Diet Series – How Intermittent Fasting Can Deep Clean Your Brain
Did you know that time restricted eating has a multitude of brain benefits, and can even encourage your brain to self-clean? Let’s find out more!
What is intermittent fasting?
Intermittent fasting, or IF, is not strictly a diet, but rather a way of managing eating schedules. It sets out designated timings for food consumption, a practice that has been linked to a range of health benefits. There are several popular methods, including, but certainly not limited to:
16/8, or time restricted eating: with this type of fasting, all daily calories are consumed within an 8-hour window. For example, you might choose to eat between the hours of 11 am to 7 pm, or 10 am to 6 pm. For the remaining 16 hours, you will fast. Others find that a 14/10 or 12/12 method works better for their lifestyle.
The 5:2 Diet: This involves eating as normal for 5 days of the week and restricting calories to around 500 for the other 2 days.
Eat-Stop-Eat Method: Those following this approach will fast for a full 24 hours once or twice a week.
Alternate day fasting: This is a slightly more extreme method that involves doing a full fast one day, and having a full normal day of eating the next.
What do fasting periods do to the brain?
Although a greater depth of research is needed, studies have found that periods of fasting can trigger a process called autophagy in the brain. This is essentially the brain’s way of performing a detoxifying clean-up, clearing out debris and old damaged cells and making way for healthy new cells.
What’s especially exciting about this is that a plethora of research has tied issues with autophagy to neurological conditions including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and even Alzheimer’s disease.
Fasting and inflammation
What’s another key component of many health problems and particularly brain disorders? Chronic inflammation. The great news is that IF may help to decrease inflammation, improving brain health and general and mental well-being.
Fasting and fat burning
Obesity is also an issue when it comes to optimal brain health, and IF can help maintain a healthy weight in a number of ways:
Increased levels of HGH, or human growth hormone when fasting supports fat loss and encourages muscle growth.
Lowered insulin levels also help to enhance fat burning.
Blood pressure levels at night are also reduced - and it really is true that what’s good for your heart is good for your brain.
Metabolic health is improved, with a reduction in insulin sensitivity meaning a lesser chance of developing type 2 diabetes and insulin resistance, which has been associated with various neurogenerative diseases.
Fasting and memory
The benefits just keep on coming, with IF shown in human and animal research to have a notably positive effect on memory and learning tasks.
A quick note on fasting
As with any new dietary approach, it’s always best to do your research and consult a professional first. And although IF doesn’t offer guidelines on what to eat, a healthy balanced diet is the perfect partner to optimize the health of your brain. For inspiration, why not check out the other posts in our diet series, and sign up for our newsletter to stay up-to-date with our latest content.