Intermittent fasting (IF) provides you with a ton of benefits. One of the most exciting benefits of intermittent fasting may be its ability to extend our lifespan. So what exactly is intermittent fasting and why would someone opt for this way of eating versus a standard diet, such as going low-carb and low-fat? Let’s take a closer look.

Intermittent fasting, one of the most talked-about diets right now, is a way of eating that designates a period of time for eating and for fasting. There are a few different approaches, but the two most popular are 16:8, which you will have an eight hour window for eating and fast for the remaining 16 hours. Another option is 5:2 fasting, where you eat normally for five days of the week then restrict your calorie intake to 500 -600 for the next two days. There are others but we have highlighted just two.

So what about all the benefits of intermittent fasting? “The research so far proves the benefits of intermittent fasting to the extent that it is worthwhile as a method to lose weight, manage your blood sugar, and slow down the aging process,” says Sara Gottfried, MD, of Berkeley, California, author of The Hormone Cure, The Hormone Reset Diet, and Brain Body Diet. Lets take a closer look at the benefits.

1. Weight Loss

Many individuals who try IF are doing it in order to lose weight. Fasting will make you eat fewer meals, unless you compensate by eating more during the other meals, you will end up taking in fewer calories. This means you are still going to have to follow a healthy diet and watch your calorie intake to reach your goal and see results.

Intermittent fasting enhances hormone function to facilitate weight loss. Lower insulin level, higher growth hormone levels and increased amounts of noradrenaline all increase the breakdown of fat and allows your body to use it for energy.

Intermittent fasting works both sides of the calorie equation. It boosts your metabolic rate (increase calories out) and reduces the amount of food you eat (reduces calories in). According to a 2014 review of the scientific literature, intermittent fasting can cause weight loss of 3-8% over 3-24 weeks. This is a huge amount. The people also lost 4-7% of their waist circumference, which indicates that they lost lots of belly fat, the harmful fat in the abdominal cavity that causes disease. One study also showed that IF caused less muscle loss than continuous calories restriction.

2. Reduce Inflammation and Oxidative Stress

Several studies show that intermittent fasting can enhance the body’s resistance to oxidative stress. Oxidative stress is one of the steps towards aging and chronic disease. Unstable molecules called free radicals, which react with other important molecules (like protein and DNA) and damage them.

Intermittent fasting can also help reduce inflammation in your body. Inflammation is one way your body fights off infections, but if there is too much inflammation it can lead to various diseases such as diabetes, multiple sclerosis, and inflammatory bowel syndrome.

3. Boosted Brain Function

According to Johns Hopkins Health Review, intermittent fasting can improve connection in the brains hippocampus and also protect against amyloid plaques, which are found in patients with Alzheimer’s.

One small study, for example, showed that IF improved the ability to think in people with cognitive impairment. Ten people with early signs of Alzheimer’s started several lifestyle improvements including a 12-hour fast each night. Within 3-6 months, nine of the ten patients had improved cognition.

Preclinical animal studies also show that IF may delay the onset, or reduce severity of Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and Huntington’s diseases.

4. Increase Cell Turnover

A lot of people have never beard of autophagy, it is an important component of longevity. Autogphagy is a process by which your body eliminates diseased cells. It’s triggered by exercise and appears to be switched off by insulin spikes, fasting could be a great way to prolong that.

A study published in May 2019 in Nutrients found that time-restricted feeding, which the researchers defined as eating between 8 am and 2 pm, increased the expression of the autophagy gene, which regulates cell growth. 

5. Intermittent Fasting May Help You Live Longer

One of the most exciting benefits of intermittent fasting may be its ability to extend lifespan. Studies in rats have shown that IF extends lifespan in a similar way as continues calorie restriction. In some studies, the effects were quite dramatic. In one of them, rats that fasted every other day lived 83% longer than rats who weren’t fasted.

Although this is far from being proved in humans, IF is becoming really popular among the ant-aging crowd.

Given the known benefits for metabolism and all sorts of health markers, it makes sense that intermittent fasting could help you live a longer and healthier life.