After all the holiday indulgences it can be tempting to think that a few days of fasting will help you lose that 5 extra pounds.
Well, it turns out that while fasting is not a great way to lose weight, it does actually have some benefit for your brain.
If you’re tempted by the “eat whatever you want and still lose weight” hype of the Intermittent Fasting Diet check out what the research says before you decide.
Skipping a meal is not such a great idea for somewhere who has digestive issues, gastric reflux or blood sugar problems.
The good news is that research shows that short-term fasting can improve the brain’s ability to detoxify.
Every cell in your body has a normal repair mechanism called autophagy. As the name implies it is a form of “self-eating”. Cells that are damaged or dysfunctional in some way release internal enzymes to digest themselves. The proteins and other constituents can than be re-used.
In the brain, autophagy provides protection against cancer, infection and neurodegenerative disease, such as Alzheimer’s. This is a process that happens every day, in every part of your body.
But it is slowed by eating.
Which is why you may have heard me say that “grazing” is a bad idea. There is a popular belief that eating frequently throughout the day is good for you.
Eating small meals is great – if your only goal is short-term management of your blood sugar and not improving your long-term health.
Your body has two modes:
- Growth mode – characterized by taking in nutrients, building tissue and storing energy, this is stimulated by insulin, released when you eat.
- Repair mode – when the body is not focused on consuming and digesting it focuses on repair and recycling.
You need to have time for BOTH.
That’s why I tell patients who have been eating small meals throughout the day to switch to 3 Square Meals. Your body needs 4 to 5 hours between meals to have some time to rest and repair.
This rest and repair mode can be increased by going longer between meals. Research shows that 18 hours of fasting is sufficient time to get the benefits. This is easily accomplished by skipping dinner periodically. I don’t recommend skipping breakfast since morning is a time of high energy demands in the body and mind.
If you’d like to learn more about strategies for Detoxing your body from stress, poor diet and chemicals in the environment, and food stay posted for our Increase Your Vitality FREE teleclass in January 2015.
Have you tried fasting? Leave a comment below about your experience.
Image provided by cooldesign/ freedigitalphotos.net.
For those of us who are grazers by nature (at least that’s why I claim). How do I make the transition from grazing all day to eating three larger meals that are hours apart? It feels unnatural to me.
The first step is to look at why you are eating frequently. If it is to avoid blood sugar “crashes” then you likely need to consider some adrenal support. If you find you’re getting hungry often that can be helped with taking the appropriate digestive enzyme – so your body can actually UTILIZE what you eat and will stay fueled longer.
Thanks for correcting the grazing misconceptions!
Yes, leave the grazing to the ruminants.
Thank you. Enjoyed the article.
Great article Marina! I get it based on our conversation we had earlier this week. Thanks for sharing your wisdom.