Much more than a diet: Do you know the 5:2 method? Why intermittent fasting works
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There is no genetic engineering in the plant
But don’t worry: they are genetically modified
Regardless of whether the 16:8 or 5:2 method is used: More and more people are using intermittent fasting as a weight loss method. Scientists and doctors attribute numerous health benefits to the diet. FOCUS online explains how and why intermittent fasting works.
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Lose weight without starving. Eat without paying attention to the calories – but rather to the time. Intermittent fasting is an uncomplicated method of losing weight and is currently very popular as a diet.
Instead of eating at any time, intermittent fasters only eat during a certain period of time, around eight hours a day. The rest of the time they fast on the so-called 16:8 diet.
Others do better with the 5:2 method, eating normally five days a week and reducing their calories to a maximum of 500 calories on two days.
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Burn fat with intermittent fasting
The advantage of this diet: fasting people gradually lose fat. Scientists demonstrated that the fasting method specifically targets visceral abdominal fat. In the long term, it is just as effective as a diet, but it is much easier to integrate into everyday life.
But intermittent fasting can do much more. It shows numerous positive effects on our health – and in a very short time.
This is what happens in the body during intermittent fasting
For Petra Bracht, intermittent fasting is not a diet; she describes it more as a kind of “daily tidying up”. The doctor has been practicing the diet herself for over 30 years and also eats exclusively plant-based foods.
She explains: “After about twelve to 14 hours of fasting, the process of autophagy begins in the body. Cleansing, healing and regeneration processes take place, the body begins to recycle and burns visceral fat cells. In doing so, it recycles used proteins and breaks them down again into the individual amino acids, which then serve as building and transport materials.
About the expert
Petra Bracht has been a general practitioner and naturopath for more than thirty years. She specializes in nutritional medicine and has seen in her practice for many years how people become healthy through intermittent fasting. In her book “Intermittent Fasting: For a Long Life – Slim and Healthy” (advertisement) she is dedicated to the health effects of intermittent fasting.
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Intermittent fasting: For a long life – slim and healthy by Petra Bracht
Researchers were also able to demonstrate another, previously unknown advantage of intermittent fasting in a mini-study: Intermittent fasting inhibits appetite. The eleven participants were less hungry during their fasting period, which was also shown by measuring the ghrelin level in the body. This is a hormone that triggers feelings of hunger.
The study authors also suspect that burning visceral fat cells preserves muscle mass when losing weight. They want to examine this assumption in more detail in further studies.
This happens after a week of intermittent fasting
According to Bracht, the transition to the new diet is a little difficult for many people in the first three or four days. “In the beginning, the body often rebels, and the psyche also plays a role. Anyone who begins intermittent fasting must give up their normal eating habits. It’s not easy at the beginning – but it’s worth it.”
The blood values improve: According to Petra Bracht, the first effects can be noticed after just a few days: “Blood and cholesterol levels improve, and conditions such as high blood pressure subside after just a week.”
The stomach becomes flatter: Visual success can also be achieved quickly with intermittent fasting. “The stomach quickly becomes flatter, it is no longer bloated and the fat gradually melts away – without you having to stick to a strict calorie limit,” explains Petra Bracht. The doctor recommends measuring your waist circumference regularly in order to monitor the steady loss of weight.
However, intermittent fasting is not a free pass. “Even if the calories are not relevant in this diet, you should still not only eat fast food,” explains Petra Bracht. “In combination with intermittent fasting, a wholesome, preferably plant-based diet ensures that you stay healthy and keep fit.”
You can read more about intermittent fasting here.
This is what happens after a month of intermittent fasting
Chronic illnesses subside: This form of nutrition can also combat numerous diseases. “I see it every day in my practice,” explains the doctor. “Patients notice major changes after just a few weeks.
Whether overweight, metabolic disorders, cardiovascular diseases, autoimmune diseases or fatty liver – intermittent fasting ensures that the symptoms improve or even disappear.”
The mood is getting better: Intermittent fasting also improves your mood within a short period of time. According to Bracht, ketone bodies are obtained when fat is burned. These ensure that we feel active and good.
Watch the video: Whether 16:8 or 5:2: Five tips to help you stick to intermittent fasting
This is what happens after a year of intermittent fasting
The comfortable weight remains: The fact that intermittent fasting is more than just a diet also shows its long-term effects. Once the body has settled at its comfortable weight, thanks to the nutritional method it manages to maintain it without any effort – even over several years.
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You live healthier – and often longer: According to Bracht, patients who have been dependent on medication and tablets for a long time can often gradually stop taking them. “Diabetics need to inject less insulin. Even patients with high blood pressure sometimes no longer need medication at all. Overall well-being improves, as do all metabolic functions.”
Bracht has a clear message for everyone aged 18 and over: “Start now. The sooner you give your body phases of autophagy, the more likely you will grow old and stay healthy. This will also increase your life expectancy.”
It’s never too late to start. “Our bodies can still regenerate even as we get older,” says the doctor. “You will feel as fit at 60 as you did at 40. And at 50 you will feel as fit as you did at 30.”
Is intermittent fasting advisable for everyone?
Bracht advises against intermittent fasting for children and young people who are still growing, as well as people with eating disorders or who are breastfeeding. This is particularly true for women who often had an unhealthy diet during their pregnancy. Bracht explains: “During intermittent fasting, toxins are broken down. These then pass into the mother’s milk and the child.”
Here you can read more about interval fasting Intermittent fasting, therapeutic fasting, pseudo fastingMedicine reveals: Which fasting method is best for defeating the yo-yo effect Switching metabolism to fat burningIntermittent fasting with ADF, 5:2 and 16:8: Which form helps the most when losing weight 6 Specialists clarify16:8, no meat! How doctors eat – and what we can learn from it Belly fat disappears, cells rejuvenate This is what happens in your body when you fast – after one, 14 and 40 days
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