**consult a healthcare professional prior to starting an intermittent fasting dietary modification

There are many testimonials out there regarding intermittent fasting for weight loss and health improvement but, what do the medical professionals say about it?

Intermittent fasting (IF) is when you have a specific time period when you eat and when you don’t eat.  The focus is on the time and frequency of eating more than on the amount of food being eaten.  Examples of different variations, or schedules, include:

• Using the 16/8 hour rule when you fast for 16 hours and have an 8 hour window to eat 
• Eating one large meal per day, typically at night, while fasting the rest of the day
• Alternating days of fasting and eating
• Allowing 20-25% of energy needs on scheduled fasting days in a modified fasting regimen (ex. 5:2) 

Proven benefits:

• circulate cholesterol and triglycerides
• improve blood pressure control
• decrease wall thickness of the carotid arteries 
• reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome
• reduce body weight and fat mass

IF also targets the secretion of insulin and suppresses the overproduction of it ultimately depleting glycogen stores and altering satiety.

Reasons to stay away:

• hormonal changes can affect growth
• effects are gender specific

Things to take home:

• intermittent fasting is not for everyone
• results will not be seen immediately
• exercising with intermittent fasting will yield better results
• weight loss is not guaranteed
• do not over indulge during non-fasting times (i.e. with sugary drinks, fast food, etc.)

Intermittent Fasting in the media:

The media clips below are claimed successes of intermittent fasting.  Although not all of their claims are proven, the general basis of the claims are supported by medical literature

According to Megyn Kelly TODAY in January 2018, intermittent fasting is less about what you eat and more about when you eat, as is stated in my article, and cycling periods of eating and periods of not eating, with a number of different variations.  The listed possible benefits of intermittent fasting include taking in fewer calories, lowering blood pressure, improving glucose levels, and slowing the aging process.  It is also mentioned that is speeds up the metabolism up to 10 percent. 

Chantel Ray was interviewed on The Official 700 Club in April 2018 and her claims to intermittent fasting stem from interviewing over 1000 thin people who never had any problems with eating, never had been on a diet, and had been thin their whole life after other diets had failed her.  She figured out from those interviews that what they all had in common was some sort of intermittent fasting regimen.  She also studied the bible and included 10 biblical principles in her book about intermittent fasting.  Her claims are that you will learn to understand what true hunger is and know when you are truly satisfied and how to eat just enough to satisfy without depriving yourself.  Additional tips from Chantel Ray include eat what you want, don’t gorge, and there is no need to count calories.  She also mentioned that she no longer required her thyroid medication.

Blake Horton’s intermittent fasting and eating routine is one large meal, once a day, and he was a guest on Doctor Oz who questioned his methods.  Initially, Blake was eating small meals throughout the day, but claims that he was miserable.  Instead, he took the same number of calories that he was eating and put them all into one meal.  What he claims, however, is that he counts all of his calories and he is healthy about what ingredients he uses and includes approximately four pounds of vegetables.  When Blake Horton’s bloodwork was tested, cholesterol and blood sugar specifically, they all were in the optimal range.  The only thing that was not optimal was Blake’s sleep pattern, on average of 2 hours and 45 minutes of sleep per day, which Blake attributes solely to his schedule.  Blake also has an added daily workout.

References

Aksungar, F., Sarikaya, M., Coskun, A., Serteser, M., & Unsal, I. (2017). Comparison of intermittent fasting versus caloric restriction in obese subjects: A two year follow-up. Journal of Nutrition, Health & Aging, 21(6), 681–685. Retrieved from https://library.neit.edu:2404/10.1007/s12603-016-0786-y

Miller, L. (2018). Intermittent fasting and centralized adiposity. Nutritional Perspectives: Journal of the Council on Nutrition, 41(3), 24–26. Retrieved from http://library.neit.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ccm&AN=131588999&site=ehost-live

Wilson, R. A., Deasy, W., Stathis, C. G., Hayes, A., & Cooke, M. B. (2018). Intermittent fasting with or without exercise prevents weight gain and improves lipids in diet-induced obese mice. Nutrients, 10(3), 346. doi:10.3390/nu10030346