Benefits of Fasting and IF
Fasting is one of the most ancient and widespread healing traditions in the world.
Fasting and Intermittent Fasting (IF) Benefits Include:
- Boosting immune function
- Increases mental and physical energy
- Boosts your metabolism helping to lose weight
- Reducing elevated blood pressure
- Reduced heart rate
- Lower cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL levels
- Reduced glucose (blood sugar) and insulin levels
- Reduced inflammation and pain
- Reduced oxidative stress which causes aging
My friend, Dr. David Jockers, is a fasting and intermittent fasting expert. I had the opportunity to interview him on the benefits of fasting and intermittent fasting and you can watch the interview below.
And heads up Dr. Jockers interviewed me for his upcoming FREE online Chronic Inflammation Summit (get your FREE bonus eBook guide and register for free below)
Early religious and spiritual groups used fasting as a part of ceremonies and rites–most often during spring and fall equinoxes. Today, every major religion practices fasting for various spiritual benefit.
Christianity, Judaism, Gnosticism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, South and North American Indian traditions–all utilize fasting in one form or another, whether for purification, spiritual vision, penance, mourning or sacrifice. Many faiths prescribe regular fasting to prevent or break the habits of gluttony. In the U.S., the religious groups most noted for continuing fasting traditions are Episcopalians, Roman Catholics, Lutherns, and Jews.
Hippocrates, Plato, Socrates, Aristotle and Galen all praised the benefits of fasting. Paracelsus, one of the three fathers of Western medicine, is quoted as saying, “Fasting is the greatest remedy–the physician within.” Early healing arts recognized the revitalizing and rejuvenating power fasting promoted.
Hippocrates (c 460 – c370 BC) considered the father of modern medicine, routinely recommended fasting. In fact Hippocrates wrote, “To eat when you are sick, is to feed your illness”. The ancient Greek writer and historian Plutarch (cAD46 – c AD 120) was also a strong advocat of fasting. He wrote, “Instead of using medicine, better fast today”.
Philip Paracelsus, the founder of toxicology and considered one of three fathers of modern Western medicine (along with Hippocrates and Galen) wrote, “Fasting is the greatest remedy – the physician within”.
Benjamin Franklin had this to say about fasting-“The best of all medicines is resting and fasting”.
Fasting has been shown to have numerous health benefits including boosting your immune system.
A 2014 study by Valter Longo at USC, showed that fasting lowered white blood cell counts, triggering the immune system to start producing new white blood cells.
Longo’s study found that fasting for 3 days or longer–drinking only water and eating less than 200 calories per day–can“ reset” and strengthen the immune system.
Unfortunately, a three-day fast is not practical for most people. However, intermittent fasting is within reach of most people.
The New England Journal of Medicine printed a study by Rafael de Cabo and Mark Mattson which reviewed multiple strategies for fasting. They found that Intermittent Fasting (short term fasting) and calorie restriction (similar to the 2Transformhealth.com diet) provides the same health benefits as extended fasting (2-3 days).
A study in the June 5 issue of the Cell Stem Cell shows that cycles of prolonged fasting not only protect against immune system damage —and helps induce immune system regeneration, shifting stem cells from a dormant state to a state of self-renewal. And fasting frees these white blood cells up to destroy dormant infections and other problematic areas.
IF will increase human growth hormone levels (which naturally decline as we age) by 1,300-2,000%. Human growth hormone helps to maintain, build, and repair healthy tissue in the brain and other organs. It can help to speed up healing after an injury and repair muscle tissue after exercise. This helps to build muscle mass, boost metabolism, and burn fat.
Frequent IF helps your body to become an efficient fat burner (lose that cellulite, and belly fat). Since it takes the average person 8-12 hours to burn through sugars stored in the body, your body will never burn fat, if you eat every 2-3 hours.
Intermittent Fasting (IF)
You simply fast 16 hours each day, by eating all of your food in a 6-hour or 8-hour window.
An example of this is to skip breakfast and eat all your food between noon and 8 pm.
Simply eat all your food within an eight-hour window and “fast” the other sixteen hours. It’s easier than it first appears, you’ll be asleep for 7-9 of those sixteen hours.
Intermittent Fasting Protocol
Use this protocol to help heal up leaky gut, reduce allergies, boost your mental clarity, detox, boost human growth hormone (repairs and strengthen muscles, reduce fat, boost your metabolism, energy, mental clarity, and yes lose or maintain weight loss.
Intermittent Fasting (IF) is when you consume all your calories (food) you would normally in a 24 hour day, but in a 6-8 hour window.
This 16-18 hours of fasting allows your body to devote extra energy to repairing tissue, building muscle, burning fat instead of sugar, for fuel.
IF also allows your digestive system time to repair itself instead of expending energy to process foodstuff.
For those with adrenal fatigue, eating something, breaking the fast is important but periodic IF can have a powerful health affect on all tissues including the adrenal glands.
An example of IF is when you eat all your food/calories before 8pm and then the following day, skip breakfast, and then break your fast at noon.
- You can go a little longer, but the goal is to fast for 16-18 hours at a time.
- It’s best to fast in the morning, letting the 6-9 hours of sleep be the time when your body is doing the bulk of the fasting (and repair).
- I routinely do IF Monday-Thursday and take the rest of the week off.
- This is a great time to clean up your diet. Try IF for a few days a week and see how you feel.
- If you need to lose weight this is a good place to start.
If you want to lose weight fast, usually half a pound a day, then check out the diet my patients use at www.2Transformhealth.com
Check out Dr. Jocker’s FREE eBook on inflammation when you register for the FREE Online Chronic Inflammation Summit:
–> Register and get your free bonus gift
–> Grab Your Free Gift: Tips to Manage and Address Chronic Inflammation eBook
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