What are the benefits and risks of intermittent fasting, according to experts?

He Intermittent fasting Alternate eating pattern Feeding periods. Don’t focus on what to consume When to eat Apart from the fact that there are various ways to implement it, this method is at the core Controversy Among the experts. and also, It is not recommended for anyone.

In recent times, intermittent fasting has gained popularity due to its potential Benefits for that Health. Some assumptions Weight loss and body fatSensitivity enhancement insulin, Reduction inflammation, improving autophagy (the cellular cleansing process) and improving brain health. However, over the years, this type of food has developed a Serious academic debate between NutritionistsWith strong detractors and defenders.

It should be noted that there may be intermittent fasting RisksPrimarily pregnant or lactating women, people with eating disorders, and people with certain medical conditions should seek the approval and supervision of a healthcare professional before starting any fast.

Earlier, the famous Dr. Alberto Carmelo He told him infobae That The only thing that postpones intermittent fasting is the “next meal”. The obesity expert, who has been promoting healthy eating among Argentines for decades, argued that this type of diet is “a modern way of doing what is known as skipping meals all the time.”

“Just It won’t work This is because when people go on a fast or a half-day, they eat a preventive diet, which means they eat less before and then eat more to make up for everything they didn’t eat. In addition, the convenience of meals distributed during the day has been proven from a scientific point of view, at least four times,” said the doctor.

however, Carmilote clarified That, in some cases, this food It will be useful. “The American Heart AssociationIt’s very powerful and very intense, and when I say very powerful, I mean scientifically, with very reliable and hard data, that intermittent fasting, if a person is comfortable enough to go without eating for several hours, will help. She regulates the food, something that can be done if certain parameters are taken into account”, he said.

“What this means is that if the person is going to eat a lot, the day before or the day after, intermittent fasting won’t work for them. But if you’re going to eat less, it might help, and eating a variety of foods like fruits, vegetables, proteins and nuts. If eaten in groups it would be good food. In other words, intermittent fasting does not exclude eating a good quality food. The issue is whether to follow it or not.

“Magic foods, very low in calories, exclude carbohydrates, eliminate flour, among other things, Completely change the relationship with food, What is most necessary and important is to set aside the true meaning of eating,” he explained infobae Specialist in Nutrition and Diabetes Marianela Aguirre Ackerman (MN 151867).

While a nutrition graduate Laura Roman (MN 5992) added: “Any diet can achieve rapid weight loss. If they take food from us or limit it to half Or if you have a habit of eating, you will lose weight. But diets create a rapid drop in weight, which is not maintained later, because the situation returns to the same, and because the person has not learned anything, it cannot be maintained over time.

also, Aguirre Ackerman A warning was given about the organism’s behavior when these dietary changes were applied: “From Calorie restriction More serious, the body begins Methods of adaptation To maintain balance and ‘‘Storage Mode’. That is why it is so difficult to lose weight.

Krista Varadi, a nutrition researcher, studies intermittent fasting University of Illinois, ChicagoConsultancy was conducted through the magazine Time In the results of a study published in Journal of the American Heart AssociationAnd he revealed that eating at a certain time does not produce magical effects That doesn’t mean it’s a completely useless concept.

The main reason not to demonize the method, the scientist said, is that some patients may find this type of diet plan easier to stick to than other calorie-counting diets.

Another American expert, Dr Nisa Marudhur, Associate Professor Faculty of Medicine Johns Hopkins UniversityHe, who was not involved in this latest study but is involved in a broader effort at a think tank to study mealtimes, suggests that eating at a specific time may be beneficial. Eat at a specific time If it helps a particular person to eat healthily.

“If your calories are the same regardless of when you eat, there’s no impact on weight. however, Setting time limits can help“, he pointed out. According to the expert, “If a person decides that they are going to eat only from 10 in the morning to 4 in the afternoon, the fact is that due to the number of meals that fit in that time, they can eat fewer calories. “.

In turn, nutritionist Romina Pereiro in detail in conversation with infobae: “Scientifically, start-and-stop diets have been proven ineffective in the medium and long term. It is very difficult to maintain them, if you do not focus on improving the habits, then the rebound effect will come. Also, no one can live by controlling food. And not to mention when the meals we love the most are unplanned”.

Pereiro was already up infobae With intermittent fasting, proposing a different method than what we are used to, the first things people exhibit are attacks of hunger and irritability. Emotional impact and behavior. This happens because if they control food too much, it is difficult to maintain it over time without creating the opposite effect: a lack of control, inhibiting impulses and negative emotions. and in certain persons, You are at risk of developing an eating disorder..

Pereiro, strictly speaking, the Habit changes They allow you to lose weight and keep it off over time. Therefore, obesity and overweight are not disorders that can be cured by simply stopping overeating or undereating.

In that way, A Scientific study Published in the journal by the end of 2022 Journal of the American Heart Association Pointed out that restricts the time limit you eat Does not promote weight loss. The research followed 547 people and determined that the time between the participants’ first and last meal, compared to the time they woke up or went to sleep, did not affect weight.

What matters is Serving sizes Among the participants: Those who ate large or medium-sized meals were more likely to gain weight.

For their part, experts from the Southern Medical University in Guangzhou, China confirmed Investigation Published in The New England Journal of Medicine (NJEM), a method called intermittent fasting has no significant benefits in controlling or reducing weight gain compared to simple calorie counting.

The results obtained in this study showed that after 12 months of dietary regimens assigned to two work groups (one with a standard diet and the other with time-restricted meal intake), Weight loss was not significantly different Between the standard and the timed one (8.0 kg and 6.3 kg). Furthermore, no significant differences were observed between groups in body fat, lean mass, blood pressure, lipid profile, or insulin metabolism.

The fasting hours vary in each case. Either way, it is important to pay attention to the quality and quantity of food consumed during feeding periods to ensure adequate nutrient intake. However, methods for doing intermittent fasting are generally as follows:

-16/8 times. It involves fasting for 16 hours a day and restricting eating to 8 hours. For example, choosing not to eat anything after dinner and then waiting until noon the next day to eat again.

– Should fast on alternate days. It consists of alternating days of complete fasting with regular eating days. On fasting days, very few calories (usually around 500) are consumed, while on normal eating days you can continue to eat.

– 5:2 times. This involves eating regularly 5 days a week and restricting calorie intake to 500-600 calories on the other 2 days.

– Prolonged fasting. In this approach, you fast for a full 24 hours or longer once or twice a week. For many long-term nutritionists, intermittent fasting falls under a long line Addictive foods, formulas that are advertised as being effective and extended over time but sooner or later are discontinued and replaced by other diet plans. Here are the keys to weight loss for this team of experts Healthy habits: Take care of portion sizes, choose foods with low fat and sugar content at each meal and regular exercise of physical activity.

Continue reading: