As science continues to investigate the role that fast plays on healing our bodies and balancing our weight, it seems more likely that a timed restriction on our calories has the potential to lower blood pressure and protect us against the aging process. How long should we aim to be fast for, and when is the best time of the day to eat, are some of the questions online “authorities” can’t answer. Is it safe to fast as we age? The author of “The Oldest Cure in the World: Adventures in the Art and Science of Fasting” spoke to us.
Steve took up residence in a number of fast clinics to gain a better perspective on fasting. He first became interested in fasting in his 30s. I put on weight in my 20s and was interested in ways to lose it. Fasting is not a panacea for weight loss. CR is difficult to pull off because of the constant gnaw of hunger, which is why I had tried simple caloric restriction.
Fasting is doable because it suppresses hunger. Fasting releases many of the same mechanisms as CR. Our bodyRepairs cellular damage all the time, damage that can eventually become disease, but usually these repairs occur only at a very low rate because the body is so busy with other things. When we give the body a break, it uses it to step up repairs and give us an added chance to live longer. We now have some good science to guide us in how to use it and it is a marvellous mechanism.
How long should we abstain from food and drink?
Studies show that extended fasts of four to 21 days are beneficial for cardiovascular health. Most doctors recommend that adults do a kind of maintenance fast of 1 or more weeks, once a year, under competent medical supervision in order to get the benefits of intermittent fasts. He says that 12 hours is when people tend to start reporting that they are feeling better and have more energy than they did. The gains to health could increase greatly with each hour shaved off. Most scientists think that the ideal eating window is between 6 and 8 hours. It’s not helpful to narrow the window below six hours. If you eat in a 4-hour window, some scientists fear the drawbacks of the cram of a whole day’s worth of food into your gut in so little time may outweigh the benefits of a longer fast.
There is an optimal time to eat.
If you organize your eating window earlier in the day it will be better for you. The morning and early afternoon are when we are most efficient in digesting food. The longer the day goes on, the worse our bodies do at such tasks and there is nothing we can do to change that. When we eat in the late afternoon or evening, it will linger in our gut and blood vessels, where it can cause harm. Many of the cleaning and repair processes that our body undertakes overnight can be disrupted by eating later.
Most scientists agree that it is likely to fall around an hour or two after you wake up. A lot of people would have to eat in a window of time. It seems crazy to eat dinner at 1.30pm. After the first few days, people who have made the switch, including me, report that it is very easy to change. If you can’t eat on that schedule, a compromise might be to go ahead and eat dinner at the usual time but keep it light and stack most of your calories at breakfast and lunch.
Is it a good idea to fast at any age?
Fasting is something that can be adopted from adolescence onwards, but there is no reason to stop it as we get older. It has been concluded by many scientists and doctors that a daily fast of up to 18 hours is safe and healthy for all ages. There are a lot of health benefits to eating in a narrow feeding window. The ideal age to start is early in life, so that you can get used to daily fasts.
Tips to get started with Intermittent Fasting
If fast sounds hard, just go easy. It is a challenge to drop to 6 hours straight away if you are eating 15 hours of food today. Doctors and researchers recommend that you knock an hour off your eating window for a week or so, and once you are comfortable with that, knock another hour off. It’s good if you can get down to 6 or 7 hours. If that is too hard for you, please eat whatever you can get. Gains in health can be brought by any window of less than 12 hours.
Don’t let being perfect get in your way. If you want to go out with friends for a late dinner once a while, it won’t derail you too much, but you’ll feel a little more sluggish the next morning. If you did a hard workout in the middle of the day and you realize later that you didn’t eat enough during your eating window, go ahead and eat a little more so you’re not famished all evening and that your muscles have the building blocks to recover with, go ahead
The oldest cure in the world is out now.