March 15, 2022
by Kimberly Deaño
Fasting has been one of the trends when it comes to diet, from losing weight to losing fats, especially among women. However, what is fasting? Fasting is an act of not taking food or any liquids for a certain period of time. This has become a challenge for some, while others do this for medical purposes. Although fasting has been ongoing even from the past up to the present, they didn’t use fasting for body shaping or losing weight. In the early days, people do fast due to the limited amount of food sources or in order to prolong the food they stored for survival. In this new millennium, we, people, have abundant sources of food, making our fridges and pantries be full of different kinds of food, however, in some areas hunger is still rampant due to the lack of sources or because of the improper governance in that certain area.
Most people nowadays use fasting as one of the fitness regimes in order to lose weight and achieve their intended body shape. This has become popular for each gender and without a definite age range. However, fasting is not for everyone as it seems. To some, fasting is one of the medical responses to health measures. People who have types of illnesses require them to control their eating habits, the amount of food or liquid intake, and restrict some of the foods or drinks they can only ingest. This is to prolong their life and create a healthy lifestyle or for their ailments to prevent from further damage their body system. Some people who are going to take specific laboratories are also required to fast before doing the laboratory examination.
There are prerequisites when it comes to fasting as this is not for everybody. First, a person should have a quality lifestyle before doing fasting. They should be having enough sleep, adequate food and drinking practice, and also getting enough sun for their skin and body health. Second, a quality diet to maintain the blood sugar levels at least to keep going all throughout the day.
What are the three types of fasting? It includes calorie restriction, nutrient restriction, and seasonal eating.
Calorie Restriction. This is the basic type of fasting. Most people tend to think of this when they hear the word “fasting”. Typically, 18-48 hours is the time for this type of fasting. When doing this fasting, a person should consume an adequate amount of calories to support their intended fast. They will designated a time for fasting, picking what day, and eating dinner earlier than what they used to. During this type of fast, an individual can only intake water for their designated time along with ingesting food.
Macro Nutrient Restriction. For this type of fast, three macronutrients are needed to be restricted; 10 proteins, 20 carbohydrates, and 30 fats. Mostly, this is done by athletes who have a higher protein necessity and are reliably focusing on their guts. They will consume just premium fats, starches, and completely cooked vegetables for 2-3 days in a month. The decrease in protein utilization will offer the stomach a reprieve and permit it to recuperate. Remember that it is as yet essential to ensure that their action is extremely insignificant during this time-frame.
Seasonal Eating. This type is not a real fast. For this type of fasting, individuals will need to examine their food supply and the season. In the colder time of year, fattier meats and tubers were consumed, and summer was held for foods grown from the lean meats. To really eat seasonally, just eat what might normally be accessible during that season of year. Seasonal eating follows the idea of customized sustenance, realizing what turns out best for you.
Fasting has a lot of benefits if ever you are permitted and qualify to its prerequisites. First, you can benefit in lowering your stress levels as fasting can reduce oxidative stress and lower insulin resistance that can affect stress. Second, it can increase mental capacity. Removing food intake for a while offers the stomach a rest from processing and absorbing supplements and can benefit the microbiome. Fasting can be utilized as an instrument for weight reduction, however it is not a manageable long haul arrangement and can create more problematical actions.
If you are going to do fasting as a diet tool, be sure to be responsible for your actions, ensure your health requirements, and follow instructions of a professional nutritionist or a doctor.