The Psychological Benefits Of Intermittent Fasting

Our time could be defined as “the era of regimes”. There are diets to detoxify the body, ketogenic diets for weight loss, eco-friendly diets, Paleolithic diets… And one of the most popular of recent times: intermittent fasting. He has as many followers as he has detractors.

What is intermittent fasting? How to practice it? What are the physiological, psychological and cognitive benefits of this type of diet? We answer these questions here.

Intermittent fasting: what is it and how is it practiced?

Intermittent fasting is a diet that consists of alternating periods of ingestion and periods of fasting in a more or less structured way. Intermittent fasting consists of completely or partially abstaining from eating for a specified period of time before eating regularly again.

This means that meals should be a little more robust than normal, in order to guarantee the necessary supply of nutrients. It is good to note that some foods do not break the fast. This is the case with tea and infusions, black coffee, kombucha, bone or vegetable broth.

There are different ways to do intermittent fasting. We all know about fasting, since we eat dinner one day and have breakfast the next day, but there are others that are longer.

To start longer periods of fasting, it is best to start gradually. The body has to get used to these longer periods of fasting. Let’s see without further ado what are the most common types of fasting.

12 hour fast (12/12)

This type of fast is most suitable for beginners, as it is very easy to follow and does not require any sacrifice. You just have to bring your dinner time forward a little and eat breakfast a little later than usual.

For example, eat dinner at 8 in the afternoon and have lunch at 8 in the morning. You will spend 12 hours fasting, and sleeping most of the time. You can adapt the hours to suit your schedule.

16 hour fast (8/16)

It is also known as the Lean Gains Diet. The period of food intake includes 8 hours and that of the young 16 hours. It is the most studied, practiced, and easiest type of fast to follow when it comes to long periods of fasting.

The most common way to do it is to bring your lunch hour forward a bit. Usually people who practice it eat before eight o’clock and start eating again the next day at noon.

This is why it is one of the most comfortable to follow. It is widely used by athletes, especially those who want to gain strength with heavy weights (crossfit) or those who want to increase their muscle mass.

20 hour fast (4/20)

This type of fast is also known as the “warrior’s diet”. The period of food intake is reserved for the last hours of the day : it is advisable to consume a larger meal than normal in order to ensure the necessary nutritional intake.

This fast is based on the belief that humans are “night eaters”. During the Paleolithic, people spent the hours of the day hunting and eating at night.

It is an intermediate form of fasting, it is stricter than the 16 hour fast, but milder than the 24 and 48 hour fast. These last two forms are much harsher and more extreme: they should not be practiced continuously or without medical supervision. Of course, fasting must be gradual in order to accustom the body to the fast.

The physiological benefits of intermittent fasting

Intermittent fasting seems more like a natural way of eating than the one we follow on a daily basis. We tend to feed ourselves mechanically, usually following certain schedules: when it’s time to eat, we eat no matter what, with or without hunger.

Fasting periods bring great benefits to the body. Among other things, fasting:

• Increases autophagy and promotes stool intended to cleanse it.
• Reduces inflammation and oxidative stress.
• Improves metabolic flexibility and speeds up metabolism.
• Improves insulin sensitivity.
• Increases the production of growth hormone.
• Promotes better weight control.

Psychological benefits

Intermittent fasting also offers cognitive and psychological benefits, derived from physiological benefits. What are these advantages?

• Increased ability to concentrate. From an evolutionary point of view, after eating, certain cognitive functions are impaired: the sympathetic nervous system, necessary to start cognitive functions is deactivated and the parasympathetic system is activated.
  • In addition, studies indicate that during fasting the levels of neurotransmitters associated with the psychological state of concentration increase, such as norepinephrine and orexin.
• Improved neuroplasticity, the brain’s ability to make new connections. Getting into ketosis and switching between different ways to get energy stimulates brain plasticity.
• Protection against depression. BDNF (Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor) is a substance produced by the brain that is almost absent in people who are depressed. Increasing its production therefore protects against depression. This production can be improved through intermittent fasting.
• Protection against inflammatory processes. Inflammatory processes can interfere with the functioning of the nervous system. Faced with an inflammatory process, the body allocates its resources to fight inflammation and subtracts resources from cognitive functions.
  • By reducing inflammation through fasting, we encourage these resources to be used for what is really needed.

• Control over obsession with food and a better understanding of hunger and satiety signals. This helps prevent emotional or boredom hunger.
• Decreased mental fatigue. The way we eat, especially if ultra-processed foods are included in our diet, produces spikes in insulin, responsible for mental fatigue. If, after fasting, we eat natural or “good processed” foods, these peaks are reduced.

Intermittent fasting isn’t for everyone

Despite the benefits, both physiological and psychological, intermittent fasting is not for everyone. The following people should not fast:

• pregnant or breastfeeding women
• people with type 1 diabetes
• people with a very low BMI and / or eating disorders
• children
• people with liver or kidney failure

Additionally, intermittent fasting can generate anxiety, increase obsession with food, and even cause binge eating after periods of fasting. It can therefore lead to eating disorders, such as binge eating and bulimia nervosa.

Therefore, if you meet any of the above conditions, it is best not to do intermittent fasting. Otherwise, we invite you to experience it to discover its many advantages. Remember that it is always recommended to consult a professional before embarking on a nutritional program.

Our thoughts

Conscious eating means looking at our eating habits while controlling the thoughts associated with our food.