermittent fasting
Intermittent fasting is a diet that focuses on the time of eating more than the quality of food. When you follow this system, you stop eating and also stop drinking things that contain calories for a certain time, then you can eat at another time that is determined according to the chosen plan 12:12 or 14:10 Or 16:8 There are other plans as well, but these are considered the most popular. This system is based on reducing the time of eating, which limits the calories consumed during the day and leads to weight loss. This is not its only benefit, as it also brings many health benefits to the body.
The benefits of intermittent fasting
As we mentioned earlier, intermittent fasting has many benefits for weight loss and health. Here are some examples:
1. Intermittent fasting helps facilitate fat burning
During fasting, the level of insulin decreases, which facilitates the burning of fat by the body. The nervous system sends signals to the fat cells when fasting to break down the fat into free fats that are burned for energy.
2. Weight loss
Intermittent fasting is a suitable method for losing weight without calculating calories, so that intermittent fasting is based on reducing the calories consumed during the day, which causes weight loss and may lead to losing from half a kilo to a kilo of weight per week and losing fat around the waist, This element is one of the most important benefits of intermittent fasting.
3. Maintaining muscle mass
Often when following a low-calorie diet, the body loses muscle along with fat, but some studies indicated that people who follow intermittent fasting lose more fat than muscle, unlike people who follow other systems.
4. Reducing the chance of developing diabetes
Recently, diabetes has become common, so it is important to protect our bodies. Following intermittent fasting helps prevent insulin resistance, which leads to protection against type 2 diabetes.
5. Reduce oxidative stress
Taxi stress is one of the most important causes of aging and many chronic diseases, and some studies have shown that intermittent fasting enhances the body’s resistance to oxidative stress and disease control.
6. Good for heart health
Intermittent fasting improves blood sugar, blood pressure, triglycerides, and LDL cholesterol.
7. Cancer prevention
Fasting has many benefits on the metabolism that reduce the risk of cancer and reduce the various side effects of chemotherapy.
8. Good for the brain
Intermittent fasting has many important benefits for brain health, increases the growth of new neurons, protects the brain from damage, and helps prevent Alzheimer’s disease.
Types of intermittent fasting
There are many types of intermittent fasting, the most popular and most beneficial of which are:
16:8
This type is considered one of the most well-known and most effective types, as fasting takes place for a period of 16 hours, and during the 16 hours it is possible to drink calorie-free drinks such as water, coffee without sugar, and tea without sugar, and the duration of eating is 8 hours, that is, you can eat two or two meals and a snack, It is one of the most popular types of intermittent fasting.
14:10
This type is similar to the type before it, where fasting takes place for a period of 14 hours, and during the 14 hours it is possible to drink non-calorie drinks such as water, coffee without sugar, and tea without sugar, and to eat food for 10 hours, and it is considered better for women than the previous type, because fasting 16 hours may affect the body. The menstrual cycle for some women, and this type is considered one of the best types of intermittent fasting for women.
2:5
This type is done two days every five days, as calories are reduced to 500-600 calories for two days a week.
Eating stop eating
Type Eat stop Eat This type is based on fasting for 24 hours twice a week, but it is not recommended for those who have health problems.
the fighter
This type is based on fasting for 20 hours and eating for 4 hours, with a focus on organic, unprocessed foods.
The downsides of intermittent fasting
Fasting is intermittent, like other diets, as it has some drawbacks that must be noted, and their occurrence differs from one person to another, as not everyone is exposed to these drawbacks.
- One of the negatives of intermittent fasting is that it may lead to binge behavior for those who have the ability
- Headache, dizziness and nausea in the first days of fasting are among the first signs of the disadvantages of intermittent fasting, but they may disappear after a while when you get used to this system.
- Low blood sugar, especially on the first days of fasting
- Constipation is one of the downsides of intermittent fasting if you do not eat enough fiber
In the end, I want to warn you that there are many things that you must take into consideration when you follow intermittent fasting for weight loss, such as the type of food that you eat. Fasting does not give you counterproductive results such as weight gain, and it is important to be patient when following this system to reach the best results.
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