Intermittent fasting is a very popular fitness trend nowadays. Studies show that it helps you to not only lose weight and stay fit, but it can also positively impact your life and even make your life longer.

Bright Side decided to do some research on this topic and figure out what intermittent fasting is and how it works. We were really impressed by what we found and are excited to share the information with you.

What is intermittent fasting?
Intermittent fasting is an eating pattern where the period of eating and the period of fasting trade off in shifts. It’s not a diet since it doesn’t change what you eat, but instead, it changes when you eat.

Unlike diets, fasting is very natural for all living things, even human beings. People were fasting thousands of years ago since in the past, food wasn’t always readily available and wasn’t a guaranteed resource. That being the case, our bodies are actually very well adapted to fasting.

And even today, many of the major religions practice fasting in different forms with many people following them and feeling great.

Based on all of this information, we conclude that fasting is less stressful on our bodies than many diets are.

How does it work?
To put it simply, when you eat, your body spends a few hours processing the food you’ve recently consumed, taking all the energy necessary from that food.

When you fast for a certain amount of time, your body doesn’t have this source of energy and has nothing to do but use the fat you have stored.

Our bodies’ reaction to eating causes the production of insulin. And the greater our sensitivity to insulin, the more efficiently we use the energy from our food.

After a period of fasting we become the most sensitive to insulin. All these changes lead to weight loss and help to build muscles.

The benefits of intermittent fasting.
Different studies have proven that intermittent fasting not only helps you to stay in good shape, but it also can improve your health and prevent many diseases.

• It reduces the risk of cancer and makes its treatment easier, lessening the side effects of chemotherapy
• Normalizes blood pressure and protects you from heart diseases
• Reduces the blood sugar level and lowers the risk of type 2 diabetes
• Reduces inflammation in the body
• Increases the growth of new nerve cells and improves brain func
• Helps to prevent Alzheimer’s Disease or reduce its severity
• Helps you live longer

A new study by the National Institute on Aging (NIA) suggests that intermittent fasting could be the key to longevity.

A group of scientists from the NIA, the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Louisiana found that increasing time between meals improved the overall health of male mice and lengthened their lives compared to mice that ate more frequently. Perhaps even more surprisingly, the health benefits were seen regardless of what the mice ate or how many calories they consumed.

“This study showed that mice who ate one meal per day, and thus had the longest fasting period, seemed to have a longer lifespan and better outcomes for common age-related liver disease and metabolic disorders,” said NIA Director Richard Hodes, M.D.

He said that the “intriguing results” in the animal model deserve a closer look.

What could be learned?

The researchers suggest that the findings could translate into longer, healthier lives for people.

“Prolonged, daily fasting times could help improve health and survival for humans,” said the study’s lead author, Rafael de Cabo, Ph.D. “But scientists are working to find out how long you need to fast every day to see some of the benefits seen in the animals. That’s the next big question to answer.”

To reach their conclusion, the experts studied 292 mice, separating them into two groups and closely monitoring the rodents’ diet. One batch was fed a low-fat and naturally-sourced diet. The other group’s diet was higher in protein and fiber.

Each of the two groups was then split into three sub-groups – one with access to food 24 hours a day and another with 30 percent fewer calories per day. The third group only had access to food once per day.

The results?

“We think what’s going on is when you stop eating for X-number of hours, your metabolism goes into standby mode. Your body fixes and removes all the garbage during this time,” de Cabo said. “When the next feeding comes, you are better prepared for the energy you’re about to consume.”

He said that when continuously eating, or snacking periodically throughout the day, your metabolism doesn’t have time to readjust or rest.

The scientist also said that there were no obvious negative side effects to the rodent fasting and that the mice who chowed down once a day lived up to 40 percent longer than the ones that had access to food around the clock.

According to de Cabo, the next steps for this research include expanding these findings to other strains of mice and other lab animal species using both sexes to identify the exact translation in humans.

If previous studies are any indication, the prognosis could be good.

A 2015 study by the Longevity Institute, also conducted with mice, found four days of a diet that mimicked fasting extended lifespans, lowered visceral fat, reduced cancer incidence and rejuvenated the immune system. The study later saw similar reductions in disease risk factors in humans.

What seems to be the fasting sweet spot?

Experts say somewhere around 12 hours a day for at least five days straight can to be beneficial.

“There are ways to fast that don’t have negative associations, yet,” said Valter Longo, director of the Longevity Institute at the University of Southern California. “Going 12 hours a day without food is associated with health benefits.”

6 most popular ways to do intermittent fasting:

The 16/8 method:
Your “eating window” lasts 8 hours during the day and the other 16 hours are used as fasting time. During the fasting hours you can only drink water, tea, coffee or other non-caloric beverages. Women are generally recommended to fast for a bit shorter period of 14-15 hours.
When fasting, you can skip breakfast and have your first meal at noon, followed by your last one by 8 pm. Or, if you have your first meal at 9 in the morning, you should stop eating at 5pm. Choose the timing that suits you and your daily schedule best.
Most people find that this way of intermittent fasting is the most effortless, so this eating in this pattern is the most popular.

24-hour fast:
Once a week you stop eating for 24 hours, from dinner one day to dinner the next. Or you can opt to fast from breakfast to breakfast or lunch to lunch. During the rest of the days of the week you eat normally.

The 5/2 method:
Here, you eat normally for 5 days a week and two days a week you only consume 20-25% of your normal daily calorie intake.

Fasting every other day:
Everything is obvious here: you’re fasting every other day. That means you either eat nothing on fasting days or a very minimal amount of food not more than 20% of your daily calorie intake.

The warrior diet:
If you follow the warrior diet you are supposed to have only one 4-hour eating window at night when you eat just one very big meal. During the day time you are allowed to eat only small amounts of raw fruits and vegetables.

Spontaneous:
This fasting pattern suits those who can’t follow any of above listed schedules. From time to time you may choose to skip meals or have a whole fasting day when you feel like doing it. It’s all about what fits your lifestyle and schedule best.

Intermittent fasting has already proven its efficiency with many different people and you can see great results after a short time of implementing it. But it’s really important to remember that the quality of food you eat is crucial.

Don’t expect to lose weight, gain muscles and improve your health if you don’t give up junk food and sugar-sweetened drinks.

However, Longo, author of “The Longevity Diet,” warns that fasting should only be done on what he calls a “need-to-do-it basis.”

“If you have the perfect body weight and exercise daily, maybe just do one or two fasts per year,” Longo said. “However most people don’t. So, fasting at least three times a year is a good idea.”

I suggest you give intermittent fasting a try and let me know what weight-loss results and health benefits you gain from your experience.