Health

What is it? Benefits, risks and success stories

CLEVELAND (WJW) – Intermittent fasting is one of the fastest growing food trends worldwide and in the United States.

This is where people only eat for limited periods of time each day and then abstain from eating or fast for the rest of the day.

Fasting plans vary but generally last between four and twelve hours.

The most popular model is the 8 and 16 hour schedule, in which a person may eat for eight hours and then fast for 16 hours.

“You’re not limiting your calories per day, you’re just limiting the amount of time you eat,” said Dr. Christopher Hine, a principal investigator studying dietary interventions, including intermittent fasting, at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute.

After more than a decade of research, Dr. Hine says he has already documented promising results.

“What we’ve seen is that before surgery, calorie restriction is very beneficial,” he said. “The results are better, there is better organ functioning and less moodiness. Less is more, it’s more in the stress of the operation.

He claims that fasting stimulates a process called autophagy that could also prevent serious disorders and diseases, including diabetes, high cholesterol and cancer. possibly slowing and/or reversing aging, thereby increasing a person’s lifespan and health.

“Autophagy is basically where a cell starts eating its own parts, like waste or perhaps misfolded proteins, which could lead to Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s disease,” he said. he declares. “Intermittent fasting is going to stimulate fat burning, it’s going to slow down protein synthesis, so it’s a potential cancer prevention mechanism, also slows the growth of malignant cells and stimulates the stress response so you become more resilient to stress.

Toni Griswold was neither sick nor in surgery.

The fifty-year-old registered nutrition nurse just wanted to lose a few pounds. She turned to intermittent fasting when all traditional diets weren’t producing results.

“I couldn’t look at myself in the mirror, like it was even me,” she said, “I would lose like 15 pounds and then I would gain 5 pounds, it was that classic yo yo.”

Until she tried the 8/16 hour intermittent fasting program.

In one year, she lost 50 pounds and hasn’t put it back on.

“Yes, it’s remarkable and everything has simply improved! »

There are countless other testimonies online, but recently the American Heart Association published a study that found time-restricted eating “may be associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease and mortality compared to eating 12 to 16 hours.” per day “.

The study, funded by the National Key Research and Development Program of China and the National Natural Science Foundation of China, said 20,000 adults following an 8-hour restricted eating schedule had a 91 percent higher risk of death from heart disease.

But Dr. Heba Wassif, a cardiologist at the Cleveland Clinic, questions this data.

“It caught my attention, but there were many caveats when I looked a little closer. We do not know what the nature of the diet of these participants was. For all we know it could have been 8 hours of McDonald’s. Until we have more information, I would be very cautious about the long-term outcomes for patients,” Dr. Wassif said.

In a press release, the Heart Association also said the study does not necessarily reflect its “policies or position” and that it “cannot guarantee its accuracy or reliability.”

Dr. Hine declined to comment on the study at this time because the results have not been published in a peer-reviewed journal, but he said it is always important to speak with your doctor before starting any diet or nutrition plan, and start slowly. .

Additionally, fasting may not be suitable for everyone and is not recommended for children, people with type 1 diabetes, or pregnant or breastfeeding women.

Toni started slowly, adding more time each day to reach an 8 and 16 hour pattern.

It may not be for everyone, but she says she not only lost weight, but increased her energy and feels better overall.

“It’s a lifestyle, not a diet. I don’t think I’ll ever go back to eating the way I did; It’s good.”

News Source : fox8.com
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