The Benefits of Intermittent Fasting

If you hate counting calories, can't or don't want to turn food planning into a fulltime job, balk at the regimentation of eating every 3 hours, or have tried every diet in the book to lose weight, you might want to look into intermittent fasting.

Over a year ago, I read Eat Stop Eat, an eBook by Brad Pilon explaining his research surrounding intermittent fasting. Brad debunked the hysteria over starvation mode and thoroughly explained the research that he had studied.

Recently, intermittent fasting has been getting a more balanced look by some mainstream media outlets, doctors and nutritionists. Below are excerpts from a Los Angeles Times article.

Called intermittent fasting, this rather stark approach to weight control appears to be supported by science, not to mention various religious and cultural practices around the globe. The practice is a way to become more circumspect about food, its adherents say. But it also seems to yield the benefits of calorie restriction, which may ultimately reduce the risk of some diseases and even extend life. Some fasters, in fact, ultimately switch from regular, if comparatively rare, periods of hunger to permanent deprivation. They limit calories all the time.

"There is something kind of magical about starvation," says Dr. Marc Hellerstein, a professor of endocrinology, metabolism and nutrition at UC Berkeley, who studies fasting.

Adds Mark P. Mattson, chief of the laboratory of neurosciences at the National Institute on Aging: "In normal health subjects, moderate fasting -- maybe one day a week or cutting back on calories a couple of days a week -- will have health benefits for most anybody." Mattson is among the leading researchers on the effects of calorie restriction and the brain.

What they do know is that occasionally going without food or reducing calories daily makes the body more sensitive to insulin, which helps maintain normal blood sugar levels. And animal studies suggest calorie restriction may reduce the risk of cancer by slowing the growth of abnormal cells.

Of course, there are also some naysayers. You can read the entire article here ==> Running on empty: the pros and cons of fasting

For more info on intermittent fasting, check out Brad Pilon's Eat Stop Eat. I found it really interesting and easily understandable to us non-scientific types.