Intermittent fasting is one of the most fashionable diets today, and for good reason: this feeding system can produce a number of impressive results such as weight loss, increased fat burning, improved cognitive functioning , reducing inflammation, and potentially even lengthening your life. But while the benefits are clear, we still have a big question: How many hours do you have to do intermittent fasting in order to reap these potentially life-changing rewards? Is there a minimum number of hours you must stop eating to get the benefits?
In this article, we take a look at the issue so that you can better tailor your intermittent fasting plan based on your specific goals, as that will ultimately determine how long it lasts.
What you must take into account to know how many hours to do intermittent fasting
First, to determine how many hours to do intermittent fasting, you must take into account what works for you based on your circumstances . For example, the work you develop will have a lot to do with the number of hours you can help and the hours you can do it, since if your activity requires physical effort from very early on, it will not be feasible that you can endure without eating for breakfast at noon. Other factors such as the type of food you eat during the hours you can eat, whether you get enough rest, whether you play sports or not , your intestinal health, etc. will also greatly influence the result.
On the other hand, it is important to understand that even if you are following the diet to the letter, the different health benefits associated with intermittent fasting will likely take effect at different times. For example, weight loss can be triggered by a relatively short fasting window , while entering ketosis or triggering autophagy – that “self-cleaning” cellular process that drives brain function and even longevity – can take much longer. weather.
But since there are not yet enough studies on the length of intermittent fasting in relation to specific benefits, we can only give you a general idea of how long fasting may be necessary to reap certain benefits.
What goals are associated with each fasting time?
12-hour fast: weight loss and elimination of intestinal toxins
Most intermittent fasting experts agree that fasting less than 12 hours does nothing . Studies show a 34% reduction in breast cancer recurrence with approximately 13 hours of fasting per day. This may be thanks in part to the improvement in blood sugar regulation that occurs with this level of fasting .
Short fasts like this reduce your exposure to gut-associated toxins like endotoxin , which is a harmful byproduct of bacterial death that contributes to metabolic syndrome, obesity, and inflammatory diseases. A 12-hour daily fast can also be beneficial for weight loss , and if you are able to maintain it, you will soon notice the results.
Fasting from 14 to 18 hours: weight loss and fat burning
For many people, between 14 and 18 hours of fasting a day is the ideal range, since it provides more significant benefits for weight loss than a 12-hour fast, but without being a very difficult fast.
During this time range, you can also get into ketosis , which is the process of burning fat in which fat is used by the body for fuel instead of carbohydrates. Although the specific point in which you enter ketosis will depend on several factors, including what was eaten during the last meal (it is essential to consume a lot of fat and few carbohydrates), it usually occurs between 14 to 22 hours of fasting , once that has been burned through glycogen stores (that is, carbohydrates stored in the muscles and liver).
Many experts agree that 16 hours is a good window of fasting that works for most people if they want to lose weight and burn fat, but other benefits related to fasting may not occur until you get to 24 hours.
Episodic prolonged fasts of 24 hours or more: disease prevention
Once you have managed to lose weight and burn fat, your next goal may be to heal your body to prevent disease, and this can be done by fasting if you reach autophagy. Autophagy is the natural process by which cells break down and clean or recycle unnecessary or dysfunctional components so that you can create new healthy cells . This process reduces oxidative stress and inflammation, and helps reduce the risk of contracting a number of chronic diseases.
To reach the state of autophagy and experience these benefits, you must fast for at least 24 hours. But you can’t fast for 24 hours every day because obviously food is essential to life. Experts believe that a long episode (24 hours or more) without any caloric intake, performed a few times a month for decades, is probably the best approach to prevent chronic diseases because it is feasible to do so consistently throughout life . The older we are, the more likely we are to develop chronic diseases such as diabetes, and not eating anything for 24 hours can be easier than fasting for several hours every day in which we must be subject to personal and family commitments .
There are those who go even further and undergo even longer fasting periods, and various scientific studies suggest that they could be very beneficial, but depending on the previous pathologies of each one. It appears that fasts of up to 36 hours have shown promise for people with type 2 diabetes, but it is absolutely necessary to do them under the supervision of a medical professional.
