2021-06-11 15:30:05
Intermittent Fasting
Our body evolved over millions of years eating mostly fruits and vegetables with some beans, cereals and nuts&seeds. Another observation about our evolution is that we finished our dinners by sunset in the day light and next morning we went in search of food to return by late morning or early afternoon and prepared our lunch. The gap between the two meals was any where from 12-16 hours. It is only in last 10,000 years, when we settled down and started farming and keeping animals for milk and meat, that food became readily available to have morning breakfast. Prior to these 10,000 years, we faced periods of feasts and famine regularly. The result is that our body evolved to store surplus food in the form of fat in our fat cells. The number of fat cells stops increasing after certain age but each cell has almost unlimited capacity to store fat. Human body is very efficient in converting carbohydrates into fat and this is happening all the time. However the conversion of fat into energy, which again is a straight forward process, does not happen as easily any more. The reason for this is that we do not face any periods of famine any more. This is as if our body has forgotten how to burn fat to produce energy.
This happens because before we can burn all the calories from the previous meal we eat another meal that supplies fresh batch of calories. Many of us eat five meals a day; bed tea, breakfast, lunch, evening tea and dinner. Some take additional snacks in between. The result is that our pancreas are releasing insulin all the time and the only rest they get is for 8 hours during sleep.
This constant presence of insulin in our body from 7:00 in the morning to 11:00 at night leads to many chronic problems which we will discuss later but for now please understand the presence of insulin interferes with the ability to burn fat.
It is highly recommended to compress our eating window from 16 hours to a lower number and increase the fasting window to a longer period. This concept is called *Chauvihar in the Jain community* and “Intermittent Fasting” in the modern scientific community. In addition it helps the body heal better and develop better immunity if we subject it to periods of famine by fasting for a period of *16 hours or longer.*
Based on research on mice, we have known for over five decades that regular fasting improves health and increases life expectancy. However the reasons for this were not clear. *The Nobel prizes in physiology 2016 and 2018 have been awarded for research on this subject.*
I strongly recommend IF to all.
The other term used to describe the practice of IF is “Eating Window”.
The goal in intermittent fasting is to reduce your eating window to as narrow as possible. The ultimate in intermittent fasting is “One Meal a Day” (OMAD) in which your fasting window becomes 23 hours. Many Indian spiritual masters practice this.
In intermittent fasting the idea is to finish your dinner early and delay your first caloric meal of the day to as late as possible. This helps in two main ways: firstly it gets the body used to the idea of burning fat to produce energy in the form of ketones by a process called Ketosis. Secondly it promotes autophagy which has many detoxing benefits and builds immunity. During this fasting period one can consume any beverage which does not have any calories eg. black coffee or tea or water with ginger, lemon or tumeric, or amla extract etc.(no diet sodas).
Intermittent fasting can be started slowly by first observing a 12 hour fasting and then increasing it to 14 hrs. and 16hrs. or more. *Walking or exercising during the fasting period enhances the effect of IF*. One mile walk is equivalent to one additional hour of fasting.
When we eat frequently and for longer periods,
our blood sugar stays elevated for longer than normal since insulin can’t efficiently clear it. This process accelerates aging by triggering inflammation, neuropathy, fine lines and wrinkles and much more.
DISCLAIMER: Do your research. Consult a doctor
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