Fasting has been around since the beginning of time, whether due to food scarcity, or for healing and spiritual purposes. Today we live in an era of food abundance and as a society, we are in a constant state of eating. Due to this food abundance, we need to intentionally plan whenever we fast in order to reap the numerous benefits of healing and body regeneration.
Walter Longo states that all the different data of medicine and science back up the positive health benefits of eating within a 12-hour window on a daily basis. This habit can easily be incorporated into one’s lifestyle on the days one doesn’t choose to fast. Just make note of when you finish dinner and then wait 12 hours before you have breakfast. It is important to also finish dinner three hours before going to bed because sleep is the body’s time for cell repair and regeneration. If digestion isn’t completed, it will take priority and interfere with the other processes.
According to Dr. David Jockers, intermittent fasting, aka “time-restricted feeding” is the practice of eating food within a certain restricted period of time.
The most favored formula is fasting for 16 hours followed by an 8-hour feeding window.
An example would be eating your meals between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. and then only consuming non-caloric beverages between 6 p.m. and 10 a.m. Intermittent fasting allows you to lose weight, maintain lean muscle mass and gain mental clarity. Our body is a self-healing mechanism. It is vital to go through periods of fasting to give our digestive system a break.
An extended fast refers to anything over 48 hours. It is common to do 3-5-7-day fasts.
There are many types of fasts such as a water fast, a bone broth fast, a green juice fast, a liquid fast, a fast mimicking diet, etc.
According to researchers, a fast is when you consume less than 1⁄4 of the daily calories you need. For most people, this means 400-600 calories or less. The Fasting Mimicking Diet (FMD) provides 800-1100 calories a day. Consuming these amounts will result in significant healing breakthroughs.
We have two metabolic fuel-burning systems: glucose (sugar) and fatty acids. When food is restricted, the body has to burn its own body fat as fuel. Fasting helps us move from burning glucose as the primary energy source to burning fat (ketones).
Contra-indications for fasting: Pregnant women Newborns
Young children
High-level athletes
Past history of eating disorders
Type 1 diabetes (Fasting can be dangerous for individuals who
can’t produce insulin.)
Individuals with pathological cachexia (Seen in advanced cancer.)
Dr. David Jockers’ top 12 benefits of fasting
- Stimulates fat burning
- Improved energy levels
- Reduces inflammation
- Takes stress off of the digestive system
- Stimulates cellular autophagy (cells clean house and recycle the trash)
- Improves genetic repair mechanisms
- Stimulation of stem cells
- Improves insulin sensitivity
- Reduces chronic disease risk
- Improved relationship of food
- Improved mental health
- Improved spiritual health and intuition
If WIN members are interested in exploring this subject further, please contact me. We could set up a Zoom workshop and/or a group chat and include other WIN health and wellness professionals to expand on this theme with their expertise as well. I personally have been doing intermittent fasting 3 times a week for years.
Laura Gilbert
Health and fitness professional 348.2468909