Intermittent fasting has been getting much more popular in the West during the last few years but has been followed in many cultures globally for centuries. Whether you are performing such fasting due to weight loss, religious practice, or cleansing your body, intermittent fasting is here to stay. People are beginning to understand the importance it has on their lifestyle choices. Especially now that most of our work is performed while sitting. So, if you are on the fence about trying this excellent healthy lifestyle technique, here are the top 10 benefits you must know.

 

1. Changes Bodily Functions

Among several things that happen in your body while you are fasting, here are some critical changes to note.

·         Insulin Levels – It drops significantly in your blood, allowing your body to burn fats more efficiently.

·         HGH Levels – Regular fasting allows your body to produce more human growth hormones for muscle gain and fat burning.

·         Cellular Repair – By helping to remove waste material from the cells, your body can initiate the repair process faster.

·         Gene Expression – Your body can enhance the importance of living longer and minimizing diseases because of a strong immune system.

2. Losing Weight

Most practitioners choose to perform intermittent fasting, IF, to lose weight, especially if they are obese. Though short-term studies have shown that up to 13% weight loss is possible, long-term studies debate if it is sustainable. Nonetheless, it helps the individual to stop eating unhealthy foods during their fasting periods and helps them control their cravings.

Furthermore, you can try different iterations of IF, such as alternate day IF, where you fast every other day. So, if you mix exercise on your non-fast days, you can speed up your weight loss goals.

 

3. Lowers the Risk of Diabetes

While more studies are required, IF shows promising results to help reduce the risks of diabetes. IF allows your body to remove toxins, train the body to rely less on carbs and fast energy sources, and you don't overeat if trained through IF regimens. No matter which study you follow or believe, it is always better to increase visits to your physician to keep check.

 

4. Ketosis

When you want to achieve ketosis, IF is the best way to do it, as it trains your body to achieve these pathways faster. The prime reason is that lower amounts of insulin in the blood cause your body to search for energy sources. So, during IF, your body will extract energy from fats, which is now embedded in your neural network. The process of unlocking this new pathway is called ketosis.

 

5. Improved Heart Health

Several markers intimate about your heart’s health, and these are critical as heart diseases are now one of the highest death reasons in the US. With the help of IF, these indicators or risk factors are minimized. So whether it’s blood pressure or blood sugar levels, IF helps reduce their risk.

 

6. Reduction in Inflammation

Many people suffer from inflammation in their bodies, not just the heart, due to their daily calorie intake. For those individuals who feel regularly this way, they have performed better when they do IF. Studies have followed those who do IF and have seen lower levels of inflammation indicators in the body.

A recent study performed and followed Muslims during the month of Ramadan, where the fast during the day resulted in fewer pro-inflammatory markers and much lower than regular instances. They also observed lower body weight, blood pressure levels, and reduced body fat.

 

7. Improved Brain Health

Many different studies performed on animals showed increased learning and enhanced brain functions during IF timings. Furthermore, these studies showed lesser inflammation in these animals’ brains, improving their neurological conditions.

The lower inflammation and lesser fat consumption allow the individual to think more clearly and stay fresh longer.

8. Anit Aging or Autophagy

Autophagy is a cellular process that cleans up the cell structure by consuming damaged parts and repairing what is left. It has been observed that fasting helps increase this process's potency.

This has been actively observed in animals in various studies, and it is promising to see that it may also benefit humans. Autophagy is also heavily linked with other organs and their health, so IF can further enhance the health and life of organs such as kidneys, heart, brain, etc.

 

9. Lowering Cholesterol

Most of the time, cholesterol levels are linked with heart diseases, which is true, but it has other harmful effects on our daily lives. With the help of IF, individuals can lower the LDL amount, which is considered bad cholesterol. Not just that, several other cardiometabolic health indicators, such as blood pressure, are also improved.

LDL is also associated with stroke, so the lower the amount of LDL through IF, the lesser the chances of having a stroke. This is a lesser chance due to the reduced amounts of triglycerides in your body.

 

10. Healthy Lifestyle

When you reduce as many aspects of lousy health when performing IF, you will live healthier. You will have more ready energy to perform tasks and chores during the day, which you usually wouldn't be able to do before.

Improved health through IF will allow for better and longer sleep, giving you a fresh start in the morning. Furthermore, if you sleep better at night, your body can repair itself better, increasing your health.

 

Final Thoughts

Now that most interaction and work ethics have gone digital in our lives, you don't need to move around that much. This work interaction has caused human beings to have a more sedentary lifestyle where a healthy lifestyle is critical.

IF is one of the best ways to keep living a healthy and full life if you don’t have time to  exercise. It is better to eat a lesser amount of calories than you can expend.

Now that you know some great benefits of IF, you should research what IF method best suits your lifestyle. Start off slow and incorporate more exercise along with it.