Could Intermittent Fasting Be The Answer To Weight Loss And Insulin Resistance?
Some people find it difficult to fast, and some people shouldn’t fast (see safety recommendations below), but for most of us Intermittent fasting is a free tool that encourages healthier, flexible and sustainable eating/non-eating practices that can ultimately lead to weight loss and improved metabolic health markers.
What is intermittent fasting?
Intermittent fasting is the term used to describe various fasting patterns or put more simply it refers to timed periods of eating, or not eating! The entire idea of IF is to allow insulin levels to go down far enough and for long enough that we start to burn fat.
Types of intermittent fasts.
With so many options, you can mix and match your fasts to suit!
Time Restricted Feeding (TRF) or prolonged nightly fasting refers to fast periods where no calories are consumed over a stretch of 12-16 hours. It’s mostly carried out overnight, from dinner until breakfast/lunch next day.
Alternate Day Fasting (ADF) describes alternate cycles of fasting one day and eating on the next day. On fast days, people typically restrict calories to 600 calories per day.
Modified Fasting describes a type of fast where calories are restricted by 20-30%, or to 600 calories per day for a specified number of days per week. This type of fast is also called intermittent energy restriction.
Fasting Mimicking Diet (FMD) describes a ketogenic diet that is typically followed for five days once a month. This 5-day, very low-calorie, low carbohydrate, structured food plan has been shown in a limited number of studies to improve body composition and lower blood pressure after three consecutive cycles.
Rat studies versus human studies.
Compared to studies in obese rats where they lost weight and their cholesterol, blood pressure and blood glucose improved, studies in humans show that IF is just as effective as any other diet - not necessarily more so! This is thought to be because people find it difficult to fast. A growing body of research shows that adjusting the timing of the fast is the key to making IF a more realistic, sustainable, and effective approach for weight loss, as well as for diabetes prevention.
9 reasons why intermittent fasting deserves the good press it gets:
It encourages greater growth and diversity of gut microbes, leading to better digestive health, hormonal health and immunity!
Helps to reduce inflammation, which is a root cause of chronic and degenerative conditions like heart disease, type 2 diabetes, autoimmunity, IBS and IBD
Improves insulin sensitivity and blood lipid profiles.
Studies have shown that modified fasting where subjects eat very low calorie diets (800 calories daily) have reversed type 2 diabetes in as little as 8 weeks for some.
It turns on fat burning mechanisms and cellular repair.
Increases the production of BDNF (brain derived neurotrophic factor) which has been shown to stimulate the growth of new brain cells in the hippocampus (part of the brain essential for learning and memory)
Protects against cancer and the effects of chemotherapy
Helps re-establish sleep patterns, encourage healthy eating habits and improve general sense of well-being
Side effects include better energy, focus, concentration and moods
Reduced risk of dementia and Alzheimers
Safety of intermittent fasting
Short term fasts (24-72hrs) are generally safe to implement whereas longer fasts (more than 3 days) are not advised without the supervision of a naturopath (Langeley, 2011).
A ‘healing crisis’, where the body attempts to rid itself of toxins or significant detoxification side-effects are very unlikely to occur in a fast where 500-600 calories are consumed. This is more common in liquid only fasts (Mosley & Spencer, 2014), (Langeley, 2011).
Intermittent fasting is NOT safe for those with Type 1 Diabetes, those with an eating disorder, those who are extremely underweight, children, pregnant and breast-feeding women, those suffering from chronic stress and those with cortisol dysregulation (Mosley & Spencer 2013), (NHS 2014).
Some literature suggests that IF generally works well for most men, but less so for women.
In particular, it has been observed that IF should be undertaken with caution in people with thyroid dysfunction. Calorie restriction can have a significant impact on thyroid health by raising reverse T3 (RT3). RT3 competes with T3 (active thyroid hormone) to occupy receptor sites, which may result in a worsening hypothyroid condition.
If you’re wondering whether Intermittent fasting could work for you, or would like to discuss your own health issues, why not book a call and let me help you figure it out?!
Get on the watch list for my newest weight loss course, Jan 09, 2023. This 90 day smart fa(s)t weight loss programme has been designed to help you to burn belly fat faster, fight insulin resistance and lifestyle driven disease, in a small, practitioner led group setting for community support.
