Recent research has shown that this pattern of eating has some major health benefits including reduced inflammation, improved heart health, slowed aging and sustainable weight loss.

What is intermittent fasting?

Intermittent fasting is a timed approach to eating. It is also known as “time-restricted eating”.  It’s an eating plan that requires you to cycle between periods of eating and fasting. It can look a little different depending on the style of IF that you do.

IF has a multitude of health benefits because it gives your digestive system a break and allows an essential reset of the body. It can drastically improve metabolic outcomes in patients while preserving muscle mass and function.

Top 7 health benefits of intermittent fasting:

1. Stimulates weight loss

   IF promotes simultaneous reductions in insulin and increases in growth hormone, both of which force the body to switch to burning its fat stores for energy. The result is significant weight loss. Additionally, IF typically results in fewer calories consumed, which can also contribute to weight loss yet a preservation of muscle mass. Fasting is also good for metabolism. Even short-term fasting has been shown to increase basal metabolic rate (Source).

2. Decreases insulin resistance

   Type 2 Diabetes has become increasingly predominant in today’s society. The cause of diabetes is often insulin resistance. IF has been shown to have major benefits on fixing insulin resistance, lowering hemoglobin A1C levels and reducing blood glucose levels. IF helps the body burn off excess sugar that is stored in the body. Research has shown that therapeutic fasting strategies have been successful in lowering blood glucose levels in patients and getting patients off of insulin medication (Source).

   An important thing to note: if you are on anti-diabetic medication, be sure to discuss with your doctor before beginning any fasting regimen.

3. Prevents cardiovascular disease

   There are many established health benefits of IF on heart health. IF has been shown to improve numerous cardiac risk factors such as blood pressure, inflammation, blood triglyceride levels, cholesterol levels, and blood sugar levels.

   It has also been shown to improve cardiomyopathy and heart rate variability, making it an effective dietary therapy for cardiovascular health.

4. Improves brain health

   IF is also good for your brain. It balances metabolic markers that contribute to neurodegenerative disorders like dementia. IF has been shown to successfully lower inflammation, reduce oxidative stress, decrease blood glucose and eliminate insulin resistance, all of which are the major risk factors for deterioration of brain health. Additionally, IF has been shown to increase brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a protein that protects brain cells and repairs damaged ones.

5. Heals leaky gut syndrome

   Fasting lets the digestive system rest and ultimately restore itself. During this regeneration phase, the body is able to work on restoring the integrity of the intestinal wall (which equates to healing leaky gut). When the process of digestion is put on hold, the body can use this time to work on healing other biochemical processes in the body. Giving your gut a break is a healthy thing to do each day to prevent or heal leaky gut syndrome.

6. Optimizes your immune system

   IF triggers stem-cell based regeneration of essential immune cells by shifting them from a dormant state to a state of renewal. During prolonged fasting, the body breaks down white blood cells. This regenerates newer, healthier immune cells and is key to boosting immunity. In fact, IF has become referred to as a molecular “regenerative switch”. Regular fasting also protects against immune system damage.

7. Achieves autophagy

   Autophagy is a self-cleaning cellular process that clears out damaged, dysfunctional cells and stimulates the creation of new, healthy ones. It is an essential waste removal process by cells. Autophagy is key for slowing aging and promoting longevity. Increased autophagy is imperative for protecting the body against chronic disease. IF stimulates decreased insulin levels and increased autophagy. It should be noted that autophagy is typically accomplished with longer fasts such as those that last 24-48 hours. Most experts agree you won’t start seeing bigger benefits like autophagy until you reach the 24-hour fast mark.

What are the different types of intermittent fasting?

The most common types of IF that are utilized include:

• 16/8 method

  For most individuals, somewhere between 14-18 hours is the ideal daily fasting window to reap health benefits. This 16/8 method is one of the easiest types to implement. It involves fasting for 16 hours (typically after dinner until lunch the next day) and eating within a constricted 8-hour time window.

• 5:2 method

  This method involves eating normally for five days of the week and restricting calories to a maximum of 500 calories per day for two days of the week. For example, on your two “fasting” days, you could eat two small meals per day (at 250 calories per meal). 

• Alternative day method

  This type of restricted eating plan focuses on fasting every other day. There are different variations of this with some methods allowing for minimal calorie intake on fasting days (i.e. 500 calories or less) and some calling for a complete avoidance of all calories. Typically, the fast begins after dinner one day and continues until dinner the next day to amount to a 24 hour fast. 

• A weekly full day fast

  The full day fast can be done 1-2 days per week for health purposes. It involves an avoidance of food for 24 hours straight. This method is also called the Eat-Stop-Eat method. It can be difficult for many people, so often it is something to work up to by starting with 14-16 hours of fasting.

Interestingly, switching up your fasting plan can also be beneficial to your health. 12 hours seems to be the minimum amount of time required to achieve a successful and beneficial fast that impacts health in a positive way.  

Should I take any supplements in conjunction with intermittent fasting?

While intermittent fasting is healthy, one should also ensure adequate nutrition to avoid deficiencies. A good multivitamin is essential to take in conjunction with IF to ensure proper vitamin and mineral support. Nutrients are more easily depleted during fasts, especially prolonged fasts. Additionally, it is good to ensure proper amino acid (protein) intake.

We recommend our Daily Defense shake, which is a complete protein and contains all the essential components of a multivitamin. Take 2 scoops daily (during the eating portion of your fast), or as directed by your physician.

Otherwise, if your protein intake is adequate during your IF regimen, then a quality multivitamin would suffice and cover your bases. For our multivitamin, take 4 capsules daily with food or as directed by your physician.

Anything else I should know about IF before I begin?

• Be sure to drink enough quality water (minerals) daily to support IF.
• During your fast, you will be able to drink water, tea, or black coffee. Some fasting methods also allow for bone broth to sip on.
• Again, ensure adequate protein intake while doing IF.
• Always take a multivitamin supplement to ensure adequate vitamin and mineral support.
• Check with your doctor if you are on specific anti-diabetic medications to prevent hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) while doing an IF method.
• Also, be sure to check with your doctor if you’re on any other medication to verify IF is okay with your plan.
• There are so many benefits to fasting. IF makes your life simpler and it helps you live longer!

The post 7 Heart Benefits of Intermittent Fasting appeared first on TDW.

Watch as cardiologist Dr. Jack Wolfson shares why intermittent fasting helps your heart health.

By watching this video you will learn:

• The heart health benefits of intermittent fasting
• The three common ways to fast
• Common fasting schedules
• Intermittent fasting dos and don’ts

Transcript of this video:

Hey, it’s Dr. Jack Wolfson, cardiologist, and I want to talk to you about Intermittent Fasting is Heart Healthy.

Intermittent fasting is sweeping the nation. Whether you are on Paleo or you are going Vegan, or you are on Keto, intermittent fasting is heart healthy.

And let me tell you a little more about it.

So, fasting does not mean eating fast food. That’s obvious. And here these guys were from biblical times and they understood the importance of fasting even back then.

In the Jewish religion they do a 24 hour fast on Yom Kippur, the day of atonement, where they drink no water and eat no food.

I’m not into that and I will tell you the best ways to fast as we come up.

But Ramadan, different religions have different fasting methods, so it’s been done for millennia.

Cardiac benefits of intermittent fasting.

I know this is exhaustive but that’s the cool thing is that fasting does so many fantastic things to your body.

And let’s just kinda run down some of these things.

Weight loss. Lowers blood pressure. Lowers inflammation. Improves blood sugar. Improves lung function.

The bottom left there. Decreased smooth muscle cell proliferation. So, coronary artery disease has to do a lot with those muscle cells inside of the arteries actually expanding and lead to more inflammation and more recruitment of unhealthy cells. So, let’s avoid that.

In the center, lowers total cholesterol. Lower LDL cholesterol. Increase LDL size, which is good. Increased HDL number and the key here, HDL function improves with intermittent fasting. HDL function is really one of the holy grails to cardiac health.

And then of course, lower triglycerides.

Increase heart rate variability. Top right. Heart rate variability – the higher your heart rate variability is, the lower your risk of dying. That’s good news.

More markers and hormones that have to do with inflammation. Parasympathetic tone helps keep your heart rate nice and slow. Balances off sympathetic and parasympathetic balance.

Increased endothelial function. When the lining of your blood vessels, those cells that line them functions better, blood flows better including to those areas that are so important to men. Wink-wink.

And also to women. Wink-wink.

So, decreased arterial stiffness. Those are the benefits of intermittent fasting.

Now talking about male and female hormones, fasting interestingly enough lowers testosterone, lowers sexual desire, and lowers frequency of intercourse. Not a lot of literature on this but I guess I would say the most likely reason is that if you are fasting, your body is in repair mode, it’s in a mode where it is biologically it would know that the answer is not “hey, I’m looking to find a mate and have intercourse or procreate. I need to find food. I’m hungry.”

And that is the beauty of intermittent fasting. It allows just a total resetting of the system, of the body.

So, there’s different types of fasts. I’m not going to go into everything here. But I think these are kind of the main ones.

Water fasting. Juice fasting. And as I mentioned before, there is religious-type fasts.

I think water and juice fasting are a great way to go.

There is three options that I would start people off at.

Maybe you kinda want to ease your way into it with a 16 hour fast. So, in that scenario you would skip breakfast for example. Therefore, you’d go from dinner the night before and then you would not eat until lunch the following day. If you skip the dinner you have lunch and then you skip the dinner and your next meal would be breakfast.

I like breaking any type of fast with a Greens Drink. Either a fresh greens or a reconstituted organic powdered drink.

Twenty-four hour fast. This is certainly very common. Dinner to dinner. So, Saturday night is your last meal. You do not have breakfast on Sunday, lunch on Sunday and then you have dinner on Sunday night.

But my personal favorite is the 36 hour fast. Saturday night is your last meal. And then you have nothing all day on Sunday, nothing on Sunday night, and then finally you break it with a healthy Greens Drink on Monday morning.

Tips for fasting.

You’ve got to relax. You have to relax. No work. No stress. Light activity. You can go outside for a walk or maybe a mild bike ride but nothing heavy.

My favorite thing of course while fasting is massage. Massage. Massage.

Take a nap, if you would also. Take a nap is fantastic. That’s letter “e.”

Then, you want to drink quality water or the organic juice. Aim for one point five gallons of water per day. Just drink as much water and you are going to find that you want something, you’re used to eating something and you’re used to drinking so you are going to be thirsty and you’re going to be drinking a lot.

Plan on urinating a lot also during the night. It’s one thing that I find is that when I’m drinking a lot of water it obviously stands to reason that you urinate a lot. But certainly, at night time it really collects.

Otherwise, if you are juicing, once again this is not a diet, so you can drink as much fresh greens juice as you would like. You can make your own juice. You can buy the juice pre-packaged hopefully in glass and not plastic. You can use some kind of reconstituted powder.

So, that is my tips for fasting and heart healthy cardiac fasting, which is so tremendous for your heart health.

Talk with your doctor. Talk with your holistic provider. Send us an email. Let us know what you think over at TheDrsWolfson.com.

The post Is Intermittent Fasting Good for Your Heart? (Video) appeared first on TDW.