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Intermittent Fasting: You Should Try It This Month

Whether you are trying to lose weight or improve your overall health, intermittent fasting can help you in more ways that you can imagine. For most people, the word “fasting” is a big turnoff. Fasting is not a punishment or something reserved for religious purposes like Ramadan. You can gain a lot if you are willing to take the challenge. If you are ready to give intermittent fasting a try, there are so many health benefits you can enjoy.

What is Intermittent Fasting Anyway?

Intermittent Fasting is a type of fasting done in a very strategic way. It involves cycling between periods of eating and fasting. This type of fasting is mostly recommended for people that are trying to lose weight. However, it should be noted that the benefits of intermittent fasting extend beyond just weight loss.

A study in Cell Metabolism showed that intermittent fasting can reduce the risk of diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and aging. It should be noted that these are health problems that most people try to avoid. This study proved that you can reduce your chances of suffering from these health problems through intermittent fasting.

According to the author of this study Valtor Longo, Ph.D., intermittent fasting is very effective because it allows the cells that are already compromised to die and turns on the stem cells which leading to starting of the regeneration process that gives rise to new, younger and more efficient cells.

Other studies have proved other benefits of fasting which include a decrease in “bad” cholesterol otherwise known as “low-density lipoprotein (LDL)”. In this article, you will learn about top benefits of intermittent fasting and why you should try it:

Top Health Benefits of Intermittent Fasting:

  1. Helps Weight Loss

Intermittent fasting is mostly recommended for weight loss. In fact, over 80% of people that engages in intermittent fasting do it with the objective of losing as much weight as possible.

When you engage in intermittent fasting, it promotes weight loss by forcing your body to burn more fat. It also forces the body to use the fat that is already stored as fuel. According to a 2015 study, intermittent fasting can reduce body weight by up to 7% and reduce body fat by up to 12 pounds.

  1. Promotes Healthy Heart

According to a new study, intermittent fasting helps to keep the heart healthy be reducing certain risk factors that cause heart disease. This study further showed that intermittent fasting can increase HDL cholesterol while at the same time decrease triglyceride levels and bad LDL cholesterol.

  1. Improves Blood Sugar Level

Having a high blood sugar level is a big problem for men and women. When we eat food, the carbohydrates in our food are broken down into glucose, which is sugar. However, this sugar is supposed to be transported into the bloodstream by insulin to be used as energy. However, in a case where you have diabetes, the insulin doesn’t always work perfectly which causes high blood sugar level.

A new study showed that you can better control and prevent your blood sugar level from spiking with intermittent fasting. You will also be able to avoid other problems such as fatigue and frequent urination that is caused by high blood sugar when you engage in intermittent fasting.

  1. Help To Reduce Inflammation

We mostly have inflammation as a normal immune response to injury. However, studies have shown that some inflammation can cause problems such as obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and even cancer.

A 2015 study published in Nutrition Research showed that some Muslims who were observed during Ramadan fasting were able to decrease their levels of inflammatory markers during this period.

  1. Improves Brain Function

Intermittent fasting in addition to the benefits listed above also helps to protect your brain. A new study showed that you can be able to improve your cognitive function with intermittent fasting. It does not stop there, this study also showed that you can better protect against changes in memory with intermittent fasting.

This activity will help you to reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease.

Conclusion

There is no doubt that intermittent fasting can help you achieve a lot of benefits. Today, there are different types of intermittent fasting such as 16/8 fasting, eat-stop-eat fasting, 5:2 Diet and more. To gain the full benefits of this exercise, you have to choose the type of fasting that you are comfortable with. If you are suffering from any health problem, you may need to talk with your doctor before you start intermittent fasting.

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