There’s a growing army of people who fast during the day, or part of the day, depending on their goals and personal circumstances. Calorie restriction and fasting are thought to contribute to wellness and longevity, weight loss, beneficial blood lipids, decreased inflammatory markers, diabetes control, arthritis, possibly even lowered incidence of deathly illnesses like cancer. Short-term, intermittent fasting is a simple, almost enjoyable way to achieving this.
About the idea dieters will burn off muscle tissue by fasting, Byron writes, “If you are ever going to lose any fat, you're going to have to burn some stored energy! So you have to get over the muscle mag mentality that running off stored energy is a bad thing because you'll burn muscle. Also, you have to believe that what muscle gets used for energy is rapidly replenished, it is only a very temporary loss. I have spoken to a fair number of people and really there just doesn't seem to be a problem losing muscle when eating this way. I personally am convinced that burning stored energy sources is a good thing. I think it will lower blood sugar (even on the regular-diet days) improve insulin sensitivity, lower triglycerides, lower LDL and improve HDL, and burn bodyfat.”
First, before you shuttle off to random points around the net looking for fasting information, read our lengthy and thorough thread on short-term intermittent fasting.
More information can be found at the following links:
- Free download: Dr. Bert Herring’s Fast-5 diet book and the print book over at Amazon.com, $9.95
- This comprehensive blog post by Protein Power author, Dr. Michael Eades, discusses intermittent fasting in depth. Amazingly, he follows up the post by answering nearly 200 questions and comments by readers. Next, he answers the question of some readers, “What’s the difference between Protein Power vs intermittent fasting?” Finally, he reviews the affect of intermittent fasting on inflammation, which, as we now know, contributes to much of our aging illnesses.
- Intermittent Fasting discussion forum over at Robb Wolff’s Performance Menu site and here you'll find a pdf compilation of Robb's IF material, $2.50 download.
- On fasting for diabetes control, "After monitoring my blood sugar levels each day for months and months, I noticed repeating patterns. You will too, if you monitor your sugar levels closely and record them in a journal. One thing I noticed is the effect of skipping meals. Now, diabetics who take insulin or other medications cannot skip meals because of the risk of hypoglycemia (low blood sugar). However, Type II diabetics WHO ARE NOT ON INSULIN OR MEDICATION generally have HIGH blood sugar rather than low. The risk of low blood sugar levels is very low in these individuals. When I skipped meals I felt hungry, but my blood sugar levels went down - sometimes all the way to the normal range! At the same time, my energy level was higher and I did not suffer the ups and downs that a typical person experiences as the day progresses. Having heard all the traditional advice about eating a hearty breakfast, not skipping meals, and breaking meals up into more frequent but smaller helpings, I was reluctant to believe the new data. However, facts are facts, and I decided to cautiously explore this further." Here's the rest of the personal testimonial from a guy named Lee Shurie who cured his diabetes by fasting. I'm not sure if "cured" is the correct word; he uses the word "defeated."
- For the science-minded, this pdf gets into the nitty gritty of food, movement and chronic disease.
- Getting a little more scientific for the nerds among us: Intermittent fasting and dietary supplementation with 2-deoxy-D-glucose improve functional and metabolic cardiovascular risk factors in rats and Beneficial effects of exercise on growth of rats during intermittent fasting.
- Here's a look at other sides of the fasting fad, written by Alan Aragon.
