For many, the New Year can bring about renewed commitment to health goals and weight loss. In addition, many patients begin to examine diet plans and opportunities to lose weight. Many fad diets lack scientific data, but Dr. Julio Paez, M.D. shares recent studies on intermittent fasting are demonstrating positive scientific data.
"Intermittent fasting is time restricted feeding, in which people limit themselves to a window of eating in the day, but do not need to exclude any specific food groups from their diet. For example, a person may abstain from food for a 16-18 hour window and allow themselves to eat in a 6-8 hour window. This could be abstaining from food between the hours of 8 p.m. to 12 p.m. and allowing for lunch and dinner in between the hours of 12 p.m. to 8 p.m." says, Dr. Paez.
Further, Paez adds, "Recent studies are demonstrating intermittent fasting not only assists with weight loss, but also studies in animals and humans found decreased blood pressure, blood lipid levels (cholesterol) and resting heart rates. In addition, studies revealed intermittent fasting enhances working memory and verbal memory in adults. What is also exciting is in animal studies, intermittent fasting limits tissue damage and improves surgical outcomes, though human testing is required for us to know more."
Researchers are also finding that intermittent fasting stabilizes blood sugar levels and burns fat. "When people are fasting they are slowly burning through their liver glucose stores. It takes about 10-12 hours to burn through liver stores and then fat is used for energy. This is what contributes to blood sugar stablilzation and weight loss," says Dr. Paez.
With intermittent fasting all healthy foods are encouraged, which include healthy fats, proteins and carbohydrates. This diet doesn't exclude any specific food groups, rather it modulates when you are eating. However, a healthy and balanced diet is encouraged.
Dr. Paez does caution it takes time for the body to adapt to intermittent fasting as there are hunger pangs and irritability which can happen in the first few months as the body and brain adapts to the new diet habit. Further, with any lifestyle change, Dr. Paez encourages all individuals to speak with their health care provider. Dr. Paez adds "while diet is a significant component to overall health, I strongly encourage daily exercise in conjuntion with healthy eating."
