We hear a lot lately about intermittent fasting: is it just a passing fad or does it have real health benefits?
real health benefits? Let's first see what it is.
"Intermittent fasting is a variable period of time (of hours or even days) during which no food is introduced into the body".
Intermittency is determined by alternating time windows in which one eats with periods of time in which when no food is taken in. Normally, we all already practise intermittent fasting.
When?
During the night: about 10-12 hours pass from dinner to breakfast the next day. Furthermore, abstaining from food is a very common practice from antiquity, used for spiritual or religious purposes. Intermittent fasting, therefore, is nothing more than the most recent name for an ancient secret of well-being.
There are different types of diet protocols that propose fasting phases of at least 12-14 hours. The most common and most studied is the so-called 16:8, in which it is recommended to eat in a period of no more than eight hours, to remain fasting for the remaining 16 hours any meals or snacks are avoided during the fasting period in order to accustom the body to working under conditions of reduced satiety. This avoids accumulating energy in the last part of the day, which is the last part of the day, which is the case for those who are used to eating dinner very late and therefore do not have the time to dispose of the meal before going to bed.
During fasting, precise physiological and biochemical mechanisms occur. Sugars (glucose) and fats are the main sources of energy for our cells. Normally, after a meal, glucose is used as an energy source, while fats are stored in the adipose tissue in the form of triglycerides adipose tissue in the form of triglycerides.
When we do not eat for many hours, we observe the depletion of glucose reserves and resort to fats (triglycerides) as an energy source. Triglycerides are first converted into free fatty acids and then converted by the liver into ketone bodies, which provide energy to the cells.
Under "normal" conditions, plasma levels of ketone bodies are low, but 8-12 hours after the start of fasting they gradually increase. The body is able to use ketone bodies as the main fuel for most organs, starting with the brain.
This "metabolic switch" has numerous health benefits, not only related to weight loss.
First of all, there is an improvement in blood glucose, a reduction in the inflammatory response
and an improvement in risk factors (blood lipid level, blood pressure heart rate) associated with obesity and diabetes. Furthermore, according to recent research, fasting promotes the maintenance of brain health and may have a protective role against neurodegenerative diseases towards neurodegenerative diseases.
How to apply intermittent fasting
In the eight hours during which you feed, you can consume almost any food. Preference should be given to
low-calorie foods such as meat, fish, eggs, limit simple sugars and choose those with a low glycaemic index, such as bread, pasta, rice and whole-grain cereals, pulses, dried and fresh, good fats such as extra virgin olive oil or clarified butter (ghi) which is composed of medium-chain triglycerides that promote fat breakdown.
Of course, one should not binge on food during the 8-hour period, but take the right amount of calories according to one's needs, divided into 3 meals, caloric intake in accordance with one's needs, divided into three meals.
During the 16 hours of fasting, any food should be avoided. Instead, it is essential to hydrate.
Instead, it is essential to hydrate well with water, tea, herbal teas and coffee, of course without sweetening with sugar, honey or other substitutes.
Limitations of intermittent fasting
There are, however, a number of obstacles in implementing this diet programme.
Especially in the beginning, there is a drastic change in one's lifestyle and dietary habits; a person may find it difficult to cope with feelings of hunger, irritability and problems with concentration that may occur in the first few weeks. For this reason, it is essential be followed up by an expert who may, for example, decide to proceed step by step to reach the goal of 16-18 hours of fasting per day.
Moreover, such a diet is not suitable for everyone, such as children or young people in the growing phase, pregnant women, the elderly or people with chronic illnesses. And it should, in in any case, followed for a limited period of time.
Intermittent fasting "has ignited considerable" media enthusiasm' but it is important to avoid 'do-it-yourself', even though this diet protocol is supported by favourable scientific literature favourable.
(Article by Dr. Della Bianca Maddalena)
