The New Weight Loss Friend at the virtual Playground.

Obesity has almost tripled since the end of the 70s, according to the World Health Organization.

Moreover, studies in 2019 say that it’s only increasing.

With that in mind, people have been turning to methods to help shed their excess ‘toppings’. From effective options like exercise programs, and healthy eating - to ineffective and scamy options like miracle pills.

However, It seems that there is a new kid in the playground now, and their name is intermittent fasting. From what it appears, intermittent fasting has been granting weight-loss wishes like the genie from Aladdin. Plus, it looks to have many other scientific-backed benefits - although the research is still young and cannot assess lifetime effects.

Why does this matter right now, with all the attention being to Coronavirus?

Well, because the pandemic is forcing everyone to stay home for the next weeks and months. This means that the worldwide population is going to become more inactive, and at potential risk of gaining more weight. Intermittent fasting may be an effective option to protect you from putting on extra weight.

This article will discuss what intermittent fasting is, it’s effectiveness at weight-loss, and 2 other health benefits.

What is Intermittent Fasting

Intermittent fasting is simply the practice of restricting the times where you consume food. Intermittent fasting doesn’t advocate for restricting any particular type of food.

There are many different formats of intermittent fasting, like the 16/8 method where you only eat for an 8-window in the day.

Typically, during an intermittent fast, you are allowed to drink beverages as long as they are free of sugar. So beverages like tea, coffee, and alternative sweeteners are fine to drink - as long as they don’t have added sugar.

Weight Loss

This large scale study shows that significant weight loss occurs with intermittent fasting.

Another study finds that significant weight loss occurs over 3-24 weeks with intermittent fasting. In fact, the same study showed that the same participants lost about 4-7% of their waist circumference -- which is very significant because waist fat it generally regarded as more harmful than other types. According to the Mayo Clinic, large amounts of belly fat makes you more susceptible to many chronic diseases such as:

- Heart disease

- Type 2 Diabetes

- Certain types of cancer

- Sleep apnea

- Much more…

But there is more, it’s also been recognized to slow down muscle mass atrophy during weight loss efforts. In other words, you won’t have to worry as much about losing much muscle during intermittent fasting, relative to other diets.

Better Brain Health

There is strong evidence to say that intermittent fasting is beneficial to brain health for multiple reasons. Studies show that intermittent fasting helps increase brain cell regeneration (aka neuroregeneration). This is thought to be important for learning ability.

Its also been proven that intermittent fasting can increase Bone-derived Neurotrophic factor, BDNF for short. BDNF is thought to decrease the speed of brain degeneration and also helps support glucose regulation, and heart health.

Additionally, some studies find that intermittent fasting lowers the risk of stroke.

May Help Prevent Cancer

Okay, before explaining this evidence it’s important to realize that intermittent fast has promising cancer prevention benefits. But this doesn’t mean that it will single-handedly stop you from getting cancer, or that it will cure cancer.

With that out of the way, there is promise that intermittent fast may be effective at cancer prevention. It’s important to know that most of the evidence for these claims comes from animal models like this one.

Conclusion

Although the research on intermittent is relatively new, it holds many promising benefits.

Intermittent fasting seems to be a great option for weight loss, it helps improve brain health, and it may help prevent cancer.

So while you are stuck at home for the next few weeks and months and inactive, give intermittent fasting a try. It may help you keep excess weight off, and have many other benefits for your body.

Are you going to try intermittent fasting? Which benefit surprised you the most? Tell us in the comments below…

This is not medical advice; this article was created for informational purposes only. This is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Do not delay seeking medical advice or disregard it due to any content on this website or included in this post.