Intermittent fasting has become popular as a strategy that helps reduce inflammation. Statements like 16/8, Eat Stop Ea t , diet 5: 2 , Fasting Diet Mimicking, among others, are increasingly popular, but not everyone knows what they refer.
Well, far from being miraculous or similar practices, they are different ways of doing this type of fasting. In recent years it has become a trend in the world of nutrition, since there is evidence that speaks of its effects when it comes to improving health.
In particular, reducing your caloric intake for a day, for a certain period, contributes to weight loss. In turn, this brings with it other benefits at the metabolic and physical level, as it favors the control of inflammatory processes. What does science say about it?
What is intermittent fasting?
Intermittent fasting is a form of caloric deprivation or restriction for a certain period of time. While the limitation lasts, the intake is restricted to liquids such as water, herbal teas, clear broths or black coffee.
Reduced caloric intake can also be made with respect to the usual energy needs of each person. Although there is a lot of talk about it now, it is a common practice at night. Muslims even do it once a year in Ramadan.
There are different methods of fasting. Each person can adopt the strategy that best fits their lifestyle or the one that they can exercise more bearable.
If it is implemented in the correct way, it does not have to appear any discomfort, feeling of hunger, lack of energy or loss of muscle mass. Among the most practiced and studied are the following modalities:
Time-restricted eating: it is based on the daily limitation of the period within which you can eat without reducing your total caloric intake. This usually ranges between 4 and 8 hours, which means that the fast lasts between 12 and 20 hours.
Fasting mimicking diets or diets that mimic fasting: in this case, food is greatly reduced for 4 or 5 days a month. In addition, the amount of fats, proteins and carbohydrates is also modified.
Alternate-day fasting : this system is one of the most studied. Days of normal eating, without energy restrictions, are combined with days of very low intake (around 500 calories).
The Eat-Stop-Eat method : consists of doing a complete fast two days a week. It is important that these are not consecutive.
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