It’s so easy to overindulge during the holidays, even if you do spend most of the year sticking to a healthy diet. There is feasting throughout the holidays, right through to the New Year and let’s face it, sometimes we just want a break from worrying about every single thing we put onto our plates.

There’s good news since research has found that you may be able to have your cake and eat it, too. It’s all about timing.

Researchers who studied the benefits of fasting for humans and discovered that people at high risk for developing diabetes managed to significantly improve their health when all meals were consumed during a 10-hour window and then fasting for the rest of the 24 hours.

Changing Habits

Researchers in the United Stated found that placing participant living with metabolic syndrome on a 10-hour intermittent fasting program, together with their normal medication, resulted in weight loss, reduced abdominal fat and lower blood pressure and cholesterol. Their blood sugar and insulin levels were also found to be considerably more stable.

Metabolic syndrome is a condition in which the patient suffers various groups of symptoms which contribute to an increase in the risk of heart disease, as well as stroke, and type 2 diabetes. The research suggests that intermittent fasting may be an effective option for people living with metabolic syndrome, who are already receiving medical treatment and medication. It can allow these patients to manage the disease better.

Intermittent fasting is a simple method to incorporate into your lifestyle, which is an advantage over counting calories or severely restrictive diets. It’s crucial that such lifestyle changes are not only easily taught by doctors but are also easy and comfortable for people to take on and to maintain.

Is Intermittent Fasting Safe?

Intermittent fasting (IF) is, in essence, an eating pattern that includes periods of fasting and eating. Importantly, it isn’t specific about which foods you should eat but rather when you should be eating. It is therefore not considered a diet as such but can be more accurately described as an eating pattern.

Common methods of intermittent fasting involve daily 16-hour fasts (eating for 8 hours) or fasting for 24 hours, twice per week (often described as the 5,2 method). The truth is that intermittent fasting safely and effectively boosts weight loss and improves blood sugar, as described in the research mentioned above. Unlike many modern fad diets, it is backed by heaps of medical literature and research. It is generally safe and effective because it combines short periods of fasting with short periods of eating. Extending fasting for longer than one day to several consecutive days can become unsafe however, as this can cause the heart to experience undue stress.

Intermittent fasting can also be risky for people with certain conditions if they have any pre-existing condition such as low blood pressure, low blood sugar, or other health problems. In these cases, one should always consult a medical doctor before starting any new eating plan.

There is never a one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to nutrition and weight loss. The best diet is one which you can easily incorporate into your lifestyle and stick to in the long run. The only way to find out whether it will work for you is to try it. It can be an extremely powerful tool to lose weight, improve your health and avoid piling on the kilos during the holidays.

Related Tag: Intermittent Keto Diet Plan