It should be common knowledge, but you should not believe everything you see or read on the Internet, especially social media. And yet, TikTok has become a growing source of information for all sorts of health information, especially gut health. In fact, you can regularly see hashtags like #pooptok, #guthealthmatters, #guttok, and #guthealing on numerous videos. It’s pretty clear that the matters of the gut have infiltrated the social media platform. 

A lot of health experts, including gastroenterologists and other gastrointestinal (GI) experts, have joined TikTok to promote science-backed claims and advice. The reason for this is because most #guttok posts are not from experts in the field. Would you rather trust an influencer who tried one thing at one point in time, or someone who has dedicated their life to the study of the GI tract? Wellness tips are all well and good, but not all of them are correct. 

The good news about all of this is that people are encouraging others to care about their digestive health. When it comes to claims, however, not all of these videos have evidence to back them up. Sometimes, one of these videos will promote a product that aids gut health, such as a colon cleanse or colon detox solution. Don’t just trust something that you see in a video without doing thorough research on it! There are no miracle products, which is why we aim to highlight the TikTok gut health trends to question or avoid in this article. 

Gut Repair Or Leaky Gut Solutions

If you hear about a product, method, or solution that will repeat your leaky or damaged gut, it may not be what it’s cracked to be. Drinking olive oil shots or slurping on bone broth all day don’t have evidence backing efficacy for treating the problem. The problem is thinking that leaky gut syndrome can be fixed with one quick solution. Although leaky gut is not a medically recognized condition, it is a gut problem that can happen as a result of an inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). You can sip bone broth in moderation, but don’t expect it to heal your gut. If you decide to drink bone broth, find ones higher in magnesium, calcium, and iron. Olive oil, while it has beneficial polyphenols and healthy fats, will not repair your gut on its own.

Laxatives For Weight Loss

If you are a #guttok trend follower, perhaps you know of the claim that taking laxatives regularly can promote weight loss. If that is a true claim, it should be a big red flag. The goal of taking a laxative is to relieve symptoms caused by constipation, not to lose weight. If you take a laxative to lose weight, you are eliminating undigested food in the form of diarrhea. That can be dangerous if it goes on for more than a short period of time. You need to absorb sufficient fluids from the GI tract, otherwise you could potentially injure your kidneys. People who suffer from constipation may need to take a laxative to eliminate stool in the colon. You should not rely on laxatives to lose weight, but instead use them to relieve constipation symptoms.

Fasting For Gut Health

Fasting is not a new trend. In fact, it has been practiced for centuries in different forms across different cultures. In most cases, there is nothing wrong with fasting, and it has actually been linked to certain health benefits. For example, one review found that intermittent fasting potentially improved metabolic effects, including better blood glucose control and fat loss. That said, fasting can also lead to negative emotions, including anxiety, irritability, and fatigue. One review found that intermittent fasting led to changes in gut bacteria that may regulate body functions and promote healthy metabolism. Fasting may improve GI symptoms for some, but there isn’t sufficient evidence to say that it directly benefits gut health. 

Colon Cleanse Or Detox Protocols

Should you avoid products or regimens that claim they can expel all the waste from your colon or purge it of toxins? You usually see these concoctions in beverage or shake form and they include cayenne, lemon juice, honey, or other similar ingredients. The idea is that a colon cleanse is the best way to benefit your digestive health. Most gastroenterologists agree that you only want to purge your colon of food or microbes before a colonoscopy. There is no reason to completely flush out your colon just because it’s Tuesday. A healthy colon contains a variety of bacteria and other organisms, the microbiome. It also contains mostly digested food that is in the process of becoming stool. A healthy colon contains a diverse microbiome that helps regulate immune function, metabolism, and even your mood! Don’t just evacuate your colon and think that your gut will flourish!

DIY Fermented Foods

There is no denying the gut-promoting powers of fermented foods like kimchi, kefir, natto, and kombucha. During fermentation, bacteria grow in a controlled environment, converting carbs or fiber in the food into an acid. That bacteria-produced acid gives fermented foods that signature sour flavor. There are many bioactive compounds in fermented foods that can be beneficial for your gut. The problem with DIY fermented foods is that you may not ferment in a way that promotes the growth of these beneficial bacteria. If you are determined to make fermented foods, instead of buying them in the store, seek reputable guidance and buy the correct products to ensure you ferment correctly. Don’t just take the word of some TikToker!

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To fast is to abstain from all or some kinds of food or drink. Fasting has been practiced in many religions for thousands of years. Water fasting is a type of fast that restricts all foods and beverages except water. In recent years, it has become a popular way to lose weight quickly, but this practice offers several other health benefits. That said, there are some risks involved, so a water fast may not be suitable for everyone. 

Several studies found that water fasting may reduce the risk of chronic diseases and stimulate autophagy, a process that helps the body break down and recycle old cell parts. Human studies on water fasting are quite limited, so more research is necessary to determine the full benefits. When the body perceives environmental stress, such as restricting food, it adjusts activity of genes relevant to defending the body from stress. That changes that occur truly depend on how long you fast. 

What Is A Water Fast?

A water fast is a type of fast during which you cannot consume anything besides water. Typically, a water fast lasts 24-72 hours and you should not follow a water fast that lasts longer than 72 hours without medical supervision. The main reason that people engage in a water fast is to improve their health. Popular diets like the lemon detox cleanse are modeled after a water fast, but you get to consume a mixture of lemon juice, water, maple syrup, and cayenne pepper during that detox.

How To Do A Water Fast

Although there are no scientific guidelines on how to start water fasting, it is relatively straightforward. People with gout, types 1 & 2 diabetes, or eating disorders, in addition to older adults, pregnant people, and children should not do a water fast. If you have never done a water fast before, you should spend three to four days preparing your body beforehand. Eat smaller portions for your meals or consider eating intermittently in the days leading up to your fast. Most people generally drink two to three liters of water per day during a water fast. It is possible to feel weak or dizzy during this time, so try to do it when you have days off and can rest. Read on to learn more about the benefits. 

May Help Reduce Blood Pressure

According to medically supervised water fasts, people with high blood pressure were able to lower blood pressure levels. In one study consisting of 48 obese or overweight people, water fasting for an average of 17 days under medical supervision reduced systolic blood pressure. Another review found that water fasting significantly reduced blood pressure levels and body weight in people with high blood pressure. Although more research is necessary to evaluate whether or not short-term water fasts reduce blood pressure, initial research is promising. 

May Reduce The Risk Of Chronic Diseases

Some evidence indicates that water fasting may reduce the risk of chronic diseases like heart disease, certain cancers, and diabetes. Research suggests that water fasting may protect that heart from damaging free radicals. Additionally, a 2013 study followed 30 healthy adults who did a water fast for 24 hours. After the fast, they experienced significant reductions in blood triglycerides, a risk factor for heart disease. Several animal and human studies found that water fasting may suppress genes that aid the growth of cancer cells. 

May Promote Autophagy

Autophagy is an integral mechanism for maintaining optimal health. During this process, the body recycles cellular components, like amino acids, to make new proteins and mitochondria, which ultimately makes new energy for the body’s cells. Several animal studies suggest that autophagy may protect against Alzheimer’s disease, certain cancers, and heart disease. Other animal studies consistently found that water fasting promotes autophagy, and that autophagy may extend longevity. All that said, few human studies on water fasting and autophagy exist, so more research is necessary.

May Improve Insulin And Leptin Sensitivity

Both insulin and leptin are hormones that affect metabolism. Leptin helps the body feel full, while insulin helps the body store nutrients from the bloodstream. According to research, water fasting may make the body more sensitive to leptin and insulin. Greater sensitivity ultimately makes these hormones more effective. Being more sensitive to insulin makes the body more efficient at reducing blood sugar levels. Higher leptin sensitivity may help the body process hunger signals more efficiently, which may reduce the risk of obesity. 

The Risks Of Water Fasting

Although water fasting may have certain benefits, it does come with some health risks. One of the risks is that you may lose the wrong type of weight. A water fast restricts calories, so you can lose a lot of weight quickly. Unfortunately, most of the weight you lose in the beginning comes from water, carbs, and even a small portion of muscle mass. You may also become dehydrated during a water fast, which sounds too strange to be true. The reason for that is because about 20-30% of your daily water intake comes from the foods you eat. If you drink the same amount of water and are not eating food, you may not have enough water in the body. Dizziness, nausea, headaches, constipation, and low blood pressure are common symptoms of dehydration. 

As mentioned earlier in this article, water fasting is not for everyone. People with gout, eating disorders, and types 1 & 2 diabetes should not do a water fast without first seeking medical advice. A water fast may aggravate these conditions and worsen symptoms.

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The watermelon diet may be 2022’s version of the trendy grapefruit diet that made the rounds in the 1970s. Is it just another fad diet that became popular because a celebrity posted about it doing wonders for their health? Brooke Shields promoted the grapefruit diet and it seems that Gabi Butler is the one who sparked public interest in the watermelon diet. 

On an episode of Netflix’s Cheer series, Butler’s character tells her mother that she and a teammate are going on the watermelon diet to cleanse their bodies. Basically, it is a watermelon fast, only you don’t actually fast in the traditional sense. According to Butler, she does it every once in a while if she feels like she ate poorly that week. She claims that it helps to improve her physical appearance and overall mental state. But what do the experts have to say about this diet?

What Is The Watermelon Diet?

The watermelon diet is a promoted detox plan that aims to cleanse the body and help with weight loss. People claim that it helps to flush out toxins, improve energy levels, and thwart cravings and infections. The guidelines of the diet state that you can only eat watermelon for five, seven, or 10 days at a time. That is the primary rule, and the secondary rule says that you have to eat one kilogram (2.2 pounds) of watermelon for every 10 kilograms of body weight. That’s a lot of watermelon, but that’s all you can eat. 

Not all dietitians are necessarily fans of the watermelon diet, though. Some say that the watermelon diet is more toxic than the toxins you aim to get rid of during that cleanse. The main reason that dietitians aren’t excited about this diet is because there is no science behind it. More than that, they say that the celebrity endorsement of such a diet without knowing the side effects or science is not a positive influence on the general public. Yes, watermelon is a healthy produce item, but there’s no evidence that only eating watermelon is a healthy thing to do. 

Does The Watermelon Diet Work For Weight Loss?

Similar to the pineapple diet, cantaloupe diet, or grapefruit diet, the watermelon diet is a slimming plan low in calories. It is a crash diet that limits your food choices, and can ultimately take a toll on your health. Experts say that the watermelon diet may contribute to short-term weight loss, but this is only temporary. The calorie restriction causes rapid weight loss, which ultimately slows down your metabolism. When you incorporate regular food back into your eating regimen, you may have a harder time burning calories and continuing weight loss. 

When you lose weight rapidly on the watermelon diet, you actually burn muscle mass instead of fat. That ultimately decreases your body’s long-term strength and ability to burn calories. That means that you can easily gain back whatever you lose on the watermelon diet at your own personal expense. 

Is The Watermelon Diet Harmful?

When it comes to fasting or detox diets, it’s always beneficial to do your research. A 2018 study found that crash diets like the watermelon diet may negatively affect cardiovascular function. In the study, people followed a diet that only allowed 600-800 calories per day. The participants experienced a 44% increase in heart fat levels after just one week on that diet. Fasting diets can also cause hair loss, fatigue, energy loss, weaker immune function, and digestive problems, including constipation. 

Study after study points to the fact that fad-type diets don’t work in the long run. Once the diet period is over, the majority of people return to old eating habits. This causes them to regain the weight they lost, until they reach a point when it’s finally time to test drive the next diet. Watermelon also doesn’t contain any fat, which is an essential macronutrient like protein. Because watermelon is very low in protein and doesn’t contain fat, people with certain health conditions like diabetes should avoid the watermelon diet. In fact, it’s better to avoid it entirely and focus on eating an array of fresh fruits and vegetables to diversify your nutrient intake.

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For the average person, weight loss seems to happen in two very distinct phases: One of them involves losing weight and the other involves gaining it back. If you feel this way, you aren’t alone, especially when research shows that about 80-95% of people who lose weight gain it back. 

Why does the weight come back, despite your efforts to keep it off? Well, maintaining weight loss is harder than losing the weight. Your age, gender, hormones, and genetics can all influence your ability to keep the weight off. There are behaviors you can control, including food choices, how often you exercise, and how frequently you move throughout the day. Nevertheless, if the weight starts to come back, it’s easy to feel discouraged and lose the motivation to keep it off. 

What Is Your Weight Set Point?

The weight set point is the weight the body is programmed to be. Hormones, behavior, environment, and genetics determine your weight set point. Metabolism burns energy at the rate that will maintain your weight set point, even if that point is heavier than what you should be. 

It’s common to turn to “quick fix” dieting, which tends to last a short amount of time but yield fast results. More often than not, these diets restrict caloric intake and weight falls off as a result. At some point, though, the body adjusts and needs fewer calories, more exercise, and other things to either continue losing weight, or maintain weight loss. In order to maintain weight loss, it’s important to understand why you gain it back. Continue reading to learn about the surprising reasons that weight comes back. 

Ignoring Your Set Point

In many cases, your weight set point may be higher than you actually want it to be. Even if you reach your weight loss goal, the body doesn’t automatically think that your new weight is its natural baseline. Because of that, the body tries to return to its comfortable weight, even if that’s not the number you want to be at. The farther you move from your set point, the more your hormones influence hunger and fullness levels to bring you back to your set point. You don’t have to accept your set point, but you can work to choose a weight that your body can realistically maintain.

Neglecting Exercise

Diet plays a large role in losing weight and maintaining recent weight loss. If you want to keep the weight off, you have to increase overall activity levels. Many people neglect the exercise component of weight loss, which is a common reason that weight starts to creep back up. In order to avoid gaining the weight back, you have to increase both the intensity and time of activity. You don’t have to go from 0 to 100, but you do need to increase the amount of calories you burn while monitoring the calories you consume. 

Picking An Unsustainable Diet

This is one of the most common reasons that people gain weight back. Many dietitians agree that an overly restrictive meal plan is impossible to maintain over a long period of time, so people start to cheat or change up the regimen that led to weight loss. It’s safe to cut 500 calories per day for sustainable weight loss, according to the experts. Any diet that is too restrictive will often result in abandonment and weight gain. Cutting carbs tends to result in a carb overeating session, primarily because you miss and crave them. Pick a sustainable diet if you plan to lose weight and keep it off. 

Living A Sedentary Lifestyle

This ties back to the need to increase physical activity if you want to avoid gaining weight back. Too many people are sedentary, enjoying entire evenings on the couch after sitting at work all day. Sitting can slow your metabolism, and it’s what most people do all day. According to many reports, people who lose weight and successfully keep it off watch less TV and increase activity throughout the day. And that’s on top of regular workouts!

Skipping Meals

This is one of the biggest mistakes you can make when it comes to dieting. Now, intermittent fasting is quite popular and an effective dieting technique for some people, but skipping meals is entirely different. The reason many people skip meals is to cut calories. While it may be a part of your weight loss plan, skipping meals may also be the reason you gain weight back. When you regularly skip meals, it’s common to overeat during your next meal, especially on foods that are higher in fats and sugars. 

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Starting the Full Body Cleanse journey is your first step on the road to a healthier body. The body regularly accumulates a variety of toxins and waste, both from food and the environment. By cleansing the body, you help it naturally get rid of waste, helping to hit the reset button on your health.

What Is The Full Body Cleanse?

The Dherbs Full Body Cleanse is a 20-day program that works to cleanse the body’s major organs and systems. It consists of six different herbal formulas, and you take five capsules from each of those formulas every day of the cleanse. The cleanse also requires you to modify your diet, focusing only on raw vegan foods that you do not cook. The Full Body Cleanse is first and foremost a product that helps to cleanse the body, even though many people use it as a weight loss tool. Weight loss is simply a benefit of cleansing, along with better immune function, mental clarity, reduced cravings, clearer skin, and enhanced energy levels. 

As many of you know, a car needs regular tune-ups to make sure it runs optimally. Think of the body in the same way. You need to flush the fluids and clean out the major working elements to help the body carry out its regular filtering and self-cleansing functions. In order to do that, you have to cleanse correctly, which is why we’ve detailed the dos and don’ts of cleansing below. 

The Dos

Follow The Diet

Follow the raw vegan diet and don’t stray from it. The raw vegan diet means that you can only eat raw fruits, vegetables, and raw nuts and seeds. You cannot eat cooked foods, meat, seafood, poultry, dairy products, processed foods, caffeine, sodas, etc. Too often do people try to cheat on the cleanse with these foods, inhibiting the cleansing process. The raw diet aids the cleansing formulas and provides the body with essential nutrients. 

Eat When You’re Hungry

You don’t have to starve yourself while cleansing! You can eat as much food as you like, so long as you adhere to the raw vegan diet. If you’re hungry, eat so that you don’t feel uncomfortable. Great snacks between meals include a handful of raw nuts, apple slices with raw almond butter, homemade energy bites, or celery sticks and guacamole.

Take The Capsules Correctly

There are 100 capsules in each bottle that comes in the cleanse. That means that there are enough to have five capsules from each bottle every day of the 20-day cleanse. Portion them out the night before in the pill box so that you don’t have to carry the bottles around all day. Make sure that you take them in the correct order, which is detailed in the instructional booklet. 

Engage In Light Exercise

This is not a mandatory requirement for cleansing, but exercising can help promote weight loss if that is your ultimate goal. Aerobic or low-impact cardiovascular exercises are the best, but you can also engage in light weightlifting. Just keep in mind that the raw diet typically reduces your caloric intake, which may mean that you have to alter your traditional workouts. 

Trust The Process

There’s not much more to say than that! The Full Body Cleanse can be difficult, but if you persevere to succeed, you won’t regret it.

The Don’ts

Don’t Go To Parties

We hate to say this, but you should avoid gatherings and dinners with friend groups or family during your cleanse. Going to a restaurant that doesn’t have any raw meals can be torture. Once the food starts arriving at the table, you may want to eat anything and everything in sight. If you have a raw restaurant in your city, treat yourself to a night out there, especially if you have a cleansing partner.

Don’t Veer From The Diet

It’s very easy to slip up on the diet, but you can dig deep and find that determination to stick with it. The most difficult stage is the first three days. Once you find your footing and recipes you enjoy, though, it’s easy to get into a rhythm. Don’t forget that we have a cleanse approved recipe section that gets updated weekly. Click here to view those recipes. 

Don’t Juice For The Whole Cleanse

There’s a lot of hype around juicing, but we don’t recommend you do it for the entirety of the cleanse. The body requires fiber to have regular bowel movements, and you can’t get that via juicing. Smoothies are a better, more fibrous option. If you want to juice, don’t juice for more than three days at a time. 

Don’t Fast

You have to eat in order to eliminate waste. Failure to eat can cause the body to retain water, fat, and excess fluids. The body needs sustenance and nutrients to replenish the major organs and systems. Should you want to partake in a fast or intermittent fasting post cleanse, that is your decision to make. 

Don’t Give Up If You Cheat

Nobody is perfect. It’s very common for people to slip up on the raw vegan diet, as it drastically differs from the Standard American Diet. If you do eat something that is not cleanse-approved, don’t dwell on this slip-up. Acknowledge the mistake and get back on the horse to progress with a positive attitude and more determination to finish successfully. 

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Most American adults are either overweight or obese, both of which increase the risk of heart disease, diabetes, and other health problems. While demographic trends vary, 42.4% of the U.S. adult population is obese. That is a 26% increase in the national adult obesity rate since 2008. In order to solve the obesity epidemic, the country has to address conditions that contribute to weight gain. 

Some people simply face obstacles in life that make it harder for them to lose weight. Others are content with their weight and adopt the body positivity mindset, There’s nothing wrong with being confident in your own skin, but being overweight puts you at risk for numerous health problems. In fact, obesity increases the risk of serious COVID-19 outcomes. While losing weight is a sound idea in theory, putting it into action and seeing results is a completely different animal. There are many challenges people face when trying to lose weight, but they don’t often follow the right rules. 

There’s a wealth of information in the world about weight loss programs, diets, hacks, and tips. The problem is that not all of that information is backed by research or science. Weight loss can be a process of trial and error, primarily because each person is different, but there are science-backed tips that truly work. Weight loss is hard enough and you don’t need any more challenges that prevent the pounds from falling off. Let’s get you on the right track with the following tips to help you lose weight this year. 

5 Evidence-Based Weight Loss Tips

Make Lunch Your Main Meal

The common model is that dinner is the largest or most substantial meal of the day. Let’s scrap this way of thinking because eating a large portion of food at the end of the day can cause people to lose weight at a slower rate. Additionally, eating a smaller lunch causes you to have a ravenous hunger when dinner rolls around. This causes you to eat more than you should at dinnertime. You want to give the body sufficient time to digest food, which is why lunch should be your biggest meal of the day. One 12-week study found that women who made lunch their primary meal lost 12 pounds, while women who made dinner their primary meal only lost 9 pounds. 

There’s No Magical Combination Of Foods

There are so many fad diets that promote specific food combinations that promote the most weight loss. Ultimately, it’s more about your portions and the types of food you eat. Additionally, you have to understand your own metabolism, adding exercise when necessary to boost the weight loss process. Remember that once the body gets used to something, you have to change up the routine to continue the weight loss process. 

Drink Water Before Your Meals

Some people love taking part in water fasts because it helps to flush out waste and contributes to weight loss. Drinking water is a great way to boost your metabolism. In fact, one study found that regularly drinking water boosts metabolism by 24-30% over a 1-1.5-hour period. Drinking water before a meal is one of the oldest weight loss tricks in the book. No matter what diet you try, drinking about 17 ounces of water 30 minutes before your meal can help you reduce your caloric intake and lose 44% more weight than people who don’t drink water before meals.

Intermittent Fasting

This is a popular eating pattern that cycles between periods of fasting and eating. The most common form of intermittent fasting involves fasting for 16 hours a day and eating during the other eight-hour period. That doesn’t mean you can eat whatever you want during that eight-hour eating period, though. According to short-term studies, intermittent fasting is more effective for weight loss than reducing your caloric intake. Plus, studies show that you don’t lose as much muscle mass during this approach to weight loss, which is common during caloric restriction. 

Avoid Added Sugars

Sugar and weight loss do not go hand in hand. Most people consume way too much sugar, which increases the risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease. Added sugars are occasionally hidden in various food products, and consuming them in excess can lead to fat storage around the midsection. Nutritionists claim that sugar has at least 30 different names on ingredient labels, including corn syrup, dextrose, molasses, honey, agave, fruit juice concentrate, sucrose, fructose, and high fructose corn syrup. Most added sugars are common in candies, sodas, baked goods, and processed foods like sugary breakfast cereals, cookies, and chips. 

Implement these tips and you’ll be able to lose weight more efficiently. Don’t forget that incorporating exercise is always beneficial!

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Fasting is a ritual that has been practiced for thousands of years. It’s a time-honored abstention from food and drink that wove its way into society and everyone from religious leaders and physicians to hunters and monks practiced some form of fasting. Sometimes, fasting was an act of protest. Nowadays, though, people practice other forms of fasting, including complete, partial, and intermittent, which is the focus of this article. 

What Is Intermittent Fasting?

Let’s make one thing clear: intermittent fasting does not translate to starvation. You do not put the body into starvation mode by skipping a meal or not eating for 24 hours. This notion is simply ridiculous. Intermittent fasting is an eating pattern that cycles between periods of fasting and eating. Some programs recommended specific foods to eat and avoid, but the program is more about when you should consume food, not what you should consume. It typically involves fasting periods of 16 hours and eating periods of eight hours. For instance you can eat between 1-9 p.m. and the you fast until that same time period the next day. You can learn more about intermittent fasting by clicking here. 

What Happens To The Body During Intermittent Fasting?

In preliminary human studies, switching between times of eating and fasting may support cellular health. Researchers attribute this phenomenon to metabolic switching, which triggers an adaptation to periods of food scarcity. Cells use up their glucose stores and start converting fat to energy in a slower metabolic process. For metabolic switching to occur, you need to go without food for 16 hours. During the fasting period, the liver converts fatty acids to ketones, which get released into the bloodstream when glucose runs out. This can help with weight loss because the body burns fat instead of glucose for energy. But we’re here to explain the benefits of intermittent fasting that go beyond weight loss. 

Benefits That Are Not Weight Loss

Intermittent Fasting May Fight Inflammation

Inflammation is the body’s natural response to infection, injury, or illness. Chronic inflammation, on the other hand, is a silent killer that can increase the risk of diabetes, heart disease, and other health complications. Several studies found that intermittent fasting has an anti-inflammatory effect on the body, reducing the risk of chronic metabolic conditions. Researchers also found that fasting for short periods of time helps reduce inflammation in the brain, protecting it from memory disorders and depression.

Intermittent Fasting May Accelerate Metabolism

We’ve been taught to eat three meals every day, but the Western world overeats for all of these meals. As the body ages, the metabolism slows down, so the body has to work harder to digest the same amount of food it did when you were young. Slower digestion can increase the risk of life-threatening health conditions because fecal matter gets impacted in the colon. When you eat less food, you can help regulate digestion and improve your metabolic function.

Intermittent Fasting Helps You Recognize True Hunger

The average person eats every three to four hours, but you don’t actually experience true hunger during that period. Researchers estimate that a person experiences the true nature of hunger after a 12-24 period of not eating. When you fast intermittently, you help regulate hunger hormones in the body. This means that you’ll eat when you’re truly hunger, and not just because it’s “lunchtime” or “dinnertime.” When the body can release the correct hormones, you’ll eat when you’re actually hungry, and you’ll fill up quicker. You won’t even overeat!

Intermittent Fasting May Maintain Muscle

This may seem like a backwards thought when you consider that restricting calories typically leads to weight loss, which reduces muscle mass. One new study suggests that intermittent fasting may be a more effective way to lose weight and retain muscle mass. The study followed obese and overweight adults. One group followed a calorie restrictive diet and the other group restricted calories by intermittent fasting. At the end of the 12-week study, the results indicated that both groups lost weight, but the intermittent fasting group lost less muscle mass. 

Intermittent Fasting May Reduce Diabetes Risk

According to several research studies, intermittent fasting has a positive effect on insulin sensitivity, helping the body tolerate sugar more easily. One study found that after people fasted for several time periods, their insulin became more effective at telling cells to take glucose from the blood. Another study found that fasting every other day (one feeding day followed by a fasting day) resulted in significantly lower blood sugar levels and insulin resistance. 

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Intermittent fasting has become increasingly popular over the past couple years as an effective way to lose weight, increase energy, improve heart health, and boost brain function. Despite what it sounds like, intermittent fasting does not require you to starve yourself for a month; rather, this diet model is designed to give the body a break from food in order to focus its energy on cleansing, as opposed to digesting.

The body is filled with cell structures and proteins that continually die, which isn’t a bad thing. This natural occurrence happens in order to maintain overall bodily health. Problems arise when the body cannot efficiently eliminate these dead tissues. A build-up of these dead tissues can inhibit healthy organ function and can lead to the formation of cancerous tissue. What happens next is a process known as autophagy.

Autophagy, to put it simply, is the body’s way of identifying damaged parts of cells or unused proteins as harmful substances. Once this message is received, the immune system begins to neutralize these “threats,” a form of cellular cleansing. If autophagy cannot happen, however, then dead cells and proteins accumulate, leading to chronic inflammation. Intermittent fasting has become one of the most effective ways to stimulate autophagy.

Types Of Intermittent Fasting

People can choose from a few different schedules when they begin the fasting diet. The takeaway is that there will be alternating periods of caloric restriction and regular food intake on a consistent basis. When you do eat the idea is not to overindulge; rather, the goal should be to maintain portion control and eat a balanced diet. The three most common types of intermittent fasting are as follows:

Alternate Day Fasting

This involves fasting for a 24-hour period and then eating as needed during the next 24 hours. You shouldn’t be inhaling all the food in sight; rather, you should eat until you feel content, not stuffed to the gills.

Whole Day Fasting

This schedule will involve fasting for one to two days (or very low calorie intake during that time), and the remaining days of the week will require eating 1,500-2,000 calories a day.

Time-Restricted Feeding

This is the most common type of intermittent fasting, which calls for a fasting period of about 16 hours and a feeding period of eight hours.

What Can You Drink?

With a general understanding of intermittent fasting, you may be wondering what you can drink during your fast? The obvious and best choice is filtered water. We place emphasis on hydrating because drinking water helps to curb hunger, and this helps you resist the urge to grab whatever food is in sight. Water helps to regulate body temperature, lubricate joints, and keep the digestive system running smoothly. Additionally, water helps carry oxygen to cells throughout the body, and assists with eliminating toxins and waste.

Carbonated Water

Carbonated water is acceptable to drink on occasion during your intermittent fast, but you must be a diligent label reader. A lot of companies create carbonated water with hints of lime, grapefruit, blackberry, or other natural flavors. These are not acceptable because they can contain added sugars or artificial colors/flavors. It’s best to opt for true sparkling water that is free of added sweeteners and flavors. A great option is to add fresh fruit to sparkling water, similar to making detox waters, to diversify the flavor of your bubbly beverage.

Tea

When people develop coughs or colds, they become tea aficionados, drinking every concoction to soothe irritation and promote decongestion. Well, intermittent fasters develop a similar affinity for tea because it is acceptable to drink during a fast, so long as they remain unsweetened. That means that you cannot use honey, agave, sugar, coconut sugar, maple syrup, or stevia. The reason behind not adding sweeteners is because sugars act as carbs, which contribute to weight gain and fat storage, both of which you are trying to avoid during an intermittent fast. It can be beneficial to drink green tea to help boost weight loss and suppress appetite. Try to avoid black teas and remain in the realm of green or herbal tea varieties, some of which promote probiotic balance and cellular detoxification.

Coffee

Coffee is a low calorie beverage, but so many people add dairy products, sugar, or artificially sweetened creamers to coffee, making it an unhealthy, high-calorie beverage. A cup of unsweetened black coffee is acceptable on occasion during an intermittent fast, but make sure not to go overboard. Due to the limited caloric intake, drinking a lot of coffee can leave you feeling anxious, jittery, and unable to function. Additionally, too much coffee can affect your sleep cycle.

What To Avoid

“Zero-calorie” beverages, diet sodas, and any sugary beverages should be avoided at all times. The sugars in most beverages digest quickly, spiking blood sugar levels and leaving you craving more. The average American consumes an excess amount of sugar from beverages, and the body cannot burn it fast enough. Leftover sugar is stored as fat, and this can result in fluctuating energy levels.

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Obesity and the health problems associated with it are perpetually on the rise. People constantly look for ways to improve their health, but the process can be overwhelming because of the many fad diets, workout programs, and detox packages. What will work for your body? Let us introduce you to the concept of intermittent fasting.

A lot of people try fasting diets, where they only drink water or apple cider vinegar tonics. Some people don’t even drink that much, which can actually do more harm than good. The body’s metabolism can slow and hold on to fat when you aren’t supplying it with calories and nutrients. Because the body doesn’t know when it will get food again, it holds on to the weight you are trying to lose.

What Is Intermittent Fasting?

Intermittent fasting is the practice of fasting and then eating for specific time periods. The amount of time you fast for and the amount of time you eat for can vary. More and more research supports that this method of fasting produces weight loss benefits, reduces inflammation, and helps to benefit the cardiovascular system. Additional research suggests that calorie cutters are more likely to drop out of that diet than those who intermittently fast.

When you fast for a certain amount of time, the body can begin to enter the beginning stages of ketosis. The body burns fats to make ketones and fatty acids to satisfy your caloric needs. You don’t get to eat whatever you want while you are intermittently fasting, though. This is a common misconception. You still have to eat a well-balanced diet during the eating times.

This Is Not A New Concept

From an evolutionary standpoint, intermittent fasting makes sense. Having access to food at all hours of the day is a relatively new concept. Food wasn’t always easy to come by because people had to hunt and gather. Even the Ancient Greeks would fast intermittently because they believed it helped maintain cognitive function. Fasts are still used by major world religions, for example, during the Muslim holiday of Ramadan. During this holiday, people only eat before the sun comes up and after the sun sets, and they don’t eat during the day.

Time-restricted eating leads to a reduced caloric intake because people only eat at certain times of the day. In order for the body to burn more fat, you cannot eat gigantic meals that are each 1,000 calories or more; that defeats the purpose of the diet program. This eating plan will not lead the body into a state of ketosis. In order to reach this state, it is ideal to consume lots of healthy fats (avocados, olive oil, nuts & seeds, and coconut oil) and very few carbs when eating is allowed.

The Benefits of Autophagy

Autophagy is a natural process in which cells and cell components are recycled. This typically happens when a person hasn’t eaten for a while. During this process, the cells that get destroyed are typically fat cells and diseased cells, which get replaced with healthier new ones. Provided you are eating a well-balanced diet, intermittent fasting helps you obtain sufficient nutrients during eating times to help replace the cells that get destroyed during autophagy.

Where To Start

There are several methods to consider when beginning an intermittent fasting program. Some people prefer the 5:2 plan because there are a lot of studies about it. For two days a week, either consecutive or spaced out, you only consume 500 calories a day, focusing on healthy fats and plant proteins. You could have one cup of steel cut oats for breakfast (170 calories), a quarter cup of almonds as a snack (200 calories), and a four-ounce, wild-caught cod fillet for dinner (100 calories). You don’t have to worry about calorie counting during the other five days of the week, but it is ideal to focus on plant-based foods that are high in nutrients.

Another option is to do the 16:8 plan, where you fast for 16 hours a day and eat during an eight-hour window. People on this plan typically eat between the hours of 9am-5pm, and they fast between 5pm-9am. Which plan you choose is entirely up to you. We hope this information helps and if you have any questions, feel free to ask them in the comments below.

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Everyone has heard the tried and true methods for losing weight – eat healthy and exercise more. While those methods remain true, a new alternative is starting to take form – intermittent fasting. Intermittent fasting does not entail you that cut out food altogether; it simply means restricting your calorie intake for a short period of time. Specifically, we advocate for the 5:2 plan, which requires you to eat normally for 5 days, and reduce your calorie intake to ¼ your normal amount (about 600 calories for men, 500 calories for women) for 2 days. This plan, along with drinking plenty of water and tea, has been shown to not only help you lose weight, but also help you enjoy a wide range of health benefits, including increased cognitive function, improved immune system, lower oxidative stress, improved digestive function, and better protection from disease.

Intermittent fasting causes your body to enhance its immune system by purging damaged, white blood cells (during fasting) and replacing them with new, healthier cells (when you begin eating), sending your body into stem cell-based regeneration. Simply put, intermittent fasting essentially hits your body’s “reset button.” For those of you that excessively consume sugar and other unhealthy foods, this fasting technique can effectively normalize insulin and leptin hormones, while also improving blood markers, like IGF-1, glucose and cholesterol. As a result, many proponents of intermittent fasting enjoy increased lifespan and longevity, anti-aging benefits, fewer cravings, and an overall healthier feeling.

In order to maximize the benefits of intermittent fasting, there are three general guidelines to follow:

1. Be careful of beverages – When you are watching what you consume, food is not the only source of calories. Juices, sodas, coffee, smoothies, and alcohol may contain additional calories and sugar that can impact your daily caloric intake.
2. Awareness on non-fasting days – Make sure you eat normally during non-fasting days. Try not to overeat or binge on unhealthy, processed foods and desserts.
3. Add to your fasting – If you are enjoying results from the 5:2 plan, you might want to try a 4:3 plan (4 days of normal eating, three days of intermittent fasting) to further assist your weight loss and/or full body wellness goals.

Remember, if your goal is optimal health, what you eat on the non-fasting days is just as important as the act of fasting. A high-quality diet full of nutrient-rich fresh fruits and vegetables, and with minimal junk food and processed food will allow you to feel empowered and achieve maximum results.

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