Intermittent fasting: risks and what to be aware of if you do it

intermittent fasting is known as a kind of diet that people follow for a period of time, This can be for days or weeks, with the aim of losing weight and improving health.

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There are various fasts that people practiceamong the most popular is the alternate day fastingwhich consists of not eating one day and reducing food by 500 or 600 calories the next day and so on.

Another is the fast 5:2 in which the food is under a diet for five days and then two days of fasting, which can be done for several weeks. The other is the daily fasting with restricted time It implies eating normally during a stipulated time in the day, for example, for 8 hours you can eat freely but the rest of the day you must fast.

However, for the World Health Organization (WHO) It is not recommended to do this type of fasting because in a certain way they affect the health of the person and not all diets apply to all people.

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In a A study published in the journal Update on Nutrition (Vol. 21) ensures that: “Intermittent fasting: the food panacea?” it is mentioned that: “This nutritional tool is not suitable for all individuals. It is necessary to individualize it to obtain better results without suffering unnecessary risks, for example, in the case of diabetics. For this same reason, it is essential to consult a professional before carrying out and putting into practice these nutritional models, and to advise according to the best nutritional method or type of AI that best suits the individual in order to personalize as much as possible.”.

On the other hand, Surah EPS indicates that there is advantages and disadvantages when doing this activity.

Subsistence allowance

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– Decreased insulin resistance

– Reduction of blood glucose

– Increased use of adipose tissue and weight loss

– Detoxification and body cleansing

– Decreased inflammation

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– Difficult to focus

– Sleep disorders

– Fatigue

– Dehydration

– Stress

– Dizziness

– Headache

Surah EPS He also comments that at the end of the diet, if adequate food is not consumed and a healthy habit is maintained, the person may gain weight again and suffer from nutritional deficiencies.

Going back to the study published by the magazine Update on Nutrition (Vol. 21), within its conclusions it mentions that with the practice of intermittent fasting there is improvement in diseases like diabetes, either directly and indirectly, so you lose weight. Similarly, intermittent fasting in overweight patients shows an improvement in their system in addition to weight loss.

(See: Why do many people gain weight quickly after a diet?)

Regarding cancer patients, the study mentions that “There is no consensus on the part of the scientific community, in the AI ​​feeding protocol, therefore, feeding should always be supervised by a professional”.

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