MIAMI, Fla. (Ivanhoe Newswire) — While many diets focus on what you eat, intermittent fasting is all about when you eat. There are a few ways to do it … maybe you eat for eight hours during the day and then fast the rest. Or you might choose to eat just one meal a day two days a week. The idea is that when your body goes without food for hours, it uses up its sugar reserves and starts burning fat. And now we’re learning that nightly fasting may have more benefits than just weight loss.
Math teacher Desiree Valdez enjoys helping other people solve problems.
Valdez says, “You have to take a subject that most people hate and give it a little more love or at least sympathy.”
But when it came to her own health over the last year, the numbers didn’t add up.
“During this time, blood pressure and weight increased,” explains Valdez
No matter what she tried, nothing worked, so… she says, “I decided to fast for 16 hours and eat for eight hours.”
Maria Delgado, a hypertension specialist at the University of Miami, recommended that Desiree try nightly fasting to naturally reset her body.
Doctor Delgado says: “You eat, eat, eat, eat, eat. And that includes eating before bed. So that alone is a big problem because it activates your pancreas. It increases your risk of diabetes, your cholesterol is not metabolized well.”
Nighttime fasting increases metabolism, prevents late-night blood sugar spikes, and reduces inflammation. One study found that a fasting window of more than 14 hours actually alters genes linked to longevity, and intermittent fasting for 30 days lowers the risk of cancer, Alzheimer’s, and neuropsychiatric disorders.
“Night is the time when cells rest, but it is also the time of cell regeneration, so you can cleanse your body during this time when you are not eating,” says Dr. Delgado.
As part of the fast, Desiree commits to drinking only water, green tea, and black coffee during the 16 hours of the fast. During the other eight hours, she eats whatever she wants. After six months, she had lost nearly 50 pounds and her blood pressure was normal.
Desiree says: “I used to be just fit, a fit 50-year-old, a little chubby. But now I feel youthful.”
Another benefit of time-restricted feeding is that it may help Alzheimer’s patients. A study from UC San Diego found that mice fed on a time-restricted schedule showed improvements in memory and sleep.
Contributors to this news report include: Marsha Lewis, producer; Kyle Fisher, editor; Matt Goldschmidt, videographer.
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