I’m sure most of you have heard of, thought about, and even participated in fasting, the act of food restriction for several hours a day has been a popular practice for many years. I personally know people that fast days at a time. There are a multitude of fasting methods.
Intermittent fasting has been trending lately and there are a few TV doctors touting intermittent fasting programs of their own. It is believed that restricting calorie intake for a certain number of hours, and for a specific number of days, may offer a wealth of health benefits such as controlling inflammation (a study in Nutrition Research), aiding in lowering blood pressure (in a study in Nutrition and Healthy Aging), may lower cholesterol (in a study in Obesity), and may even boost your immunity (in a study in Autophagy) along with healthy eating choices.
Something exciting happens when you start intermittent fasting, you induce the process of autophagy.
Autophagy is our body’s way of cleaning out cells that are damaged, so it can repair some and generate new, healthy cells. It’s an intracellular cleaning process that’s beneficial to our overall health.
“Autophagy is one of the first lines of defense against any virus and what essentially it does, it goes around cleaning out the excess in the system, and not eating, your body wants to get rid of extraneous cells,” according to Dr. Jason Fung, Nephrologist discussing the process on “Good Morning America.”
How does intermittent fasting boost your immunity, you ask? The process will decrease white blood cell counts, which will trigger regeneration of new immune system cells that will boost your immunity.
So, over a long-term process, it is believed that intermittent fasting can keep you healthy. There are various intermittent fasting methods, so if you are considering trying it out, choose the one that fits your lifestyle and that you can maintain.
To stay healthy and maintain a strong immune system, try intermittent fasting along with making healthy food choices that includes foods high in vitamin C, and zinc, get at least 30 minutes of exercise a day, do not smoke, drink plenty of water, sleep at least 7 – 8 hours a night, drink alcohol in moderation (or not at all), maintain a healthy weight, and wash your hands.
In between the fasting days, here are some healthy food choices that can boost your immunity: citrus fruits (oranges, grapefruit, lemons, limes), garlic, ginger, kiwi, red bell pepper, broccoli, berries, nuts and seeds, spinach, yogurt, turmeric, green tea, and papaya.
Before you try intermittent fasting or any other extreme change in your diet, check with your doctor.
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