Intermittent fasting is eating on a schedule that alternates periods of going without food with meals. There are many different types of plans, including those that restrict calories for only certain hours of each day or certain days of the week.

The main difference between Intermittent fasting and traditional calorie-restriction diets is that intermittent fasting doesn’t limit portions or foods, only when you eat them.

Intermittent Fasting Helps Fight Oxidative Stress

Free radicals are created by a weak mitochondria (the powerhouses of the cell). The change between eating normally and fasting causes cells to temporarily experience lower-than-usual levels of glucose (blood sugar), and they are forced to begin using other sources of less readily available energy, like fatty acids. This can cause the cells to turn on survival processes to remove the unhealthy mitochondria and replace them with healthy ones over time, thus reducing the production of free radicals in the long-term.

The most common types of intermittent fasting diets include:

• Alternate-Day Fasting: This entails eating only every other day. On fasting days, some eat no food at all, and others eat a very small amount, typically around 500 calories. On non-fasting calorie days, eat normally (but healthfully!)
• The Warrior Diet: This diet includes eating only fruits and vegetables during the day and then eating one large meal at night.
• 16/8 Fasting (also often referred to as Time-Restricted Feeding): For this method, you fast for 16 hours every day and limit your eating to eight hours. Most often, this simply involves not eating anything after dinner and skipping breakfast the next morning.

To get the most out of intermittent fasting, be sure to focus on consuming your diet with healthy foods during the times that you do eat to get as many nutrients as possible into your day.

Furthermore, always listen to your body and never push yourself beyond your limits.

No content on this site, regardless of date, should ever be used as a substitute as medical advice from your doctor or other qualified clinician.