The studies being carried out on the effects of intermittent fasting show very interesting results: It promotes weight loss, improves blood pressure and reduces cholesterol and blood sugar levels, among other benefits.

To do this, the most common recommendation is to have dinner early and not have breakfast or have it almost at noon to go without eating. for a period of 14 to 18 hours. For example, this condition is met if we have dinner at 9 p.m. and breakfast at 11 a.m., in the short version, or at 3 p.m., in the long version.

However, recent studies show that in reality It would be better to skip dinner and have breakfast early. This proposal will be very popular with people who do not dare to do intermittent fasting because it is very difficult for them not to have breakfast after getting up.

In this video we tell you what you can take during a fast:

What is the best time to fast?

The idea behind intermittent fasting is that if we allow enough hours to pass between meals, we allow insulin levels in the blood to drop enough so that The body turns to fat cells for energy. But what is the best time to fast?

Over hundreds of thousands of years We have evolved under the succession of days and nights, that is, under a circadian rhythm that our body has made its own in many ways. Our metabolism has adapted to daytime eating and nighttime sleep. That is why it is consistent that eating at night is associated with a greater risk of obesity, as well as diabetes, because our metabolism does not work the same as it does in the morning.

Stop eating before 3 p.m.

Based on this idea, researchers from the University of Alabama (United States) conducted a study with a small group of obese men with prediabetes. They compared a form of intermittent fasting called «early feeding with time restriction»in which all meals were eaten within an early eight-hour period (from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.). The participants in the other group, which acted as a control, were able to eat until 7 p.m.

After five weeks following these eating schedules, both groups of men maintained their weight (they neither gained nor lost it). However, the group that restricted meals to an 8-hour window and did not eat anything after 3 p.m. recorded much lower blood insulin levels, increased insulin sensitivity and lower blood pressure. Also, interestingly, the 8-hour group experienced less appetite.

The conclusion is that simply changing the timing of meals and stopping eating early produced significant benefits on metabolism.

According to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, Fasting is part of our physiology and triggers essential cellular functions that promote weight control, reduce inflammation and improve symptoms of a variety of problems from pain caused by arthritis to asthma.

Even night fasting could reduce cancer risk (because it helps eliminate damaged cells through the process called autophagy) and improves brain function.

Balanced diet, sleep and rest

Of course, not eating in the afternoon and evening is not the only key to health. It is equally essential that meals be balanced and based on natural foods, and that our lifestyle includes sufficient physical exercise, rest and emotional well-being.

On the other hand, people with advanced diabetes or who are taking medications, with a history of eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia, and women who are pregnant or breastfeeding should not practice intermittent fasting unless they are under the supervision of a doctor that can control them.

Scientific references: