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3 benefits of introducing intermittent fasting to your routine
Intermittent fasting is a term that has increasingly become more popular in the health and wellness space over the past few years, and for good reason too. The benefits of the dietary practice extend far beyond just weight loss – and in fact – with no calorie restrictions or special foods to make or buy, intermittent fasting is more of a lifestyle than a prescriptive diet, and has been shown to reduce inflammation, improve metabolic health, increase energy and longevity in addition to better gut health and skin.
Firstly, it’s important to understand that “fasting” is nothing new. In fact, we’ve all been doing it without even realising. Fasting, for most people, is the time between the last mouthful of food in the evening, and the first mouthful of food in the morning when we ‘break the fast’ at ‘break-fast’. This type of fast normally lasts between 8 – 9 hours, depending on the times we eat. Recently though, fasting for longer than this “normal” duration has increased in popularity thanks to new science supporting the benefits associated with the technique. Turns out, not only does our body burn fat and our brain reset in the middle of the night, but every organ cleanses itself, too. That is, if our internal 24-hour clock – known as the body’s circadian rhythm, or internal daily timetable – is programmed properly to get the job done.
Just like we have a schedule to work to and a daily routine, each of our organs has a body clock too that they operate to. They have a time where they are at peak performance and they also have a time where they need to rest and regenerate. Eating frequently throughout the day and/or night can throw these cycles out of balance as your organs don’t have the rest time it needs.
According to Alexandra King, Certified Clinical Nutritionist for Wednesday Cleanse Day, the health benefits of intermittent fasting are best achieved when our circadian rhythm is aligned and regular. The circadian rhythm is a natural, internal process that occurs in the brain to regulate the sleep-wake cycle, and it functions best when we maintain a regular sleep schedule. The timing will vary between individuals but essentially means going to bed around the same time each night and waking at the same time each morning. Another simple hack you can implement to support this cycle is to expose yourself to the sun upon waking, walking outside, looking toward the sun and letting it warm your face and minimising bright lights and screens before going to sleep.
The sleep-wake cycle influences our eating habits, digestion, hormone release, and other bodily functions, here’s how – during the sleep cycle, the brain essentially cleanses and resets by consolidating memory and removing toxic waste products, a vital process that cleanses and resets for a new day. A healthy-sleep wake cycle can influence food selection and the way the brain positively perceives food. The sleep-wake cycle also influences our appetite hormones – ghrelin and leptin. Ghrelin, often referred to as the ‘hunger hormone’ stimulates appetite and leptin decreases appetite and helps maintain normal body weight. Research has shown that not getting adequate sleep increases ghrelin (hunger hormone) and decreases leptin, which results in increased appetite, poor food choices and making it difficult to maintain normal caloric intake. Treat yourself to an early night or a sleep in if it’s what you need, prioritise sleep and make a regular bedtime a habit. Your mind and body will thank you and you will begin to look and feel your best.
Here, Alexandra discusses the benefits of introducing intermittent fasting to your routine so you can successfully get your circadian rhythm back on track:
1. Reduce Inflammation
Intermittent fasting can influence longevity and reduce the risk of age-related diseases by reducing oxidative stress and inflammation. When it comes to ‘inflammation’ in the body, a lot of us think of it as when we notice our bodies might be holding onto a little extra fluid, like it’s that time of the month, after a long flight or maybe just a weekend of too much food and alcohol. Intermittent fasting can assist with water retention and bloating but on a larger scale it can also assist with other forms of inflammation within the body that we may not recognise on our outer appearance. Inflammation within the body is the root of all disease – this is an important factor to point out for longevity and our overall health and something that intermittent fasting has been shown to reduce – due to giving the body time to relax and repair rather than focusing on digestive processes all the time.
2. Increase The Energy & Metabolic Process
During the time without calories, between at least 10-16 hours, the body will begin a process called lipolysis, this is a metabolic process that breaks down and burns fat stores for energy, resulting in a reduction of body fat. Intermittent fasting also enhances the activity of the parasympathetic nervous system – also known as ‘rest and digest’, this results in improved gut motility (the movement of food through the digestive tract), reduced heart rate and lower blood pressure. Fasting also allows the body time to eliminate waste, repair cellular damage, and causes adaptive cellular stress responses, which result in an increased ability to cope with stress, which let’s be honest – we all could use.
3. With Good Sleep Comes Better Gut Health & Glowing Skin
During deep sleep associated with a cleansing window, the brain produces a growth hormone that is meant to repair both the gut lining and the skin lining. In order for this to work best, you need to allow the body to fully repair itself – There will be less holes in both the gut and skin linings for chemicals or bacteria to seep in which in turn will improve your immunity by presenting a more healthy barrier and preventing viruses from entering the body.
