Fasting is becoming a tool we are seeing used more and more often, for long-term health benefits, which is great!
We wanted to shed a little light into how we use fasting, the benefits of fasting and why we don’t necessarily fast on a daily basis (intermittent fasting).
Fasting has many long-term health benefits. Some of which include lower risk of cancer, lower blood pressure, better cholesterol and blood sugar levels, fat loss, lowered inflammation throughout the body and increased brain cell growth.
All of that being said, we do think intermittent fasting could be wrong for some people. For someone with known hormonal issues, someone who doesn’t necessarily have healthy habits around food consumption, or even for someone who is considered quite obese, there is a large chance there is a damaged metabolism (or damage of some sort) at play. Going long periods of time without eating will only promote further damage and intermittent fasting shouldn’t be at the top of the priority list for this person.
What should be at the top of the list for this person? Great question! The same thing that should be a top priority for all! Which is getting into a consistent exercise routine, eating whole foods (NOTHING PACKAGED) and nutrient dense fruits and vegetables at least 80% of the time, trying to have a healthy relationship with foods (no bingeing and purging, no “punishment” after eating, etc. etc.) and maintaining a good sleep schedule and routine.
We also want to be clear that being prepared with healthy food throughout the week is a huge key to success when it comes to reaching your nutrition goals. We find that a lot of times people fall into almost “accidentally” intermittent fasting because they found themselves lacking food to eat for breakfast, so they just skip it and go straight to lunch. Having food prepped and available for quick and easy breakfasts could help with this problem that we see a lot of.
We still see the huge benefits of fasting! Maybe not daily intermittent fasting, but long fasts done every 1-2 months can have so many health benefits. If you are a healthy adult, participating in a long 24-48 hour fast every month-2months is something we think is extremely beneficial to your long term health! We also want to be clear that we see fasting as a long-term health benefit. NOT a short term weight loss strategy. Does it work for a short term weight loss strategy? Of course it does! You are consuming half a day’s less calories! BUT we don’t see it as something that can be sustained in the long term. What happens when you stop intermittent fasting and start incorporating double the amount of calories you once were? See the picture we are painting here?
So our take = fasting is extremely beneficial and is a tool that can and should be used for long-term health in healthy adults. Intermittent fasting can work for the right individual, but should be used with caution because we don’t see is as a practice that can be sustained long term and it can also cause some issues if the individual isn’t in a healthy place in their journey to start intermittent fasting.
-Kari Kirkendall, Nutrition Coach / Youth Program Director / Media & Event Director
