Most people associate fasting exclusively with not eating for long periods of time. Other associations are made with not eating and being ‘hangry’, becoming weak or losing productivity, but the facts about intermittent fasting will expand your understanding of the range of fasting options and provide you with an age-old tool to help your system hum like it should. .
Intermittent fasting is essentially without food But for shorter, more frequent intervals. The most commonly discussed interval is described in hours per day and is called the “16:8” ratio. What this means is that you don’t eat for 16 hours in a 24-hour period and then you do all your eating within an 8-hour period, called the “feast window.” The easiest way to take advantage of this is to have at least half of your 16-hour fast occur while you sleep. This means you can eat your last meal of the day, for example around 5pm, and then wait to eat until at least 9am.
Longer fasts become easier to work towards. I often fast for 18 hours myself, and with enough practice (it’s a practice!) a 24 hour fast becomes more or less easy to achieve. However, keep in mind that the widespread benefits of fasting can be adequately achieved with the 16:8 ratio. It has also been specifically shown that women do not need, or sometimes tolerate, as much fasting as men, due to the sensitivity of our reproductive hormone cycle.
Another fasting option is to eat dinner at least three hours before bedtime and avoid breakfast the next morning for as long as possible. What, the most important meal of the day, do you answer? New research shows that the emphasis on breakfast may be overblown and could be influenced by the cereal industry looking to promote their cereal products. Either way, what you eat and when you eat it is one of the most important determinants of many health indicators. Starting slowly is best and know that even one day of intermittent fasting per month is better than nothing. An intermittent fast per week, or even a daily 16:8, is worth working towards.
Now about those benefits.
We’ve all heard the term “feast or famine,” but it’s unusual to know that the human body has evolved to rely on those foodless times to focus on other crucial biological functions. Cell regeneration and cleansing, metabolic hormone balance, mood stabilization, improved sleep, immune fitness, reduced systemic inflammation – these are some of the benefits of intermittent fasting. When we get bogged down by ruthless digestion, it creates a long list of inefficiencies. Have a determined desire to eat whatever we can anytime we can (as a natural response to the cold temperatures and those evolutionary feast/famine patterns) in combination with our cultural relationships with food (such as ‘three meals a day’, holiday cheer, or food as therapy) plus the plentiful consumption all year round by access we enjoy – well, many of us feel ‘fat’ in the spring. And this is not only reflected in greater fat storage, but also in an energetic ‘fat’ feeling. Keep in mind that intermittent, short-term fasting is a great way to lighten your load.
References
- Lugavere, Max and Paul Grewal, MD. Genius Foods: Become smarter, happier and more productive while protecting your brain for life. New York: HarperCollins/Harper Wave, 2018.
- Author’s personal school notes: North American Institute of Medical Herbalism.
- Patterson, Ruth E. and Dorothy D. Sears. “Metabolic effects of intermittent fasting.” Annual review of nutrition. Annual reviews. 25/3/19.
Writer Erin Lanum is a clinically trained herbalist and certified death midwife with years of focus on nutrition, herbs, sustainability, ethical wildlife work, death and dying, and human connection to the ecosystems within and without. Erin has a B.Sc. in Environmental Studies from the University of Oregon, is a graduate of the four-year internship program at the Columbine School of Botanical Studies in Eugene, OR, and a former student of Paul Berger at the North American Institute of Medical Herbalism in Boulder, CO. She calls both Oregon and Washington home, but she is grateful for her years in Hawaii and Colorado because coming “home” to many places has expanded her sense of place.
For educational purposes only. This information has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease, or to sell any product.
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