A brief disclaimer: I am not a “medical expert” by any means, but I am definitely an avid researcher, life-long learner, and self-experimenter of all things health and wellness. When I catch word of anything that can make my life more abundant and effective, I immediately do a quick search in my phone’s browser to see what pops up. If it’s something that really interests me, or that I find hard to believe, I turn to my university’s online library to investigate further.
When I first began researching more on IF, I was truly blown away by how much research had been done on the topic. I couldn’t believe that these findings weren’t more prevalent in society. However, I also discovered a few other surprising things about research and scientific findings…
First of all, I discovered that you can find scientific research to prove just about anything. As much as I would like to say that every study I found showed IF to be the magic key to health and weight-loss for everyone, this simply wasn’t the case. Indeed, numerous studies showed that IF was an effective way to lose excess fat and maintain muscle. One recent study even showed that IF could reduce levels of heavy metals in the body. However, some studies also had inconclusive results, or found no difference in weight-loss and adherence with IF, when compared to daily calorie restriction – seriously?
That being said, there is definitely sound science behind the benefits of fasting that go way beyond weight-loss. So, if you’re a health nerd like me and interested in learning more about fat loss, insulin resistance, autophagy, etc., I highly recommend that you read an incredible book titled, The Obesity Code, by Dr. Jason Fung. Dr. Fung has a way of explaining the biological processes of the body in a comprehensible and memorable way. He also offers lots of free information on his Intensive Dietary Management Program Blog and numerous YouTube videos.
Dr. Valter Longo is another great resource for finding out the science behind fasting. He is author of The Longevity Diet, and founder of the Valter Longo Foundation. He was also featured in that obscure documentary I watched, The Science of Fasting, which sparked the idea for my What IF Diet Plan. The documentary features Dr. Valter Longo’s groundbreaking research, which showed that fasting can help the body offset the negative effects of chemotherapy, and possibly improve its effectiveness in fighting cancer cells. It’s definitely worth watching!