Interval and prolonged fasting

Advantages and disadvantages

Ilya Khel, Hi-News.ru

"Now there are many methods of recovery and weight loss that promise quick results with great benefits for the body," says Elena Kalen, psychologist, expert in the psychology of weight loss, author of weight loss training. "Among them, interval nutrition stands out, which implies periods of fasting. Periodic fasting means intentionally limiting the time of eating in order to help your body improve and purify itself."

Our expert, Elena Kalen highlights such advantages of interval fasting:

• Cleanses the body of toxins. When fasting, the body begins to use fat reserves and together with their melting, toxins are released, which are excreted during this period with water;
• Helps to reduce weight. Indeed, interval fasting will help to reduce weight, if during the so-called window, you will eat healthy food and in the amount that the body needs. That is, do not overeat. If you eat the same amount of food during these 8 hours as you ate during the day, there will be no such effect;
• Increases brain activity. It is believed that fasting has a positive effect on brain activity and helps to work more efficiently;
• Increases the energy level. With sufficient nutrition, but not excessive for the body, lightness appears in the body, there is a surge of strength and energy;
• Slows down aging. Indeed, fasting increases the body's resistance to oxidative processes, which lead to aging.

At the same time, it should be noted the negative aspects of interval fasting. Among them:

• This method is not suitable for everyone. If you have chronic diseases, diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, pregnancy or lactation, then this is not your method. During pregnancy and lactation, there is a risk of insufficient intake of nutrients from the mother to the fetus or child. In chronic diseases, fasting can cause their relapse and aggravate the situation;
• Lack of useful nutrients. Like any restriction of food, fasting leads to a lack of nutrients, which can affect the condition of the skin, hair, nails, nervous system;
• Hormonal disorders. With prolonged practice of fasting, hormonal failures and disorders are possible. This is due to the restructuring of the body when changing the diet;
• Slowing down the metabolism. Fasting slows down metabolism, respectively, fat burning processes slow down, and metabolic processes in the body will go at a reduced speed, which in the future can lead to weight gain;
• Breakdowns, insomnia, increased irritability.

Before starting periodic fasting, it is necessary to consult a doctor. This will help save money, time and health.

In fact, you won't have to starve

Nikolay Karpov, a lecturer at the Department of Anatomy and Physiology of Humans and Animals of Tyumen State University, believes that it cannot be called starvation:

"This is not exactly fasting in the literal sense of the word, since the day is divided into two intervals: the period of food consumption and the period without food. Most often, the division into 8 and 16 hours is provided, respectively, since this is the most gentle and adequate regime. The meaning of using this method of weight loss is similar to using low-carb ketogenic diets. It so happened that the body first of all uses carbohydrates as an energy substrate, which it can store in the form of glycogen in the liver and muscles in reserve. Despite the fat reserves, which can be hundreds of times more. Only when the carbohydrate reserves begin to run out, the body will take up the breakdown of fats, first those in the liver, and then connect the fat depots. With interval fasting, the interval without food is at least 16 hours. During this time, the carbohydrate reserves will go away, since there is not much stored glycogen and it can last for a maximum of half a day. From a biochemical point of view, the breakdown of fatty acids for energy purposes is accompanied by the formation of so-called ketone bodies. This is a normal process. Cells easily assimilate them, so their concentration in the blood remains unchanged. Even brain cells are able to get energy from ketone bodies, not just from glucose. But they still need glucose. The most important thing in keto diets is not to forget about the consumption of carbohydrates. And for another reason. In order to get energy from ketone bodies, they must bind in the cell with oxaloacetate, which is formed only from carbohydrates. The lack of oxaloacetate will limit the process of cleavage of ketone bodies, which can lead to a shift in the acid-base equilibrium. So from the point of view of biochemistry in an adult healthy person, interval fasting will not cause problems. But from the point of view of physiology, initially there will be some effects associated with a change in the time of eating. The fact is that the gastrointestinal tract is used to the schedule. But the main thing is that the brain is used to it, especially the centers of hunger and satiety in the hypothalamus. Therefore, there will be an adaptation period to the new schedule for about 3-7 days."

Also, do not forget that with any diet, it is important to observe the correct ratio of macronutrients, as well as include fiber, because eating fast food with variable fasting is unlikely to bring you much joy. The advice of Evgeny Smirnov, the founder of the healthy food delivery service GooD FooD Academy, will be useful here:

"We are used to the fact that the quality and duration of life is determined by lifestyle, the state of the environment, genetic predisposition to various diseases, heredity and the food we consume. This can also include the general psycho-emotional state, and the "level of happiness".

Each of these variables consists of many components, and its change can have much more consequences than is commonly believed. For example, the quality of nutrition affects the composition of the microflora inside us, which, in turn, affect not only the processes of digestion and skin rashes, but also the possibility of developing various diseases, including asthma and atherosclerosis.

For most, the idea of the role of bacteria inside our body is reduced to regulating the digestive processes, but everything is much more serious: the weight of bacteria inside us can be up to 2 kg of net weight, and they themselves interact closely with the human body, producing anti-inflammatory substances, vitamins (for example, vitamin K2).

In one of the studies in 2011, a group of scientists led by Gary D. Wu found that the composition of the microflora of the average European varies quite a lot depending on the type of diet: Europeans, as a rule, who prefer plant food, are dominated by the genus of bacteria Bacteroides, and those who eat a large amount of plant food, cereals with a high fiber content – there is a lot of Prevotella in the bacteria. As it was established, our compatriots (especially those living outside the metropolis) are dominated by the genus Firmicutes, which just develop with an abundance of dietary fiber from cereals (buckwheat and oatmeal), as well as vegetables. Dietary fibers are not only a nutrient medium for these beneficial microorganisms, which, in turn, by releasing various substances, also affect the level of adaptation and well-being of the "host". Including the speed of adaptability and learning new things, and at the same time adaptation to various external phenomena and changes.

Thus, the high fiber content in the diet affects not only the speed and quality of digestion, as is commonly believed, but also the speed of adaptation of the body to changes, the level of stress resistance and memory. And these parameters directly affect the quality and life expectancy."

Prolonged fasting, or simply strict fasting: what is the difference from interval fasting?

As we have already found out, interval fasting is usually observed for 16, 18 or 20 hours a day, but there are also special benefits that you get as a result of fasting for longer periods (24-72 hours).

However, prolonged fasting, despite the health benefits, should be carried out correctly and under the supervision of a doctor. Fasting for too long (more than 7 days) is not recommended, and there is not much point – it will be much more convenient to observe regular fasts on a daily basis for at least a few months before trying something more extreme.

So, the benefits of prolonged fasting (in many ways they will overlap with the benefits of interval fasting or even multiply them):

Weight Loss

The first and most obvious advantage is associated with the inevitable consequences of not eating for a long time. Prolonged fasting leads to rapid weight loss. When you fast for a few days, you lose weight for three main reasons:

• Loss of glycogen. Since you do not eat food (and especially carbohydrates), you will lose the stored glycogen reserves in the muscles, and this is a fast source of energy for them.
• Water loss. When you fast for a few days, the loss of glycogen (or just sugar) in your muscles will lead to a loss of water reserves, which will also result in weight loss.
• Fat loss. After the liver burns glycogen, the body will plunge into a state of deep ketosis. In this mode, the body burns fat for energy.

Prolonged fasting is a sure way to lose more weight than regular interval fasting. But this does not mean that you should starve just for the sake of losing weight, because there are other benefits.

Fasting increases autophagy

When you starve for an extended period of time, autophagy processes increase in the body. Autophagy is when the body processes cellular waste, garbage and dead bodies (like incorrect protein folding), which results in obvious advantages for you. Autophagy recycles weak garbage cells and eliminates any oxidative stress. For the discovery of the autophagy process, Yoshinori Osumi received the Nobel Prize. According to Naomi Whittell, autophagy is useful for the body as follows:

• Improves quality and life expectancy
• Improves metabolism
• Reduces inflammatory processes
• Improves muscle performance
• Improves immunity
• Improves skin quality
• Improves digestion
• Promotes healthy weight loss
• Minimizes apoptosis (cell death)

Prolonged fasting is good for the brain

Let's imagine that we are in the wild, where there are no fast foods, supermarkets, or anything like that. If there is not enough food, it is obvious that the body is looking for any ways to get it in order to survive. In our conditions, it will be necessary to increase the ability to think and develop strategies for applying a creative approach to finding food. Fasting improves thinking abilities, especially eating is carried out for long periods of time. Prolonged fasting increases the so-called brain neurotropic factor (BDNF), which works as a fertilizer for new neurons. Synaptic plasticity improves and the brain becomes more resistant to stress.

Fasting for several days gives you time to think

If you do not suffer from a serious illness (although a lot of research needs to be done here), if you are not injured or do not suffer from diabetes, let's be honest, a few days without food (but not without water) will not hurt you. Fasting has been a spiritual practice for many religions and cultures around the world for thousands of years, and for a reason. We spend so much time thinking about food, on the food itself and looking for something delicious that we could do a lot of useful things if we did something else. Prolonged fasting gives you the opportunity to think and spend time alone with yourself. A long fast is a time for self–reflection and introspection.

Prolonged fasting increases willpower

It is difficult for an unprepared person to spend several days without food. Yes, practicing interval fasting and special diets (keto, paleo), it becomes easier to endure prolonged deprivation of food, but the first fast will be difficult. And it makes us stronger. Prolonged fasting is a great way to train willpower. If you can live for a few days without eating (and most people will never do it intentionally), you will be able to do anything. Willpower and discipline will always come in handy in any other area of life. After prolonged fasting, interval fasting will seem like a mere trifle.

Fasting renews the immune system

According to scientists at the University of Southern California, every time you starve for an extended period of time, a decrease in white blood cells increases the rate of regeneration of new immune cells. A six-month study on humans and rodents undergoing chemotherapy showed that fasting for 72 hours led to a significant improvement in health due to the leaching of damaged cells and toxins from the body.

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