Intermittent fasting may at first seem just another fad, but science says there could be more to this way of eating. A study assessing the evidence from both animal and human studies concluded intermittent fasting could help slow or even reverse the signs of aging. On top of this help reduce the effects of many chronic diseases like diabetes, obesity and heart disease and neurodegenerative brain diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.
When you eat your body produces free radicals which cause oxidative stress and damage to your body. Eating is a huge factor which is both keeping us alive and killing us at the same time. The ways intermittent fasting does this is complex but can be broken down into three main components:
Fasting Period
After a fast lasting between 8-12 hours your body switches into using fat as a main fuel through use of fatty acids and ketones. Your body goes into ‘super drive’ with improved function of the energy creating part of your cells known as mitochondria and improvements to how your body can remove oxidative stress, one primary cause of aging and disease.
The ability of your body to stay healthy through use of antioxidant defenses has been shown to improve over a fast. While inflammation and the amount of protein your body creates reduces. The ability of your body to use glucose as a fuel and the ‘management hormone’ insulin ability to work increases with fasting.
The cells in your body which have become damaged are also effectively removed in this time, a key factor in reducing disease and aging. If you are eager to enhance these effects exercising while fasted increases these responses in your body.
Lifestyle Change
The key to reaping the health benefits of intermittent fasting is by taking on intermittent fasting as a lifestyle. Over time, your body’s ability to switch from using glucose to fat as a fuel source improves, a process called metabolic flexibility. The ability of your body to use glucose as a fuel also improves, an important factor in reducing disease risk from diabetes.
Research has shown improvement in mental ability, physical performance and ability to ward off disease compounds. Specifically, your body may show improvements in heart rate, reduction in accumulation of fat around the belly and improvement to endurance levels. The level of improvement is further enhanced when combined with a lifestyle of regular exercise.
Take home message: There is a smorgasbord of intermittent varieties available to try and the key to reaping the health benefits is to stick to the one which you can maintain for the long term.
Reference:
- de Cabo R, Mattson MP. Effects of Intermittent Fasting on Health, Aging, and Disease. The New England journal of medicine. 2019;381(26):2541-51.
