Intermittent Fasting has become one of the most popular fitness and health trends over the last several years. But why is it the talk of the wellness world? First and foremost – weight loss. It is an easy and effective way to lose weight because you are automatically reducing your calorie intake. (As long as you maintain normal and healthy eating habits when you eat!) But Intermittent Fasting has a lot of other amazing benefits you may not be aware of, especially in the anti-aging category.
There have been multiple studies done on intermittent fasting and they have shown a lot of advantages for the health of the body and the brain. It may even help us live longer! Intermittent Fasting is really about giving your body a break from calorie dense foods. Fasting triggers beneficial changes in the body that slow down aging by keeping cells and DNA healthy. By not having to focus on metabolizing, the body has a chance to carry on with other functions like cellular repair and gene expression.
When fasted, our cells initiate the cellular repair process which removes the wastes that are damaging the cells. (And we know how important that cellular repair process is for our skin!) There are also changes in the function of the genes that are related to longevity and protection from diseases (that would be the live longer part.) Fasting also causes the levels of Human Growth Hormone (HGH) to increase dramatically – up to 5-fold – which is hugely beneficial to fat loss and muscle gain. Intermittent Fasting also helps improve insulin sensitivity, decrease inflammation and improve heart health by reducing bad “LDL” cholesterol and triglycerides. It’s even good for brain health, increasing the brain hormone BDNF and may aid in the growth of new nerve cells and protecting against Alzheimer’s disease.
So now you’re thinking so many bennies but it’s probably hard to do, right? Wrong! There are several Intermittent Fasting methods but our favorite (and easiest) is the 16:8 method where you restrict your daily eating period to 8 hours and then fast for the next 16 hours. You are basically cutting out one meal a day - breakfast for most of us but the timing and meals are up to you. For example, you decide that a workable food window for your lifestyle is from noon to 8 p.m. During that time, you eat normally – making sure not to overcompensate for the missed meal and then at 8 p.m., no more eating and your 16-hour fasting window begins. And the window is moveable – as long as you fast for at least 16 hours before your next food window. You are allowed to drink non-caloric beverages like water, tea or coffee during your fasting hours, but you shouldn’t add sugar (or anything with calories) to them.
Other methods include the Eat-Stop-Eat method which involves fasting for 24 hours once or twice a week. Think of this as not eating from dinner one day until dinner the next day. Then there is the 5:2 method where you only consume 500 to 600 calories on two non-consecutive days and eat normally the rest of the week.
Adding Glotrition’s Super Beauty Elixir to your Intermittent Fasting routine has advantages beyond its amazing skin benefits. The Elixir’s Bioactive Collagen Peptide is a dense protein that can help curb your appetite! So making sure to drink your Super Beauty Elixir during your 8 hour food window is a great way to boost your dense protein intake and keep you feeling satisfied.
Now who’s ready to give this Intermittent Fasting thing a try?