What Happens to Your Body During Short-Term Intermittent Fasting?

Short-term intermittent fasting could last anywhere from 12 hours a day to 16 hours a day depending upon the scheduled routine you choose to follow. For instance, many knowledgeable people that stick to intermittent fasting on a daily or every other day basis will have an eight-hour window where they can eat during the day. As an example, you could eat your meals from 1 pm to 9 pm and then refrain from food the rest of the time.

This type of approach actually gives a nod to our ancestors back in the day. Mark Mattson, the chief of the Laboratory of Neurosciences at the National Institute on Aging in Baltimore, stated, “Our ancestors consumed food much less frequently and often had to subsist on one large meal per day, and thus from an evolutionary perspective, human beings were adapted to intermittent feeding rather than to grazing.”

Healthy Benefits of Short-Term Intermittent Fasting

There are numerous benefits to short-term intermittent fasting as your body will start to adapt to your new eating schedule.

  • Losing weight is one of the most common reasons for choosing to start intermittent fasting. And it makes sense. You eat less so you will lose weight.
  • It also will increase your metabolic rate and allow you to burn through calories and fat much more quickly[1].
  • As Type 2 diabetes becomes more frequent in society because of obesity, there are major benefits for insulin resistance with intermittent fasting[2].
  • Heart health should be a concern for every person in the world as heart disease is the number one killer across the globe. Intermittent fasting has shown promise in decreasing heart disease in both humans and animals[3].

Cellular Repair and Cancer-Fighting Effects Within 24 Hours

As we age, we often start to acquire certain diseases as our cells fall into disrepair. Some view it as just a sign of getting old. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Autophagy is the process in which the cells get rid of the waste or eliminate failing cells within the body. If the waste keeps on accumulating over time, this can lead to chronic diseases, cancers, and cognitive disorders. Most experts in the field agree that autophagy begins after 18 to 20 hours of fasting. Removing damaged cells for healthier cells is one key way to dramatically improve your health as you age.

Both Short Term and Long Term Benefits

If you are looking at intermittent fasting for long term weight loss, then you are like thousands of others. But the added benefits of reducing your risk for heart disease and types of cancer while keeping your cognitive abilities is not something that should be overlooked either. Being able to fast for one day and knowing your cells are regenerating within your body should be instant gratification for anyone that experiments or commits fully with intermittent fasting.

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References

  1. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2405717/
  1. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S193152441400200X

 3. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19793855/


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