od in its natural state, such as fresh vegetables and fruit. Some fasts consist of going without food for one or two days a week and eating regularly the other days.
Then there's what's known as intermittent fasting, which means you go without food for 18 hours every day and only eat during a six hour window. For instance, one might eat only between the hours of 1:30 p.m. and 7:30 pm.
This type of intermittent fasting is arguably the easiest type of fasting to stick with. The health benefits are numerous. Although the above example of eating only between 1:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. might raise the ire of those who promote breakfast eating as a path to weight loss and good health, one could always choose to eat between the hours of 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. and still eat breakfast.
Believe it or not, it takes about six to eight hours for your body to burn all the sugar out of your system after you eat. It's only then that the body switches into fat-burning mode. If you eat so often that your body is always in sugar-burning mode, you never have a chance to burn-off that unhealthy fat.
As if the idea of intermittent fasting isn't convincing enough, the good news is scientists have conducted many studies on the results of intermittent fasting, and they reveal positive health outcomes. These include increased insulin sensitivity along with mitochondrial energy efficiency, which translates into a slowing of aging and disease.
Also, intermittent fasting has been shown to mimic exercise, in that it causes the body to resist stress, disease, and aging by triggering a cellular stress response in which our bodies are strengthened in a manner that increases our capacity to cope with all kinds of stressors it encounters.
Furthermore, intermittent fasting has proven to reduce oxidative stress, which means the number of oxidative radicals in the cell are fewer, therefore preventing oxidative damage to the cells, which is linked to aging and disease.
On a personal note, I have been intermittent fasting every day for three weeks and l love it! I have more energy and mental clarity, I've lost weight and sleep better. I choose to eat only between the hours of 1:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
I was told you can eat "anything you want" during your six hours of eating, but there are certain foods I just won't eat, no matter what, such as sugar, gluten, processed foods, and dairy.
I am a huge proponent of healthy fats, such as coconut oil, olive oil, avacados and nuts, so I eat plenty of those healthy fats during my eating hours, as well as vegetables, of course, and some berries.
If you are curious about whether intermittent fasting is right for you, there's one way to find out....try it! Just try it for a few days. It will get easier as time progresses, you start experiencing the positive results in both your physical health and hopefully your spiritual health as well.