Why WHEN you eat can be more important than WHAT you eat:
If you made a New Year’s resolution to lose weight or improve your health this year, you really need to read this! While terms like ‘Intermittent Fasting’ and ‘Time Restricted Eating’ are all the rage on social media, the scientific based research led by Dr. Satchin Panda is proving that this isn’t just another health fad.
In fact, it’s something we humans used to practice thousands of years ago. Our predecessors who were hunter-gatherers, would remain in a fasted state until they hunted their food. They would feast if they were successful and then fast until the next hunt. And while we have evolved in so many ways, research has shown that our body thrives in this temporary fasted state. Why? Because experiments on both mice and humans have shown that our body can optimally cleanse itself when fasting for 12 or more hours. And amazingly, when that happens your body:
- Looks younger, has more energy, increases longevity
- Suffers from less inflammation, cancer and other diseases
- Loses fat and gains muscle mass
- Can regulate glucose and insulin levels (Can prevent Diabetes)
How can I practice Time Restricted Eating ?
Simply, you are limiting your window of feeding time to 12 hours or even better 10 hours so that your gut is given a rest and can properly cleanse according to Dr. Panda. So if you wake up in the morning at 8am and have your coffee, that’s when your eating window begins until your last meal at 7pm, ideally 6pm. To enjoy the full extent of the benefits of Time Restricted Eating you should only be consuming water in your fasted state. Tea, herbs and even black coffee can interfere in the cleansing process. Lastly, it goes without saying that although calorie counting is not necessary when doing ‘Time Restricted Eating’, it’s common sense to observe a healthy diet!