Fasting is the willing abstinence or reduction from some or all food, drink, or both, for a period of time, which can range from skipping a meal to multiple days of no food. Intermittent fasting is an eating pattern where you cycle between periods of eating and fasting. Most of us already “fast” every day while we are sleeping. Intermittent fasting can be as simple as extending that fast for a number of more hours.
Peer-reviewed research is increasingly showing the advantages of intermittent fasting and prolonged fasts. To name some:
- Fasting is correlated with less stress, anxiety, and depression (Berthelot et al. 2021)
- Fasting can improve your gut microbiome (Su et al. 2021)
- Fasting can help combat cancer (Alidadi et al. 2021)
- Can help you SUSTAINABLY lose weight and visceral fat
- Can reduce insulin resistance, lowering your risk for type 2 diabetes
- Can reduce oxidative stress and inflammation in the body
- May be beneficial for heart health
- Fasting triggers a cellular repair process called autophagy, which removes waste material from cells
- Has benefits for your brain – it may increase growth of new neurons and protect the brain from damage
- May be protective against neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease
- May extend your lifespan, helping you live longer
Conveniently Track Fasts With Your Phone
One popular app to track your fasting is called Zero, available for Android and iPhone.
Zero is a tracker used for intermittent, circadian rhythm, and custom extended fasting. As the largest app-based fasting community in the world, Zero makes it simple for you to harness the power of fasting to improve your health.
Zero’s advisory team includes some of the world’s leading doctors and researchers, including their Chief Medical Officer Dr. Peter Attia, who guides the fasting protocols and content creation. Read on their blog how Carlos Beat Prediabetes with Fasting and Lost 80 Pounds Along the Way.
10 Best Intermittent Fasting Apps
To explore other fasting tracker apps, Good Housekeeping shares top picks in The 10 Best Intermittent Fasting Apps including simple.life and fastic.com.
Reddit Community
This is a place to share successes, support others, ask questions, get inspired with before/after photos, and learn more at https://www.reddit.com/r/intermittentfasting/