You may think that burning fat and weight loss are the only benefit of intermittent fasting. This is not the case, and in this chapter we will make you aware of the other benefits of intermittent fasting.
The main reason for you understanding the various benefits of intermittent fasting is that it will provide you with the motivation to keep going. It is likely that you will experience some tough times with intermittent fasting, especially at the start. With these benefits in mind it will inspire you to push through any tough times and keep going.
Benefits of Intermittent Fasting
Losing Weight
If you were to ask people why they are embarking on an intermittent fasting regime the chances are that almost all of them will tell you that they are doing it to lose weight. There is a lot of evidence to support that intermittent fasting will help most people to lose weight pretty quickly.
There are several reasons why intermittent fasting helps people to lose weight. One of the main reasons is that it helps to boost your metabolism which helps your body to burn fat faster.
Another reason why intermittent fasting is good for weight loss is that you are very likely to decrease the number of calories that you consume every day. This will lower your insulin levels and also help to increase your levels of growth hormone. It will also increase the amount of norepinephrine in your body.
Studies have shown that intermittent fasting helps to increase the metabolism by as much as 14%. With a higher metabolism you will burn more calories. Over a period of 3 to 24 weeks you can lose weight at a rate of 8% which is really impressive.
A lot of people that participate in intermittent fasting claim that they see a reduction in the circumference of their waist of around 7%. This is all down to reducing the amount of belly fat that you have which is the fat that can do the most harm and lead to serious diseases.
Another reason that intermittent fasting is better than other diets is that it does not result in the same amount of muscle loss. Muscle loss can be a real problem with diets that restrict calorie intake.
Cell Repair
When you participate in benefits of intermittent fasting the cells in your body begin the process of removing waste cells. This process is called “autophagy”. It is all about the breaking down of the cells in your body.
Autophagy also helps to metabolize broken and dysfunctional proteins that build up over time in the cells. The main benefit of autophagy according to the experts is that it provides protection against the development of some serious diseases such as cancer and Alzheimer’s. So intermittent fasting can help you to prevent disease and live longer and healthier.
Insulin Resistance
Unfortunately, there are more people struggling with type 2 diabetes today than there ever were before. It is more common with people that are considered obese. With diabetes you experience elevated blood sugar levels caused by insulin resistance.
f you are able to reduce your insulin then you should reduce your blood sugar levels. This is a great way to protect yourself from type 2 diabetes. There have been a number of studies proving that intermittent fasting can help with insulin resistance. It can help to reduce blood sugar levels significantly.
Some of the studies showed a decrease in blood sugar levels of 6% when people were fasting. When you are fasting your insulin levels can fall by as much as 30%. This proves that benefits of intermittent fasting can help to reduce the effect of diabetes and prevent you from getting the disease.
Improved Brain Function
Whenever you do something that benefits your body it will often benefit your brain as well. By increasing your metabolism through benefits of intermittent fasting you are very likely to improve your brain health as well.
Another benefit of intermittent fasting is that it can reduce the amount of oxidative stress. Fasting can also reduce blood sugar levels and inflammation. By reducing insulin resistance as we have already discussed as well these things all help to increase brain power.
There have been studies that show intermittent fasting helps to boost the growth of nerve cells. This also helps to enhance the brain. Fasting can also increase a brain hormone called brain derived neurotrophic factor. If you have a deficiency with this hormone then you are more susceptible to depression.
One other reason that benefits of intermittent fasting can protect your brain is that it can protect you from the damage caused by strokes. So as you can see, intermittent fasting is a good way to protect and enhance your brain.
Reduced Inflammation (benefits of intermittent fasting)
People that suffer from chronic disease often have a problem with oxidative stress. This can be a big problem with aging as well. With oxidative stress free radicals are released. These are unstable and can react negatively with important things like protein and DNA. This can cause a lot of damage to the body.
Studies have shown that benefits of can build up the body’s resistance to oxidative stress. There are other studies that show the power of the benefits of intermittent fasting when it comes to fighting inflammation.
So you now know that there are many other benefits that come with intermittent fasting other than just the ability to burn unwanted fat. It is really worth bearing these benefits in mind when you embark on your intermittent fasting journey.
If you find the going with benefits of intermittent fasting tough then you can read this chapter again to remind yourself of the many benefits that it can bring you. This should help you to focus and get you through any tough times so that you can continue with your journey.
At no time are we going to tell you in this guide that intermittent fasting is easy. It is going to take persistence and patience to get the results that you desire. With the many benefits of intermittent fasting you can use this to inspire you to keep going.