Fasting for Health and Longevity
Last week I talked about “What to Eat and What Not to Eat”, what if I said that “when” you eat is just as important, if not more important. I mentioned that I will share with you a secret tool I use for health and longevity. The tool I have been using for about 2 years is ……”Fasting”. Yes, you heard right, “fasting”, fasting for health and longevity as well as many other benefits. Since fasting I have not only lost weight but have more energy, more focus and better sleep. Fasting is not as daunting as it sounds. You’ll see.
What is Fasting?
Fasting is not the same as starvation. Fasting is where you are choosing not to eat, either for health or spiritual reasons for a period of time. However, starvation is not by choice, it is the lack of food with the uncertainty of when the next meal will be.
Fasting is not eating for any period of time. We as humans are either in a fed or fasted state. So fasting has always been part of our everyday life, we have just forgotten about it due to the abundance of food. In our hunter gatherer times we used to feast when we found food and then fast until our next kill. The problem we face today is that everywhere we turn there is the abundance of food and we are feasting more than we are fasting.
Traditionally fasting only allows for non-calorific drinks such as water, green tea, black tea and black coffee. However there are many variations to what is allowed during a fast some even allowing food as you will see later. Also there are recent studies on dry fasting but this is a fairly new concept.
Why is Fasting important?
Feasting all the time is a problem. Our bodies are built for periods of feasting and fasting. These periods of fasting allows our body to repair and rejuvenate and clean out the garbage. Our body can not perform this cleaning process when we are constantly fed. This has contributed to the epidemic of diseases such as obesity, diabetes, heart disease, alzheimer’s and cancer.
People are constantly eating or snacking, so instead of balanced periods of feasting and fasting, we are now eating 16 to 18 hours of the day and only fasting 6 to 8 hours. This is not our fault. Through the power of big food giants with big marketing campaigns, they have hijacked our perception of what is healthy.
- “You must always eat breakfast”
- “Eat little and often”
- “Breakfast is the most important meal of the day”
- “6 small meals a day is better than 3 big ones”
These messages are everywhere. So this is why we have forgotten this ancient practice of “fasting” and have even viewed it as unhealthy. The truth is no one makes money when we fast. Big companies profit from our constant feasting and snacking.
Fridge/Freezer Analogy for Fasting
You know I love my analogies. Here’s one explaining the principle of fasting. Imagine your body as a house, with a fridge in the kitchen and in the basement you have a freezer.
Excess food energy is either stored as glycogen in your liver, which is your fridge which you have easy access to, or it’s stored in the freezer down in your basement, which is your fat stores which is more difficult to access.
When you go food shopping and you come back with loads of bags of shopping. You start putting your shopping away into your fridge that’s in the kitchen. As long as you have food in the fridge you will not go down to the basement freezer for food, therefore you will never tap into your fat stores for energy. That is why fasting is good, as it allows the body to tap into these fat stores.
Benefits of Fasting
So it’s time to take back control of our health. Not sure whether fasting is for you? Here is a summary of the many benefits of fasting to convince you that adopting a fasting lifestyle could help you promote health and longevity.
- Improved brain function – Fasting increases the production of BDNF (brain derived neurotrophic factor) which plays a major role in learning and memory.
- More energy – when we fast, our body produces energy through burning fat instead of sugar, which is a more efficient energy source.
- Slows ageing
- Aid weight loss
- Help heal your gut
- Increase healing, growth and repair – during fasting a process called “autophagy” takes place, it literally means “self eating”. Sort of like spring cleaning your cells.
- Improves your immune system
- Lower insulin
Paired with a healthy nutritious diet, regular exercise and sufficient rest I feel the fittest I have ever been and it doesn’t cost any money.
Below I have included a more scientific explanation and better insight into the science of fasting which will give you a clear picture of the benefits.
Types of Fasting
There are different types of fasting, the 2 main features we first have to consider is how long to fast and then how frequent to do it.
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These are the various types of fasting protocols:
- Intermittent fasting is where you usually go for 12, 16 or 20 hours without food, just water.
- 5:2 consists of 5 days of normal eating and 2 fast days with a limit of 500 to 600 calories allowed.
- Alternate day fasting is similar to the 5:2 diet but you fast every other day with 500-600 calories allowed on fast days.
- One Meal A Day (OMAD) is where you fast for 23 hours and eat in an hour window.
- Extended fasts are fasts that are 24 hours, 36 hours, 72 hours or more.
You may not realise it but you might be fasting daily already. For example if you finished dinner at 8pm and don’t have anything to eat or drink except water, green tea, black tea or black coffee until 8am the next morning, then that is a period of 12 hours fasting done already. The fact that you slept through a majority of your fasting window makes it easier.
Fasting is like a muscle the more you do it, the easier it will become.
For further reading on this topic I recommend The Complete Guide to Fasting by Jason Fung.
Tips to make Fasting easier
- I downloaded a free app called the Zero Fasting App, which is a handy timer, and serves as a bit of a motivator. If I feel like giving in, a quick glance at my fasting clock tells me how long I have fasted already, stopping would mean the hard work I have done already would be wasted.
- To start a fasting lifestyle I first began by pushing breakfast later an hour, then taking dinner earlier an hour. When I felt comfortable enough, I gradually narrowed my eating window hour by hour. It will be difficult at first, but it’s a case of mind over matter.
- Eliminating snacking is a biggie for me but it has had a profound effect on how I feel. Don’t get me wrong I allow myself snacks time to time, however I am conscious of when I’m doing it and enjoy it more as a treat.
- To increase your fasting window further skip breakfast. This wasn’t too difficult because I found I wasn’t really that hungry in the morning anyway.
- Having a protein rich meal paired with good fats the evening before I started a long fast helped keep me satiated for longer.
- Keep busy if you are doing a longer fast. It will keep your mind off food.
- Fit fasting into your lifestyle do not change your lifestyle to fit your fasting schedule.
Who should not Fast?
We’ve talked about the many benefits of fasting, however fasting is not for everyone. Certain groups of people should not fast, these include people with serious medical conditions, pregnant women, breastfeeding women, young children, and people who are underweight.
Disclaimer: The information provided on this website is to provide helpful information on the topics discussed and is not a substitute for professional medical advice.
My Fasting Lifestyle
I have exercised a fasting regime for over 2 years and it has been a gradual process. My weekly routine now regularly consists of 5 x 16 hour fasts with an 8 hour eating window which usually consists of me missing breakfast. Then a longer fast such as a 24hrs or 36hrs fast. My meals consist of a combination of low carbs, lots of good fats and rich protein foods. I make sure I get a day of rest. It is important to keep a balance and not get too obsessed. Remember there is no such thing as a failed fast, just results.
To Summarise
Fasting is a simple principle and costs nothing. There are many health and longevity benefits in adopting a fasting schedule into your lifestyle. It takes practice and is not easy. However once you include this into your daily habits and start reaping the rewards, it will become a useful tool for keeps.
Love to hear your comments and as always
Living Agelessly
Kath
