Intermittent and long term fasting

It is not only what you eat, it is when you eat. The human body is not designed for 24/7 food availability. When we eat constantly our body’s metabolism never gets the opportunity to rest. The easiest way to give your body’s metabolism a chance to repair itself is through fasting. Fasting is a deliberate abstinence of food for a specific period of time. Cultures around the world have practiced fasting for both health and religious reasons for thousands of years. 

Intermittent fasting allows the body to better process consumed food which has numerous health benefits. Intermittent fasting is a pattern of daily eating where you consume all of your calories within a specific time window. Outside of the eating window, ie the during fast you are permitted to consume only water, electrolytes, coffee and green tea.  Fasting unlike starvation is great for your health.  A few of the benefits are: 

• Insulin: insulin levels drop. Your body CANNOT burn fat in the presence of high insulin levels. 
• Cellular repair: Cells during a fast under go several changes. Two that are of real interest. Weak cells suicide themselves through apoptosis and are replaced by young strong ones. Strong cells rid themselves of unwanted proteins through autophagy  (literally “self-eating”). Autophagy is the body’s way of cleaning house at a cellular level and is believed to be a mechanism that slows the aging process.
• Increases human growth hormone (HGH): HGH released by the pituitary gland controls the creation of insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1). The hormones are critical to early childhood development.  Laron Syndrome or dwarfism is linked to faulty HGH production in children. Both HGH and IGF-1 act like anabolic steroids and promote, tissue, muscle and cell brain growth while increasing lean body mass. HGH production drops significantly as we age. Like all hormones consistently high levels are not ideal for long term health.  The trick is to increased HGH production just enough to stimulate cell growth but not overstimulate cell growth to the point where there is an increased likelihood of tumors or cancer. Long term fasting coupled with strength training  is the ideal combination for optimal creation and use of HGH and IGF-1. 

• Reduce insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1): This hormone  is produced in the liver and appears to be doing most of the cell growth. Consistently high levels of IGF-1 is believed to encourage tumor and cancer growth in adults. High IGF-1 levels can result from over eating animal based proteins found in dairy, red and white meat, and other foods high in saturated fats.  A comment on protein that is sure to upset vegans. Protein breaks down into amino acids. 10 of which the body can synthesize, and 10 (essential amino acids) have to be consumed.  While plants have the 10 essential amino acids the concentrations are too low for humans to benefit. The RDA of grass fed grass finished protein is 2-4 oz. 

[Link HGH and IGF-1]

A word of caution on fasting. During longer fasts be careful on how you reintroduce food. From experience, eating either too much, too quickly or drinking alcohol may cause violent stomach distress.