In the field of diet and nutrition, fasting can be a polarized concept, especially during prolonged fasting, such as fasting 24 hours a week.
Some dietitians and healthcare providers say fasting is harmful to your health and does not promote weight loss in a sustainable way.
On the other hand, some health experts and nutrition professionals believe that fasting can be a healthy and effective means to lose weight, burn fat, reduce the risk of certain diseases, and even improve overall health.
We will investigate the benefits of fasting 24 hours a week.
We will introduce:
- What can you eat during the 24-hour fasting period?
- 13 benefits of fasting once a week 24 hours
You can drink water, ordinary herbal tea without adding sweeteners, soda water or coffee.
The benefits of fasting once a week include:
#1: Fasting 24 hours a week can promote weight loss
One of the potential benefits of fasting once a week is weight loss. In fact, the prospect of weight loss is one of the main reasons people try any form of fasting, whether it is a standard time-limited intermittent fasting diet (such as 18/6 intermittent fasting) or a 24 hours a week fasting
There is evidence that fasting can promote weight loss and improvement in body composition.
For example, a review of 27 intermittent fasting dietary interventions found that all 27 studies resulted in weight loss of 0.8% to 13.0% without serious adverse events.
In order to lose weight, you have to generate insufficient calories, which requires consuming less calories than burning.
It takes 3500 calories to reduce one pound of body fat.
So if you follow any traditional, calorie-limiting diet, it means you need to consume 500 less calories per day than you burn every day to lose a pound per week.
While this strategy works for some, others find that fasting once a week is more sustainable than modest deprivation every day.
Fast 24 hours a week may be almost all you need to do to lose 3500 calories to lose a pound of fat.
Even if you usually consume much less than 3500 calories per day, you can also do a good job of causing energy deficiency if you don't consume any calories for 24 hours.
Then you just need to reduce calories slightly during the other six days of the week.
Nevertheless, most studies show that fasting is good for weight loss, but not everyone can lose weight from fasting.
The effect of fasting 24 hours a week depends on your total calorie balance of the week; if you can maintain calorie deficits by fasting without rebounding compensation diets over the next few days, you will lose weight.
#2: Fasting 24 hours a week can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease
Although most people who fast once a week do this because of potential weight loss benefits, 24 hours a week have other potential physical and mental health benefits.
study shows that routine, regular 24-hour fasting can potentially reduce the risk of coronary artery disease (CAD), one of the leading causes of death in adults.
Researchers note that 24-hour fasting can reduce the levels of trimethylamine nitrogen oxides (TMAO), a compound produced by gut bacteria, and is associated with an increased risk of CAD.
subjects had an average TMAO baseline level of 27.1 ng, but after 24 hours of fasting, these levels dropped significantly to 14.3 ng, 10.8 ng, a beneficial drop.
In contrast, after a normal diet, TMAO levels actually increased to 28.2 ng, which was a harmful increase of +2.6 ng.
Although TMAO levels returned to baseline levels within 48 hours of fasting, the researchers noted that the 72-hour fasting period (fasting period plus 48 hours after fasting) helped reduce the total number of exposures to harmful TMAO per week.
Therefore, fasting 24 hours a week seems to help reduce the risk of heart disease.
#3: Fasting 24 hours a week can reduce the risk of metabolic syndrome
Studies have shown that fasting 24 hours a week can reduce the risk of metabolic syndrome because 24 hours a week can reduce LDL ("harmful") cholesterol and triglyceride , increase HDL ("harmful") cholesterol, and reduce body fat.
#4: Fasting 24 hours a week may help fight certain cancers
Although human studies are lacking, evidence from animal studies suggests that fasting can help the body fight certain cancers by making tumor cells more sensitive to chemotherapy drugs.
This makes killing of tumors easier, especially in the case of malignant tumor growth.
#5: Fasting 24 hours a week may help reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes
There is evidence that intermittent fasting has a similar positive effect on cardiovascular and brain health by increasing brain-derived neurotrophic factor .
This is believed to reduce oxidative damage, improve cell stress resistance, and thus increase heart and brain cells' resistance to ischemic damage, reducing the risk of heart attacks and stroke .
#6: Fasting 24 hours a week may increase growth hormone
Human growth hormone (HGH) can promote muscle building and cell repair and accelerate fat burning.
After heavy resistance training, HGH levels increase, which is one of the main reasons for the positive anabolic effect and cell repair after such training.
There is also evidence that one of the benefits of fasting 24 hours a week or intermittent fasting can increase HGH production, resulting in similar benefits.
#7: Fasting 24 hours a week stimulates autophagy
Fasting for a long time, such as not eating for 24 hours, will cause to autophagy . This is a cell cleaning process, and healthy cells will clear away cell waste and dead cells.
autophagy process improves cell health, reduces inflammation, supports the growth of new cells , which is said to delay aging.
#8: Fasting 24 hours a week can reduce oxidative stress
Once a week One of the main benefits of fasting 24 hours a week is that it can help protect your body from oxidative stress, which is a damage caused by free radical and active substances.
oxidative stress is related to the premature decomposition of protein and cell membrane, changes in DNA and cell aging.
So, by helping the body withstand oxidative stress, 24-hour fasting helps prevent cell damage and potentially fight aging.
#9: Fasting 24 hours a week can reduce inflammation
Regular fasting can reduce inflammation, which is the main driver of many chronic diseases such as obesity, metabolic syndrome, html type 22 diabetes , heart disease and certain cancers.
#10: Fasting 24 hours a week may help improve brain health
The benefits of fasting 24 hours are not limited to the body; fasting 24 hours a week is also good for the brain.
For example, animal studies have shown that regular fasting may stimulate neurogenesis (the growth of new neurons) and may prolong life.
#11: Fasting 24 hours a week can improve insulin sensitivity
There is evidence that intermittent fasting reduces insulin levels, reduces the risk of insulin resistance, and also supports the reduction of fat.
#12: Fasting 24 hours a week can increase your metabolic rate
Research shows that while long-term fasting will reduce your metabolic rate, the short-term caloric limit of regular fasting will increase your metabolic rate.
Researchers believe that fasting triggers a hormonal environment, which increases fat breakdown, or breaks down body fat for energy.
This is mainly because fasting will lower your insulin levels and increase the body's growth hormone and norepinephrine.
Faster metabolic rate can help lose weight because the more calories you burn during rest, the easier it is to consume fewer calories than you eat.
#13: Fasting 24 hours a week can reduce the risk of certain diseases
Due to the benefits of reducing insulin and increasing autophagy, fasting 24 hours a week may help reduce the risk of various diseases, such as diabetes , certain cancers and neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease .
While fasting once 24 hours a week is not necessarily safe or tenable for everyone, it can be a great way to promote health and support others’ weight loss goals.
If you are interested in fasting for 24 hours to get the benefits of 24 hours fasting, consult your doctor for personalized advice.
If you want to know about other intermittent fasting diets, please refer to our guide.
