What Fasting Can Do For You
Whether you’re trying to lose weight or are searching for other health benefits, fasting may be right for you. There are various types of fasting. Your goal, physical health, and preference will determine the one you use. You can do water fasts, 5:2 fasts, intermittent fasts, and many other variations. A 5:2 fast is where you eat normally for five days and abstain from food or eat a severely calorie-restricted diet for two days. You can do intermittent fasting in several ways, too. One of the most popular methods is to eat during an eight-hour window and fast the other sixteen hours.
Heath benefits of fasting have been known for a while.
Fasting has been part of religious practices for thousands of years. Ancient Greeks used water fasts to improve their health and for spiritual reasons. Many studies were done in the 1900s that found fasting could help with many conditions. Early help for epilepsy was fasting. The scientists realized those with the condition couldn’t do it long. That led to low-carbohydrate diets. Animal studies showed fasting helped keep the animals more youthful. Another review in 2021 identified that fasting could delay disease and increase longevity.
You can reduce inflammation with fasting.
Inflammation can be beneficial. It helps prevent infections and fights off microbial invaders. That’s acute inflammation. Long-standing inflammation called chronic inflammation isn’t. Studies indicate that chronic inflammation can lead to heart disease, Alzheimer’s, cancer, and other serious problems. It helped reduce inflammatory markers. In animal studies, it was beneficial for MS—multiple sclerosis.
It can be beneficial for heart health and blood sugar control.
One study on alternate-day fasting found it lowered cholesterol levels. It can help with weight loss and improve blood pressure. Alternate-day fasting can also improve other cholesterol markers by lowering LDL (bad) cholesterol levels and reducing triglycerides. All those things can help heart health. Many studies have indicated that fasting can help control blood sugar. A 2023 study found that fasting three days a week reduced the risk of type 2 diabetes. It improved insulin sensitivity.
- Intermittent fasting can help lower risk factors leading to metabolic syndrome. Metabolic syndrome includes five symptoms: a large waistline—belly fat, high blood pressure, high blood triglycerides, high blood sugar, and low HDL (good) cholesterol.
- Studies show intermittent fasting may increase the amount of fat the body burns. It may do that by increasing human growth hormone. It may beneficially change genes controlling longevity.
- Fasts can help flush toxins from the body and improve your digestive system. It helps the digestive system by improving the gut microbiome and gives your digestive system a rest.
- Animal studies on fasting show it may improve brain functioning and provide protection from Parkinson’s and other neurodegenerative diseases. Always check with your healthcare professional before you fast.
For more information, contact us today at Rising Fitness Gym
People in Houston, TX often put exercise on their schedule to ensure they do it daily. Not only is it easier when it’s considered an appointment but doing it at the same time daily also makes it a habit. It helps ensure the potential for success and consistency. You won’t lose weight if you only eat donuts and one salad occasionally. The same is true for getting fit. You have to be consistent to see the changes you desire. It often takes weeks to see changes, but you’ll feel the difference quicker than that.
If you’re one of the millions of people who take fish oil, you probably take it for a specific ailment. Fish oil contains omega-3 fatty acids that can improve heart and brain health. The body requires omega-3 to function properly, but it cannot produce it, so it must come from food. It can aid in treating conditions such as depression, asthma, some autoimmune diseases, ADHA, and rheumatoid arthritis. A study at one of the most dangerous prisons in the UK found that increasing omega-3 and providing a nutrient-dense diet significantly reduced violent acts.
There are a lot of food fads that circulate in Houston, TX, and not all of them are healthy. Luckily, the latest fad of using chia seeds in recipes is different. These tiny seeds are power-packed and ready to provide not only health benefits but also some benefits for your recipes. Using chia seeds in food isn’t new. It was a mainstay of the Mayan and Aztec diet. These tiny seeds may not look impressive but when you include them regularly in your diet, you’ll get impressive results.
Occasionally eating a small slice of cake or pie won’t affect your weight loss program much. However, if you eat an entire pie or cake and do it every day, you won’t lose weight. Portion control plays a vital role in weight loss. Portion control is more important for some foods than it is for others. For instance, you can eat as many leafy green vegetables as you want without worry but need to watch portions when consuming higher-calorie foods, even if they are fruit or vegetables. Avocados are one example and nuts are another where portion control makes a difference.
Many recent studies show that gut health makes weight loss easier. The microbiome in the gut impacts your gut health directly. There are millions of them and a variety of species. They include bacteria, viruses, fungi, and other microscopic organisms. They dramatically affect all functions in the body, including gut health. While there are debates on the number of microbes in the body, Scientists agree there are more microbes than cells in our body.
Do you have dreams of eating cakes and pastries and never gaining weight? The truth is, you can’t. However, there is food you can have in an unlimited amount. Some foods are lower in calories, while others have a thermogenic effect. When your body digests food, it takes extra energy. Some types of food require more energy to digest than others. Food like celery is already low in calories and when you factor in the thermogenic effect, it is even lower and may be negative calories.
At Rising Fitness, we use a holistic approach to good health. The body requires exercise but also needs a healthy diet to reduce the risk of disease. A healthy diet contains many components, including macronutrients, micronutrients, and phytonutrients. Macronutrients include protein, fat, and carbohydrates, while micronutrients include vitamins and minerals. Phytonutrients are substances found in plants that improve the functioning of the body.
National Avocado Day will be here soon. The celebration on July 31 gives an opportunity to discover new ways to reap the health benefits of avocados. Most people in Houston, TX, immediately think of guacamole when they hear the word avocado, but there are hundreds of ways to include them in your meals. Mashed and spread on toast, they make a creamy, delicious alternative to butter or other spread. Avocados are a healthy addition to salads, tacos, and salsa, and even mixed with goat cheese for avocado cheese truffles. Here are some reasons to search for avocado recipes to celebrate this healthy treasure.
If your hormones are out of balance, it can affect your body in many ways. It all depends on the hormone in question. In many cases, you can rebalance your hormones naturally. For instance, leptin, the satiety hormone, and ghrelin the hunger hormone can get out of balance if you don’t get enough sleep, causing the body to produce too much ghrelin and too little leptin. The solution is relatively easy. Get adequate sleep to reset these hormones.