Planting the seed to better health.™
There are several different approaches to intermittent fasting like the 16/8 (sometimes known as the Leangains Protocol) where you consume all of your food in any 24 hour period within an 8 hour window, fasting the other 16 hours.
Another is the Eat-Stop-Eat method where you literally fast for an entire 24 hour period once or twice a week (in other words, nothing but water and 0 calorie drinks for the whole day - eeek! - not for the faint hearted!).
A third approach which, from where I am standing, is the easiest and most sustainable, (and far less likely to play havoc with your social life) is the 5:2 method where on 2 (or you can step up to 3 if you want to speed things up) days per week you restrict your calorie intake to just 500, eating a normal diet and living your life on the remaining days.
Obviously, any of these options will restrict the calories you consume over the course of the week - but what other benefits does Intermittent Fasting offer over standard reduced calorie diets? Here are the many plus points which evidence based studies have thrown up!
(Oxygen at the ready - we’re about to take a deep dive into the world of science!)
1. Loss of Harmful Belly Fat
Fat settling around the abdominal area is a known factor in the development of many diseases. The higher HGH levels, decreased Insulin levels and increased norepinephrine (noradrenaline) levels brought about by IF all increase the breakdown of fat and facilitate its use for energy - even that oh-so-stubborn belly fat! It’s also been shown to reduce the amount of muscle loss over continuous calorie restricted dieting.
2. Reduces Insulin Resistance and Risk of Type 2 Diabetes
Type 2 Diabetes, sometimes known as the silent killer, has been on the increase over the past few decades, causing high blood sugar levels and catastrophic damage to internal organs. IF has shown to have major benefits to insulin resistance and impressive reductions in blood sugar levels. IF has been shown to protect against liver damage, a severe complication of Type 2 Diabetes.
3. Beneficial to Oxidative Stress and Inflammation
Oxidative Stress leads towards ageing and many forms of chronic disease, involving free radicals (unstable molecules) which interact in the body with proteins and DNA, damaging them and speeding up the ageing process. Another key factor in driving all sorts of common diseases is inflammation, which again is seen to be improved when IF is practiced.
4. Can Alter the Function of Hormones, Genes and Cells
All sorts of good things happens here during IF: Insulin levels in the blood drop significantly, facilitating fat burning; Genes and molecules change positively in relation to longevity, expected lifespan and susceptibility to cancer; Human Growth Hormone (HGH) has been seen to multiply up to 5 fold promoting fat burning and muscle gain; Cells are repaired through the removal of waste material!
5. Heart Health
IF improves the common risk factors associated with heart disease. These include blood pressure, total and LDL cholesterol, blood triglycerides, inflammatory markers and blood sugar levels. Heart disease is currently the world’s No. 1 killer, and although more testing needs to be carried out on the efficacy of IF in human trials, early studies clearly suggest that this could well be a game changer!
In a nutshell, although you may be feeling a little overwhelmed with all the “science” I feel it’s safe to say that if you are looking for a sustainable, long term, weight management programme which will not only increase your chances of reaching your goals, but comes with some incredible health benefits to boot - Intermittent Fasting certainly looks to be the path to follow.
NUTRISEED TAKES 5:2 INTERMITTENT FASTING AND MAKES IT SUPER-SIMPLE!
The concept behind the Nutriseed 5:2 Club takes the scientifically proven metabolic advantage of 5:2 Intermittent Fasting to a whole new level - making it super easy to crush those weight-loss goals!
Five delicious bottles of nutritionally packed Cold Pressed Juice blends take away the pain of planning, shopping, cooking and calorie counting on 2 “Fast” days per week - no thinking, no fuss, just grab-n-go!
The rest of the week - you get on with your life, enjoying the foods you love, sharing meals with your family and social events with your friends.
Who would have thought you’re just 2 days a week away…..from reaching your goals AND staying there?
The 5:2 Club includes weekly on-line meet-ups with the 5:2 Club Calls, an exclusive access portal with video recipes, workout programmes and targeted exercise plans you can follow on your phone, articles and more.
You also receive Nutriseed’s signature blend of eleven of the world’s most
powerful superfoods “Total Superfoods” to combine with your favourite smoothie ingredients for the perfect Non-fasting day meal replacement to not only ramp up your results, but your overall health too.