The Good and Bad of Intermittent Fasting

We get a lot of questions on intermittent fasting - "Should I do it? Is it right for me?" First things first:

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You need to make sure your diet is in a good place before you even jump into fasting. I see a lot of people who are eating a ton of processed foods and a diet low in nutrients, and then they want to jump in the fasting. That's not the way to do it. Let's talk about the good and the bad.

What's good about it?

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It improves metabolic flexibility. It can enhance mitochondrial function, resulting in more energy for many people. It puts our body in a state of hormesis, meaning that it stresses our body just enough by going a little longer without eating to build up resilience. And if done right, it's been shown predominantly in the research on men to result in weight loss and enhanced sleep.

What's bad about it?

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A lot of the research has been done on men, so must be taken with a grain of salt in females, mainly due to the differences in male and female hormones. In women, especially if you're dealing with any sort of hormonal imbalance, intermittent fasting is not recommended. Same goes if you have any type of adrenal, fatigue or dysfunction. If you have any sort of disordered eating or history of eating disorders, definitely not a good idea to try out intermittent fasting. Lastly, if you're someone who's doing heavy lifting first thing in the morning, it's not a great idea to wait multiple hours after your workout before your first meal.

One thing we do know that everyone can benefit from a twelve hour fasting window, meaning 12 hours between dinner and breakfast the next morning.

If you're curious, you can start there. It's there's the good, the bad and the overall breakdown. Reach out with any questions or to book an appointment with Diana.