If you’ve been following health influencers online, then you’ve probably come across time-restricted eating (TRE), which is the more proper term for intermittent fasting. Most of them prescribe TRE, together with proper diet and regular exercise as a way to trim down or keep your body in shape. But did you know that time-restricted eating or intermittent fasting has a more valuable benefit than weight loss? This method of restricting calorie intake from anywhere between 16 hours or more can actually give your immune system an edge, studies show.
If there’s anything we’ve learned in a worldwide pandemic, we need to build our body’s defenses, not only from COVID-19, but other kinds of bacteria, pathogens, viruses, and fungi. Here, we’ll tell you all about how time-restricted eating can help enhance your immune system, as well as discuss other enticing health benefits.
Time-Restricted Eating Triggers Autophagy
In a review in Immunology Letters, the co-author of the study Jamal Uddin, PhD found that the fasting period increases the rate of autophagy or cell recycling. “Auto” means self, while “phagy” means eat. This means that when our bodies experience caloric drought, this prompts the body to “self-eat” the damaged cells and convert them into new ones. Essentially, what the data is showing is that can help our bodies heal or repair themselves.
Another way to look at it is this study by stem cell researchers at the University of Southern California. They found that fasting lowered white blood cell counts, which triggered the immune system to produce new white blood cells. When this happens, inflammation and oxidative stress are reduced in our bodies, which in turn, revitalizes the immune system to continue doing its job as a defense mechanism to keep us healthy.
Other scientific studies that support this point-of-view have shown up on our radar, such as Rafael de Cabo and Mark P Mattson’s review in the New England Journal of Medicine. More good news for us: time-restricted eating is beneficial.
Time-Restricted Eating Triggers Ketone Metabolism
Cabo and Mattson discusses how fasting triggers a switch from glucose metabolism to ketone metabolism. You might have heard of ketone from the popular ketogenic or keto diet, which is essentially a fat and low-carbohydrate diet. What it does is it trains the body to burn fat instead of glucose, which leads to considerable weight loss. But here, let’s look at the immune health benefits instead.
The primary building block of ketone are fatty acids. Cabo and Mattson explain, “ketone bodies regulate the expression and activity of many proteins and molecules that are known to influence health and aging.” Ketone bodies not only make the immune system successful in fighting off diseases, it also increases stress resistance, longevity, and helps our bodies avoid serious diseases, such as cancer and obesity.
Other Evidence-Based Benefits of Time Restricted Eating
As if the immune-enhancing benefits are not enough, time-restricted eating appears to be a gift that keeps on giving. Here are other evidence-based benefits of intermittent fasting.
- TIME RESTRICTED EATING CAN: help you lose weight and visceral fat, which alone leads to numerous health improvements.
- TIME RESTRICTED EATING CAN: reduce insulin resistance, lowering the risk for diabetes. When we eat, it triggers our pancreas to secrete insulin. When we fast, we reduce the amount of time we spend in this insulin-secreting state, helping stabilize blood sugar levels. There are studies showing improvements for people with Type 2 diabetes, though more research is needed.
- TIME RESTRICTED EATING CAN: make your heart healthy. Time-restricted eating has been shown to improve numerous different risk factors, including blood sugar levels, blood pressure, cholesterol levels, triglycerides, and other inflammatory markers. However, most of the studies were derived from animals. Hopefully, studies on humans will soon be done and released.
How Does Time-Restricted Eating Work?
Of course, intermittent fasting means watching what you eat when you’re not fasting. A helpful tip is eating nutrient-dense food, with the just right amount that your body needs. An absolute no-no: making up for a meal you missed, such as eating two meals for lunch to make up for breakfast. That will negate the benefits of time-restricted eating
Another helpful tip is thinking of time-restricted eating as an eating pattern, instead of a diet. When you fast intermittently, you’ll be eating within a short time window and fast the rest of the time. During fasting, you can only drink water, or unsweetened tea and coffee (absolutely no milk!).
If you’re new to time-restricted eating or intermittent fasting, here are some types of intermittent fasting you can try to enhance your immune health.
Time Restricted Eating — 16.8
This is the most popular type of TRE as it is the most doable. One can simply skip breakfast, and eat lunch, a snack, and dinner for the eight-hour eating period. The rest, 16 hours, will be your fasting period, which people find easy, given that you sleep most of it anyway. Not only is this method doable, you also avoid sleeping late and munching on midnight snacks.
In an article in Today, two NBC employees tried the 16:8 challenge for a month and here’s what one of them said of the experience. “My stomach growled at the beginning, which is embarrassing in meetings. But it sort of went away. The more I did it, the easier it became.”
Time Restricted Eating – 12:12
This is also an excellent method for beginners. It involves fasting for 12 hours a day, and the other 12 hours for eating. For example, you can eat dinner at 8 P.M., and then fast until you have breakfast at 8 A.M. the following morning. Like 16:8, following 12:12 will require you to have a set schedule for sleeping and follow the doctor-prescribed eight-hour sleep per night.
Time Restricted Eating – 5:2
This involves eating normal five days, and fasting two days a week. During those two days, you can only eat 500 to 700 calories worth of food and drink. Remember that this should be done on non-consecutive days. For example, fast on a Monday and Thursday and eat regularly on the other days.
Time Restricted Eating – 24 hours (weekly only)
Also known as Eat-Stop-Eat, this method requires that you fast for 24 hours once a week. This should be done during a day-off from work (example: Saturday or Sunday), during which time you refrain from doing anything physically exhausting. Some people find this method impossible, and some people exclaim that it’s easier to incorporate in their lifestyle. Just one a week and you’re done.
The Bottom Line
Whatever method you choose, remember that it’s important to prepare your body. For example, if you’re trying this for the first time, don’t use the 24 hours method. Allow your body to ease into by doing the 12:12 first, then 16.8, 18:6, and so forth. Also, for best results, accompany TRE with a healthful and balanced diet, and regular exercise – both are immensely helpful in enhancing immune health, and reducing inflammatory properties in your body as well. Lastly, before you try time-restricted eating, consult with your doctor first. If you can, seek a professional to customize your eating method according to your body type and health goals.
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References:
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/10-health-benefits-of-intermittent-fasting#TOC_TITLE_HDR_3
https://www.shape.com/lifestyle/mind-and-body/intermittent-fasting-immune-system
https://blog.snapkitchen.com/does-intermittent-fasting-help-your-immune-system/
https://time.com/6188405/type-2-diabetes-intermittent-fasting/
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/322293#outlook
https://www.health.harvard.edu/heart-health/time-to-try-intermittent-fasting
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