Top 5 benefits of Intermittent Fasting

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 1. Intermittent Fasting Changes The Function of Cells, Genes and Hormones

When you don’t eat for a while, several things happen in your body. For example, your body initiates important cellular repair processes and changes hormone levels to make stored body fat more accessible.

Here are some of the changes that occur in your body during fasting: 

  • Insulin levels: Blood levels of insulin drop significantly, which facilitates fat burning.
  • Human growth hormone: The blood levels of growth hormone may increase as much as 5-fold. Higher levels of this hormone facilitate fat burning and muscle gain, and have numerous other benefits.
  • Cellular repair: The body induces important cellular repair processes, such as removing waste material from cells 
  • Gene expression: There are beneficial changes in several genes and molecules related to longevity and protection against disease 

Many of the benefits of intermittent fasting are related to these changes in hormones, gene expression and function of cells.



2. Intermittent fasting can help you lose weight and belly fat

Intermittent fasting enhances hormone function to facilitate weight loss.

Lower insulin levels, higher growth hormone levels and increased amounts of norepinephrine (noradrenaline) all increase the breakdown of body fat and facilitate its use for energy.

For this reason, short-term fasting actually increases your metabolic rate by 3.6-14%, helping you burn even more calories.

In other words, intermittent fasting works on both sides of the calorie equation. It boosts your metabolic rate (increases calories out) and reduces the amount of food you eat (reduces calories in).



3. Intermittent fasting can Reduce Insulin Resistance and Lower your risk for type 2 Diabetes 

Type 2 diabetes has become incredibly common in recent decades.

Its main feature is high blood sugar levels in the context of insulin resistance.

Anything that reduces insulin resistance should help lower blood sugar levels and protect against type 2 diabetes.

What this implies, is that intermittent fasting may be highly protective for people who are at risk of developing type 2 diabetes.



4. Intermittent fasting can reduce Oxidative Stress and Inflammation in the Body 

Oxidative stress is one of the steps towards aging and many chronic diseases.

It involves unstable molecules called free radicals, which react with other important molecules (like protein and DNA) and damage them.

It has been proven that intermittent fasting may enhance the body’s resistance to oxidative stress.

Additionally, studies show that intermittent fasting can help fight inflammation, another key driver of all sorts of common diseases.



5. Intermittent Fasting Induces Various Cellular Repair Processes

When we fast, the cells in the body initiate a cellular “waste removal” process called autophagy.

This involves the cells breaking down and metabolizing broken and dysfunctional proteins that build up inside cells over time.

Increased autophagy may provide protection against several diseases, including cancer and Alzheimer’s disease.

In other words, fasting triggers a metabolic pathway called autophagy, which removes waste material from cells. 



Learning the importance of fasting and the benefits thereof opens the mind in a way. Remember that you are much stronger than what you think you are, when you decide to fast, make that commitment and see it through. You can do it!

 

Marilette Barabara van Heerden 

Michele Reynolds 

“Fasting is like spring cleaning for your body.” By Jentezen Franklin 



 

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