By now, the positive health benefits related to intermittent fasting are firmly well-established. For most of the past century, the mainstream medical community showed little interest in the benefits of fasting. Although fasting is a traditional practice in many religions and cultures, some would argue that fasting goes against the grain of the "more is better" ethos of our modern, technology-focused lifestyle. Fortunately, more and more people are learning firsthand about the incomparable benefits of intermittent fasting.
Although there are several different types of intermittent fasting, they are all based around the idea of alternating short periods of fasting with periods of normal eating. One good method is to eat normally one day and eat nothing but a light breakfast on the following day. Weight loss is one of the most visible and striking effects of intermittent fasting. However, this is far from the only benefit of fasting this way. When you avoid eating for a while, some of your fundamental physical processes start to change for the better. Firstly, your blood insulin level drops, which immediately causes you to burn fat at a faster rate. Your body starts to repair your cells by eliminating cellular wastes. Almost immediately, your body begins emitting more human growth hormone (HGH), which is quite beneficial. Temporarily, the HGH production in your body can expand by 500 percent.
In addition to the aforementioned benefits, fasting can spur changes in your gene expression. This can benefit your whole-body health and increase your longevity. Although human testing is still in its early stages, researchers have clearly demonstrated that when they limit the amount of calories that research mammals eat, the mammals live for much longer than one could reasonably expect. This effect is quite pronounced when you cut the subject's calorie consumption by 50 percent. Of course, this is too much of a calorie reduction for most ordinary people. Nevertheless, it is reasonable to assume that you can increase your longevity by reducing your calorie intake by at least 20 percent.
Beyond simply lengthening your life, it seems clear that fasting can improve your quality of life. For example, fasting can reduce your chances of suffering from diabetes. Oxidative stress and inflammation are two things that can contribute to your risk of experiencing a wide variety of diseases.
During your periods of intermittent fasting, your metabolism increases by as much as 14 percent. According to available research, intermittent fasting doesn't merely cause you to lose weight. This type of fasting seems to cause disproportionate fat loss in your waist or abdominal region. Muscle loss is less pronounced than in nonstop calorie restriction plans. Particularly for older people, it can prove quite difficult to lose abdominal fat under ordinary conditions. All in all, the benefits of fasting are wholly remarkable. Collectively, the effects of intermittent fasting deserve serious recognition from ordinary people and the mainstream medical community.