Intermittent fasting: benefits

In recent times, intermittent fasting has been proposed as an interesting tool to lose weight and gain health. A period that can have benefits for the body but that, if done incorrectly or excessively, can have severe consequences for health.

Fasting has always been somewhat controversial among nutritionists. In fact, such a fast is no longer even recommended when a person has digestive problems, with rare exceptions. However, there are also studies that point to the different benefits of intermittent fasting. His approach is based on combining different fasting periods with other periods of food consumption under normal conditions. 

In any case, knowing how to do intermittent fasting safely is key to avoiding health problems, such as anemia and malnutrition. Something that occurs when fasting is excessive or minimal dietary guidelines are not met outside of it. Therefore, it is essential to have everything clear before starting this process.

What is intermittent fasting

To find out more, we will start by looking at the different elements of this fast. By definition, intermittent fasting or dieting consists of a period in which we can consume food along with others in which we will not eat anything. The idea of ​​this process is to force the body to convert its fat stores into energy, which is helpful when it comes to managing our weight. Depending on the intensity of this fast, different effects will occur on the body.

As these periods arise, we will have different types of fast. One of the most common is the 12-hour fast. In this fast, we spend 12 hours without eating along with another 12 eating normally. The idea is to sleep during the hours that we do not eat, moving from dinner to breakfast the next day. 

More intensive is the 16-hour fast, which consists of 8 hours of food intake with 16 hours of fasting. In the latter case, we would jump from dinner to lunch the next day, its effect being much more intense than that of intermittent fasting 12/12. So, if you have not noticed effects with that format, you can resort to intermittent fasting 16/8.

More extreme are the diets in which full days are spent without eating normally, limiting the caloric intake on the theoretical days of fasting. This intermittent fasting diet can be distributed in a 4:2 format or in an alternate day format. To make the leap to these fasts, it is recommended to have previously gone through the hourly models already mentioned. By the way, it is important to be clear about what to eat during intermittent fasting, since on days when there is no normal food intake, it is recommended to eat approximately 500 to 600 calories. Therefore, although we speak of fasting, this is not radical.

what is autophagy

One of the reasons fasting is good for you has to do with a process called autophagy. This function was first identified in the 1960s, although it would not be until Yoshinori Ohsumi was awarded the 2016 Nobel Prize when it would be recognized and popularized.

This process establishes that the cells of our body have a recycling system, so to speak, which is responsible for reusing the different structures contained in the cell cytoplasm when they are no longer useful. This process is used, for example, to eliminate viruses and bacteria in the body.

The underlying idea is that fasting would activate this autophagy process, through which the useless elements of our cells would be reused and their renewal would be encouraged. Something that would also favor weight loss, through the mobilization of elements not used in the body, such as fats, which would be transformed into energy. In any case, it is key to keep fasting times under control, as we have indicated above.

Food during fasting

One of the aspects in which many people fail when considering fasting is what should or should not be eaten during it. In fact, when fasting for more than a day, it is necessary to maintain a small food intake when fasting, as we discussed earlier. However, in order to benefit from the effects of an extended fast, knowing what to eat on “normal” days is also key.

The first thing we must bear in mind is that the diet on the days when we do not fast must cover the needs of the body. In other words, since we are already applying a caloric restriction on specific days, we should not force the machine too much by subtracting even more calories during the days that we can eat normally.

In parallel to the above, it is also important to know what we should eat and what not. Since the objective of fasting is to mobilize fat from our body, the diet on the days when it is time to eat should be low in fat, to avoid new accumulations or the presence of fat in the blood that delays the activation of the one we have accumulated in the body.

For this reason, the calories on the days you eat, as well as the punctual contribution of fasting days, should be based mainly on proteins, with a more punctual presence of slow-release carbohydrates, such as whole grains and the like, topped with a reduced amount of healthy fats. This combination will serve to provide your body with the necessary nutrients and not have imbalances during the days when you fast.

By the way, some experts point out that the use of electrostimulators would help activate more localized fat deposits, which is very convenient on these days of fasting, to better sculpt your body.

The role of alcohol

One of the doubts that arise regarding intermittent fasting has to do with alcohol consumption. Let’s think that a glass of Macallan 12 Double Cask, Bacardi Reserva or any other drink provides a considerable amount of calories. Therefore, consuming alcohol implies adding calories and reducing the effect of fasting.

In parallel, there is another issue to consider. Many studies indicate that, in the short term, alcohol can affect the process of cellular autophagy, which is the goal of prolonged fasting. Therefore, that cup can ruin part of the effort that we are developing. So fasting one day and having a drink doesn’t sound like a good idea.