As we discussed in Part 2, fasting allows the body to work more efficiently by entering into metabolic phenomenons such as ketosis, hormesis, and autophagy, thus, resulting in decreased inflammation and fat loss. The benefits don't stop here though.
History lesson :P
Humans have been fasting for medical reasons for centuries. In the 5th century BC, Hippocrates recommended that his patients abstain from eating or drinking for periods of time if they had certain illnesses or illnesses that needed time and space to heal on their own. Additionally, the famous healer, Paracelsus, also wrote about fasting as a great remedy, referring to it as "the physician within."
Catching up to the 1900s, fasting was used for convulsive disorders (seizures and the like) as early as the 1910s. In the 1915s, short bouts of fasting were used in the treatment of obesity. Now in modern times, fasting is studied as a potential to treat and prevent diseases such as hypertension, hyperlipidemia, diabetes, asthma, chronic pain, metabolic syndrome, obesity, and autoimmune diseases.
Fasting and heart health
Heart disease kills more than 600,000 Americans every year and costs the U.S. hundreds of billions of dollars annually. (Thanks to our sedentary, low-nutrient, and high-stress lifestyles.) IF, though, has proven to be beneficial when it comes to heart disease risk factors such as cholesterol, triglyceride, and blood pressure levels.
Studies have demonstrated that time-restricted feeding led to increased levels of HDL ('good' cholesterol) and lower levels of LDL ('bad' cholesterol). How you ask? As we discussed in Part 2, when the body is fasting and runs out of glucose and glycogen to use for energy, it pulls from the fat storage. Well, this LDL, 'bad' cholesterol, hangs out in fat cells and is used for energy, thus ridding it from the system, and lowering the LDL levels in the body.
Triglycerides are also stored in your fat cells. Triglycerides are a storage unit for energy, from the unused glucose in your blood after you eat. If you regularly eat more calories (glucose) than you can burn off, your triglyceride levels are likely high. And this puts you at risk for arteriosclerosis, which puts you at risk for heart attack, stroke, peripheral artery disease, pancreatitis, and fatty liver disease. A study in Liverpool showed that IF reduced triglyceride levels by 40% after meals compared to a conventional calorie-restricted diet.
AMAZING RIGHT?? Screw statins and their liver-damaging side effects!!
Fasting and diabetes
The CDC estimates that about 50% of the U.S. population is either pre-diabetic or diabetic 🥴. And about 90-95% of cases are type 2 adult-onset diabetes, which means that this is all lifestyle-related and 100% PREVENTABLE.
As also discussed previously, IF has the ability to reduce insulin resistance. A study from the University of Alabama compared two groups of pre-diabetic men, one group with a daily eating window of 8 hours and the second group with an eating window of 12 hours. The results showed that while both groups maintained the same weight after 5 weeks, the 8-hour eating window group had dramatically lowered insulin levels and significantly improved insulin sensitivity.
In another study on 16 people, fasting every other day for 22 days was linked to a 57% decrease in fasting insulin levels.
AND another study in the scientific journal, Nutrients, showed that eating only between 8 am and 2 pm, improved glycemic control by lowering 24-hour glucose levels and reducing blood sugar spikes.
8-hour eating window? Fasting every other day? These are small, sustainable changes that can allow many patients to lower or even come off their diabetic medications. Ask your PCP about it!!
Fasting and cancer
So we know that IF can fend off chronic inflammation, which means that it can protect against many inflammation-related diseases such as psoriasis, asthma, and IBS. These diseases are caused by an overreactive inflammatory immune response in the body. So much so, that it can't deal with real threats such as bacteria and viruses. But IF is shown to reduce inflammation and chronic inflammatory diseases without affecting the immune system's response to acute infections.
Not only is fasting beneficial to the immune system, but it is also increasingly showing evidence for reducing the risk of developing cancer. See some of the stats on cancer below:
Fasting for more than 13 hours per night was linked to a decreased risk of breast cancer recurrence
This can be because of the improved regulation of blood sugar and sleep or the clearing out toxins in damaged cells that fasting does
Fasting can increase the efficacy of chemotherapy and reduce its many side effects
10 patients who fasted in combination with chemo stated it was feasible and said it reduced a wide range of side effects
Many types of cancer cells are famously relying on sugar in extremely vulnerable to nutrient deprivation
With fasting, cancer cells suffer when you burn fat because they can’t feel themselves with an abundance of glucose hanging around in your blood
Didn't learn any of that in nursing school!!
Fasting and mental health
We often think of mental health conditions as a chemical imbalance in the brain, but inflammation may actually be the underlying driver of this subsequent imbalance.
Inflammation has the potential to trigger depression, exacerbate it, and even be its root clause
Anti-depressants have been shown to decrease inflammation, so, that may be an unknown mechanism in which we see this health improvement
The answer that could explain the rise in depression and anxiety disorders can be from an inflammatory immune response in the brain
Inflammation can damage the blood-brain barrier (BBB) which keeps harmful toxins in inflammatory signals out
Chronic stress and depression are associated with the loss of integrity of the BBB, allowing it to become leaky and which lets forbidden substances to pass through, in turn, over-activating the brain's immune cells
Fasting stimulates anti-inflammatory hormones, thus lowering overall inflammation in the body, including the brain
Studies have found an interesting link between depression and mitochondrial diseases
Mitochondria help regulate brain function and an alteration in mitochondrial function may increase oxidative stress and cell death and ultimately caused depressive symptoms
A huge part of fasting is, we are teaching the mitochondria to rely on both fat and sugar for fuel which makes mitochondria more productive and healthier
Fasting has also been shown to prevent and slow down the progression of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s
Fasting increases the ability of brain cells to resist stress and stimulate autophagy, boosting mitochondrial function, antioxidant defenses, increasing stem cells, and DNA repair, and also due to the use of ketones as fuel in the brain.
IF also increases the levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and supports neural plasticity (making new brain cells)
Remember hearing that the brain cells you were born with are the only ones you'll ever have in your lifetime? Yep, that's a myth.
Fasting decreases levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines
Cytokines play an important role in cognitive processes at the molecular level and can disrupt learning memory mood and attention
This post is just tipping the iceberg on IF and disease prevention. I could've written so much more! But, if you want to learn more about the amazing benefits of fasting, I highly suggest you read the book below!!
References:
Cole, W., & Lidicker, G. (2021). Intuitive fasting: The flexible four-week intermittent fasting plan to recharge your metabolism and renew your health. Yellow Kite.
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