Intermittent fasting and other types of fasting: all its benefits

fastingpracticed periodically, helps increase energy and mental clarity and promotes hormonal balance.

There are many ways to perform a fast. Some of the most common are:

Brief fast of 24-48 hours. It is the one that is carried out in health or retirement centers and consists of drinking infusions and water during these hours. In some centers they offer broths and vegetable juices. Requires supervision of health professionals.Intermittent fasting 8/16. It consists of not eating for 16 hours (including sleeping hours) and eating in an 8-hour window (between 11 a.m. and 8 p.m., for example). It’s an easy way to get most of the benefits of fasting. and also reduce calorie intake. Intermittent fasting is a more bearable and accessible strategy than prolonged fasting.

The health benefits of fasting

Among the benefits of fasting, it has been proven that it can:

reduce the low grade inflammation.Reduce the oxidative stress.Improve insulin sensitivity and help control blood sugar. Decrease other markers of metabolic syndrome. Protect against neurodegenerative diseases.Contribute to enjoy strong metabolism and healthy.

How does fasting help you?

Four main mechanisms are known to explain why fasting is beneficial:

Reduces oxidative stress by decreasing the accumulation of free radicals in the cell.Increases insulin sensitivity and improves mitochondrial efficiency (the powerhouse of the cell), which delays aging and disease.Increases the ability to resist stress. Cells especially benefit from lowering blood glucose (glycemia) and also from a reduction in a hormone: insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF1).stimulates autophagy, a process by which cells recycle waste materials, avoid waste, and repair themselves. This process is crucial in immunity and inflammation, so May protect against infectious, autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. This helps maintain homeostasis (balance) in the body.