Intermittent Fasting - The new anorexia?

My brother (Ian) visited us a couple of months back from China and introduced me to a new concept known as 'Intermittent Fasting'. My family are religious and fast for 19 days every year as a part of their spiritual devotion, and as a teenager I tried to join them in this a couple of times but normally didn't make it to lunch time without having a sneaky poke in the fridge and pulling out a few left-overs.

Ian as of recent years has become a bit of a guru in the exercise & healthy lifestyle department and he is the culprit who started my family off on this paleo-primal diet! Needless to say we were all open ears when he started talking about this new fasting program he was using.

I think the first thing to know is that this may not work for everyone, and before you can consider fasting you should first make sure you are eating the right foods at regular intervals. If done properly fasting has some real major benefits for your body.

Trying to summarise in my own words I understand that we believe that we need to eat way more than what our body actually needs. When we consume food our bodies start to produce new cells, and that by fasting this allows our body to slow down on the new cell production and actually repair damaged cells within your body already.

P.S I do not know this person but thought it was a pretty significant body change?

Intermittent fasting acts to turn on certain genetic repair mechanisms that enhance cellular rejuvenation. This adaptation appears to allow certain cells to have a longer lifespan during times of famine. It is energetically less expensive to repair a cell than it is to divide and create new cells. This has a positive effect at shutting down cancer cell formation and proliferation.
Intermittent fasting is one of the most powerful modalities for reducing inflammation, boosting immunity and enhancing tissue healing. This is one of the reasons why many people feel nauseated when they have infections. This innate mechanism is the body's way of influencing us to fast so it can produce the right environment to boost natural immunity.

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/034277_fasting_longevity.html#ixzz2EDlLoyBZ

In my household my Dad is actively trying this, and for a 50 something year old man who does not like exercise he is in the best looking shape I have seen him for years. I believe that we have some lucky genes in my family and this way of eating suits us perfectly.

I have also started to fast 2 days a week - On these days I will not eat breakfast however will normally eat a boiled egg at lunch and a small portion of whatever is being cooked for dinner. Throughout the day I will keep well hydrated and also have a sneaky coffee or two or three....

Last night I met up with an old friend of mine (Sonne) who is majorly into the exercise & health world and he too supported the intermittent fasting idea and practices it. So it must be good for you right?

Blogged by: Megan