Time-restricted eating also known as intermittent fasting refers to the absence of food and certain fluids for a certain amount of time. Recent research shows the benefits of fasting on the physical health of the body. In 2016 Dr Ohsumi won the Nobel Prize for his work on autophagy; meaning self-eating which is the body’s way of cleaning out damaged cells in order to regenerate newer healthier cells.

What happens to the body when we fast?

When you deprive the body of food (calories) the body looks for other ways for energy. One way the body gets energy is by drawing from glucose stores. Once the glucose stores are used up the body's metabolism changes and the body starts to burn fat for energy. When this transition changes to using fat for energy the body starts to produce ketones and the body goes into ‘ketosis’. Once the body reaches a state of ketosis, this is when the benefits of fasting start to kick in. For example, growth hormones start to kick in at 13 hours, autophagy at 16-18 hours and at 24 hours intestinal stem cells start to repair.

What are the benefits of fasting?

Fasting can provide numerous benefits to the body; we know that fasting helps heal the body at the cellular level. Other benefits include

• Stimulate growth hormone

• Stabilise blood sugar levels

• Immune system

• Help autoimmune conditions

• Menopause and the perimenopause

• Memory function and mood

• Supporting the treatment of cancer

The different types of fasting

There are various types of fasting, here are just a few

• Intermittent fasting is the deliberate cycling of eating and fasting for usually between 13-15 hours. The easiest way to implement this is to delay breakfast by a few hours.

• Autophagy fasting entails fasting for between 16-18 hours. When you break the fast it is recommended to break it with healthy fats to help balance the blood sugar and to curb hunger. For example, avocado and poached eggs on rye bread.

• Dinner-to-dinner fasting is from after one dinner to dinner the following day. This is not recommended to do every day, there is research to suggest the benefits of doing this once or twice per week.

How to start fasting?

I am not recommending that everyone fasts however if you are wanting to try this then here are a few tips to help you get started. Start with fasting between 13-15 hours, perhaps the easiest way to do this is to push your breakfast to later on in the morning. You could start by delaying the time you eat breakfast by one hour and then every few days push it longer until you reach 15 hours or the right amount of time for you to fast. Remember the eating window doesn’t have to be set, this can change each day to suit your lifestyle. For example, you may start work at 6 am so waiting until midday to eat your first meal is probably unachievable so you may want to eat between 10 am and 6 pm. Remember drinking water and black coffee during your fast is perfectly acceptable.

My thoughts…

There clearly are numerous benefits to fasting which are backed by good research. However, if you are fasting for weight loss it is important to remember one of the biggest reasons you will lose weight whilst fasting is because you have reduced your eating time window and therefore are taking on fewer calories. To lose weight you must burn more calories than you eat, it is that simple. How you choose to do this is up to you. My recommendation is to find something you can sustain, fit in around your life and enjoy, that way you will stick to it.