Facts 101: Intermittent Fasting

Being in the 21st century requires that you remain updated with the current trends. Indeed, the world is now a global village. Social media has made it easy to know what is happening around the world. With a click of the button, you can access people you will likely not meet during your lifetime. Understanding that technology has made it easier to interact and even conduct business makes the experience more exciting. I believe this is why essay writing services have flourished. People can communicate regardless of their location. Talking about trends, intermittent fasting has taken over the world of fitness and health. Now more than ever, people are using this method to achieve their health goals. This is either losing weight or just adopting a healthy lifestyle.

 

When it comes to fitness and wellness, there are different concepts that people can adopt. What works for you might necessarily work for the next person. With some of the research papers I have read on fitness, every method is effective. The catch, however, is every individual needs to find what works for them. I can’t imagine skipping my meals (no judgment). Also, I feel that my body structure works to my advantage. It takes a while before I can gain substantial weight. But that aside, many people are on record saying that this technique worked for them. Kourtney Kardashian, Hugh Jackman, and Jennifer Aniston are some of the celebrities who swear by intermittent fasting. For Kourtney Kardashian, this was how she managed to lose the baby weight and clear her skin.

 

So what is intermittent fasting?

Intermittent fasting is a pattern that revolves around eating and fasting. No rules or policies dictate the process you intend to take. The specification is primarily on when you should consume food. Studies show that intermittent fasting is not just a losing weight strategy or the ticket to gain mass. It is the ability to understand and manipulate our metabolism. By undertaking intermittent fasting, you are training your body to be more efficient than usual. The body benefits from fasting. These are things that we might not experience when we are always consuming something.

 

The science behind intermittent fasting

When you are well-fed, individual cells in the body are at the growth phase. Pathways responsible for mTOR and insulin processes will trigger active cell growth, division, and protein synthesis. You have to be careful, though because these same pathways can cause cancer growth when overactive. Well-fed cells have many genes, like cellular proliferation and cellular survival turned on. So what happens is some genes are turned on when you are not fasting. Also, some genes are turned off.  The genes I am talking about include those related to damage repair, stress resistance, and fat metabolism.

 

When you are fasting the body reacts based on its surroundings. In the case of low food availability, the body changes the expression of genes. These are genes that are essential in protecting the body from such kind of stress. Our bodies are programmed to adjust to the starvation program. With intermittent fasting, you activate the 5’ AMP-activated protein kinase. It’s responsible for triggering the self-protective mode. Also, it enables fat breakdowns in the body.  The ketones released as you fast function as deacetylase inhibitors. Such inhibitors are responsible for damage repair and antioxidant activities.

 

What are some of the conventional methods?

You can divide your week or days into eating and fasting periods. Depending on your reasons for intermittent fasting, you can eat something or completely fast. So here are some of the popular methods I know about.

• Eat-stop-eat. With this method, you have a 24hour window to fast. This can be once or twice a week.
• 5:2 system. The 5:2 process requires that you only eat 500-600 calories. This is only for two random days of the week. The catch is you can eat normally for the remaining five days.
• 16/8 technique. Popularly known as the Leangains method. With this technique, you skip the breakfast routine. The eating schedule is now restricted to eight hours. Then fast for the 16 hours in between.

What happens to your body when you fast?

Just from the scientific view, a lot happens to your body on a molecular or cellular view.

1. Cell repairs. When you fast, your cells will immediately begin the cellular repair process. Autophagy is a classic example of how much your body changes. This is where the cells digest and eliminate dysfunctional and old proteins that accumulate in the cells.
2. Gene expression. Here the changes are linked to gene function. These are aspects related to disease protection and longevity.
3. Low levels of insulin ensure that stored body fat is accessible.
4. Human growth hormone. When you fast, the levels of growth hormones multiply fivefold. With such changes, you can expect muscle gain or fat loss.