Recently the New York Times released an article saying that scientists find no benefit to time restricted eating. So is intermittent fasting, or time restricted eating, good for you?
The study showed there is no difference in weight loss between the calorie reduction and time restricted eating groups.
The ultimate goal of intermittent fasting is NOT weight loss. Weight loss is a nice side effect to practicing a healthy lifestyle. Intermittent fasting is a very safe and healthy practice that should be incorporated into your daily routine.
Intermittent fasting provides a sense of discipline to refrain from eating in the middle of the night. It gives a chance for the GI tract to rest. Weight loss is a byproduct. But the practice of intermittent fasting extends far beyond weight loss.
Here are a multitude of benefits of intermittent fasting:
- You boost your cognitive performance- you are able think more clearly
- You reduce inflammation in the body. (When I fast, my atopic dermatitis reduces quite a bit!)
- Decrease the risk of metabolic diseases such as diabetes
- Autophagy- ridding the body of old toxic cells and replacing with new cells
- Supports weight loss – if intermittent fasting is done correctly, weight loss will happen
- Improves overall fitness by increasing growth hormone levels
- You gut health will improve- IF it most useful in IBS patients
- More energy
- Enhances the immune system to fight to infections
These are a few examples of the benefits of IF. You can drink water and green tea while fasting to keep the body very well hydrated.