Yes, intermittent fasting can boost your health, but how and when to restrict food consumption is crucial

Medical Xpress / The Conversation ^ | Jan. 5, 2022 | Anouk Charlot and Joffrey Zoll

[ConservativeMind]

The term intermittent fasting covers several approaches.

The "Eat Stop Eat" method: Alternate days of normal eating and fasting, including two non-consecutive fasting days in a week.

The 5:2 method: This alternates between five days of normal eating and two days (which can be consecutive) of 70-75% calorie reduction during the week.

Time-restricted eating: This consists of narrowing the food intake window to between 6 and 10 hours per day, fasting between 14 and 18 hours during the day.

With the "Eat Stop Eat" and 5:2 approaches, the data has shown they can effectively help us lose weight and improve certain metabolic parameters such as fasting blood glucose. For example, Surabhi Bhutani showed the use of the 5:2 method for three months resulted in a weight loss of 3-6 kg in participants.

The most studied method is the one with a daily food intake but limited in time. Two "time slots" are often observed:

When food intake starts with breakfast and ends in the late afternoon—known as "early time-restricted feeding".

When food intake starts with lunch—known as "late time-restricted feeding".

This approach appears to improve metabolic regulation and slash the risk of metabolic diseases. However, these benefits vary according to the chosen time slot. When food intake starts in the morning, studies have observed weight loss and improvements in insulin sensitivity.

Conversely, there are fewer or no benefits to starting meals at midday and ending them in the evening. Halberg Hospital showed positive results in participants who ate only in the morning, and not in those who ate in the evening after 8 p.m.

Research suggests our internal clock and circadian rhythms have something to do with it. Indeed, the benefits to only eating in the morning is that periods of food intake and fasting coincide with our biological clock.

[Faith65]

Thanks.
BKMK

[SunkenCiv]

Another thing that helps is to be much younger, and more active.