Today there is a lot of talk about intermittent fasting. Science is showing more and more benefits, including anti-inflammatory effects and the potential for healthy longevity. Even if there are still some dark sides to shed light on.
It is a topic that fascinates me and at the same time also arouses the interest of the press. In recent times, in fact, food seems to have become a central topic in all media.
I have a concern about this that I want to confide to you in complete transparency: the fear that this method, disclosed too lightly, both for its ease of application (you eat or you don’t eat) and for its alleged health benefits, could legitimize obsessive behaviors regarding nutrition.
The most dangerous drift in my opinion is the risk of how much you can “restrict” in the fasting window and how much you can take in in the nourishment window. On the other hand, we live in an era in which the belief prevails that only by quantifying the food we eat and the movement we practice can we have control of our body.
@lauradallaragione says that “when you teach a child to ride a bike, you show him how to pedal but also how to do it safely”. Here, on the same page, I think that we science communicators should do the same by showing the benefits of fasting and at the same time the potential risks, always with a hand on our heart.
Photo: Marta Baffi