Intermittent Fasting: Evidenced based findings reveal health benefits far exceed basic weight loss
As the intermittent fasting diet continues to gain momentum, potential health benefits have peaked researcher’s interest as well. Researchers have uncovered that not only are dieters successful losing weight, intermittent fasting’s significant health benefits could possibly prolong and improve quality of life.
Why is intermittent fasting a potential game changer?
Intermittent fasting could have profound effects on brain health.
Based on animal studies, researchers concluded that intermittent fasting can possibly delay onset and slow the progression of neuronal dysfunction and degeneration in animal models of Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Huntington’s diseases. In a study examining mice and rats placed on the intermittent fasting diet, researchers observed an increase in the protection of neurons against the accumulation of beta-amyloid plaques, a known culprit of Alzheimer’s disease. Intermittent fasting also promoted healthier neural connections in the hippocampus, the part of the brain that regulates emotion, dictates spatial reasoning, and memory.
Intermittent fasting increases the miraculous process of autophagy.
Autophagy, literally means “self-eating”. Yes, this sounds disgusting. Nevertheless, it is actually one of the most amazing processes our body performs and is essential for good health. Autophagy occurs on the cellular level by cleaning out the body’s damaged and defective cells and regenerating new healthy cells. Even more astounding, while autophagy removes toxic materials from cells, the process recycles bits of these defective cells and uses them to repair and clean others. Imagine autophagy as the body’s natural Roomba. Autophagy is considered by researchers to be key in preventing autoimmune disease, cancer, neurodegeneration, cardiomyopathy, diabetes, liver disease, and infection.
Intermittent fasting can reduce inflammation and oxidative stress.
Inflammation is the predominant symptom in several diseases many of us suffer from, especially autoimmune disorders. Human studies revealed that intermittent fasting reduced inflammation and oxidative stress. In simple terms, oxidative stress is the imbalance between the production of free radicals and the body’s ability to detoxify their harmful effects by using antioxidants to neutralize them. Long-term oxidative stress damages the cells, proteins, and DNA. It is linked to serious disease and that word we hate to hear…..AGING.
Promising studies are presently underway examining and establishing the health benefits of intermittent fasting. Intermittent fasting isn’t for everyone. For some fasting can be too strenuous and produce undesired results. Certainly, consult your doctor if you are considering it. If you do decide to try intermittent fasting, please let us know about your experiences! During non-fasting hours our products are a delicious and healthy option. We’d love to hear from you!
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5411330/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6194375/