INTERMITTENT FASTING : PART ONE

What is Intermittent fasting(IF) and how does it work to burn fat in the fastest way possible? 

• Intermittent fasting is where you purposely restrict any calorie intake and promote no spiking in insulin, thus forcing the body to switch from liver derived glucose for energy to fatty oxidation derived ketones for energy.  

What are some of the health benefits of Intermittent Fasting? 

• Reduction in free radical production 
• Weight loss due to fatty acid oxidation and breakdown of fats into ketones for energy 
• Improved glucose regulation since less insulin spiking and thus better insulin sensitivity 
• Increased stress resistance and inflammation suppression 
• Better metabolic flexibility and efficiency from the production of fatty acids and ketones as energy to make ATP vs glucose to make ATP

What are ketones and what do they do? 

• Ketones are the energy source that comes from breaking down fats 
• They are used as energy for vital process in the body 
• They also regulate functions throughout the body including molecules that regulate health, aging, and brain function 
• They are known to coactivate PGC-1a , fibroblast growth factor 21, NAD+, sirtuins, ADP polymerase 1, and CD38

What is the basis from an evolutionary standpoint of why fasting works? 

• Humans actually used to not eat three times a day and/or snack-this is a recent trend change 
• Homo sapiens used to go through periods of no eating while they were hunting and gathering and the body’s cellular mechanisms adapted to that  
•  Repeat exposure to fasting allows the body to engage in coordinated adaptive stress responses that lead to better antioxidant defenses, DNA repair, protein control, and down regulation of inflammation  
• IF stimulates autophagy and mitophagy while inhibiting mTOR (mammalian target of rapamycin) protein-synthesis pathway 
• This allows the cells to remove damaged protein and DNA by promoting basically cell suicide  

What are the effects of Intermittent Fasting (IF) on overall health and aging? 

• Meta-analysis of data from 1934 to 2012 showed caloric restriction increased the median life span by 14% to 45% in rats  
• This study was limited only to caloric restriction and did not evaluate health indicators, causes of death, or underlying mechanisms  

What are some physical effects of intermittent fasting? 

• Physical function was better after periods of fasting 
• Studies on rats showed that despite having the same body composition, those that fasted had better run endurance compared to rats that did not have fasting induced calorie restrictions  
• Young adult men who fasted for at least 16 hours a day were able to maintain muscle mass while loosing fat as long as they continued weight/resistance training  
• This is huge --> one of the biggest issues we deal with as jacked guys is the fear of loosing our hard earned muscle when we try to cut, with intermittent fasting, this problem is solved! 

What are some cognitive effects of intermittent fasting? 

• Enhanced cognition in multiple areas such as: spatial memory, associative memory, and working memory  
• A multicenter expansive randomized clinical trial showed two years of caloric restriction and fasting led to improvement in working memory  

I’ve tried fasting and I deal with hunger, irritability, and reduced ability to concentrate when I fast...does it just not work for me? 

• The initial effects of fasting disappear after three to four weeks as the body develops to the more efficient calorie restrictive fasting model 
• A 16:8 fasting to eating window model is a good starting type of fast that leads to less hunger and irritability when first starting out  

Limitations of the studies done on Intermittent Fasting? 

• While there are lots of positive benefits and clinically proven trials to state that Intermittent Fasting works, we can’t ignore some of the limitations in the studies that we have so far. 
• Some of the limitations are: 
• Clinical trials have mainly focused on overweight young and middle-aged people and we cannot generalize that with every age 
• There have not been done long term chronic studies on the effects of chronically fasting in humans as this has been a recent phenomenon strategy 

HERE IS PART TWO: HOW TO SETUP INTERMITTENT FASTING AND WHAT THE EATING AND FASTING WINDOWS ARE! 

Make sure to follow me on Instagram(@the_jacked_doc) , TikTok (@the_jacked_doc), Twitter(@DocJacked) , and sign up for the email newsletter for updates on any new posts!