The Health Series: Nutrition Part 3 - Fasting

 

 

Hello, this is Babae!

 

Welcome back to the Health Series. Last week, I introduced the three macronutrients and suggested that the composition of macronutrients in your diet does not matter. From the three popular diets we examined, I suggested that we should:

• Eat more protein as it makes you feel full so you eat less, and have higher TEF so you sustain a higher metabolism
• Eat less or eliminate refined sugars, salt, and processed foods
• Eat less of the foods your body disagree with
• Get into and out of ketosis

 

And that is where we left off, and as promised, we will be looking into ketosis.

 

As I mentioned last week, your body prioritize energy source from the readily available glucose from carbohydrate, then to the stored energy in fat, and then finally protein.

 

When you run out of glucose in your blood stream, your body will switch to fat as the energy source. The trigger for this event is the low insulin level as a result from the low glucose level. Fat releases fatty acid, which is then converted to ketones by the liver. Ketones become your new energy source.

 

So, why did I include getting into and out of ketosis as my fourth recommendation?

 

When we overeat, and, let's be honest, we often do, we store the extra calories, whether they're from carbohydrate or fat, as fat in our body. This is a natural survival strategy by our bodies.

 

All organisms on Earth came from origins of scarcity. Humans, up until the age of agriculture, were no exception. There were days when food was scarces. If our ancestors had to eat three meals a day to survive, we would not be here today. Our specie has been here for about six million years, but only two hundred thousand years in our modern form. Agriculture was invented around twelve to twenty-three thousand year ago. The real breakthrough since then is the industrialization of agriculture, which only happened in the last century! We now live in a world of abundance, and our bodies have not evolved as quickly as our dietary habits.

 

The hypercaloric diets, meaning we eat more calories than we use, causes obesity. It is not the sugar, salt, processed foods, oils, starch, grain, or whatever we blame the problem on because fundamentally, if we do not eat more calories than we use, we won't gain weight. Now, there is a lot to blame on sugar, salt, and processed foods; those are culprits for jeopardizing longevity and quality of life, issues which I will discuss another week.

 

Obesity is linked to many health issues, including cardiovascular diseases and diabetes. Currently, in Canada, where I live, sixty-four percent of the people are obese. The epidemic is now spreading to children as more than thirty percent of them are obese. It makes sense as the quality of food are decreasing (more calorically dense but less nutritionally dense), while portions are increasing (in the age of abundance).

 

For overall health, I think we can agree that, for most people, weight loss is a priority.

 

So, then how do we get into ketosis?

 

Last week, I introduced the ketogenic diet, which is a low-carb and high-fat diet, which allows your body to use up the glucose from the little carbohydrate quickly, and get into ketosis to utilize the rest of the calories, which comes from fat. This is fine if you are hypocaloric, which is the opposite of hypercaloric and you eat less calories than you use. The problem is that fat is calorically dense, providing nine Calories per gram, oppose to the four Calories per gram from carbohydrate or protein. For the same weight or volume of food, we should aim for fewer calories and more nutrients. The volume of food you eat will expand your stomach to stop the secretion of ghreline and start the secretion of seretonin to let you feel satiated. This means that you will probably intake more calories on a fat-based diet to feel satiated. Eating more calories to get the body to burn fat does not work because the extra calories you do not consume will eventually be stored as fat again.

 

Therefore, we need another way to get our body into ketosis. Fasting.

 

When we fast, we will naturally run out of glucose from the food that we eat, and our body will have to switch to burning fat. But how long do we have to fast to run out of glucose and start burning fat?

 

It takes about two hours for your glucose and insulin levels to peak, and about eight to twelve hours for you to be in a fasted state. This depends on how active you are and how big your meal is. I purposefully simplify my explanation of the science so that it is easier for everyone to understand the concept. In reality, however, we do not ever deplete glycogen stores, and there are other processes that ensure we have glucose to use for energy. For example, protein and other non-carbohydrate molecules are processed by the liver to create glucose. This is called neoglucogensis. When you have entered a fasted state, you are just burning proportionally more fat than glucose and not entirely fat.

 

The problem is that people are eating three meals a day, and sometimes more if you count the snacks. They are never in a fasted state because they never have a twelve hour gap in between eating and glucose level remains elevated. This is where the intermittent fasting comes in.

 

Many people who wants to burn more fat deliberately give themselves an eight-hour or shorter window to eat. This means that they will not be eating for sixteen hours or more. A sixteen-hour fast is determined to be the shortest length that still produce the benefits of fasting. Some, of course, do longer. Intermittent fasting is relatively easy to start and get used to.

 

Your body learn feeding times and set alarms in your internal clocks for when to secrete ghrelin. This is why when you first fast, you will notice that you get hungry during your regular feeding time, whenever that may be. Over two to three days, however, this feeding schedule can be reprogrammed.

 

While losing weight is one of the main goals for most people to go into ketosis, the benefits are actually far greater in a longer fast.

 

At the twelve hour mark after you start fasting, growth hormone increases, which leads to healing and protein synthesis. If you have back pain or joint pain, fasting may trigger healing the source of these pains.

 

After eighteen hours, this is where the important work starts to happen: autophagy.

 

Autophagy is the breaking down of damaged cells. Remember how I said we never run out of glycogen stores, and that we use neoglucogensis to produce new glucose? Well, by breaking down damaged cells, and yes - your body is smart enough to not break down good tissue, the proteins from these cells will be used to either regenerate newer and healthier cells, or used to produce new glucose.

 

In addition to autophagy, a protein called brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is produced, which increases neuroplasticity. This means that your brain can build new neural connections to adapt to changes, and to increase memory retention, including learning.

 

Earlier, I have also highlighted getting out of ketosis because after your fast and you begin to consume food again, your body will be repairing itself and your metabolism will increase. People who practice fasting regularly, such as intermittent fasting or periodically go on extended fasts, will use more calories in their day to day lives, further allowing them to keep the excess weight off, if they eat mindfully.

 

Another benefit of fasting, but pertains primarily to an extended fast, is that it resets your palate. It is hard to acquire a taste for healthy food if you are used to the high sodium and high sugar foods that you eat every day. Whole grain bread does not taste as good as white bread. A salad is less palatable than a steak. While you can slowly acquire a taste for healthier options, fasting expedite the process. As soon as you refeed, and as long as you don't reintroduce those unhealthy foods, you can enjoy a new healthier diet. Fasting can also be seen as a detoxification, which means that not only are you depleting the toxins, but your dependence on them. You can use fasting to help with alcohol and/or caffine dependency. 

 

The last and much overlooked benefit of fasting is building mental toughness, at least the first few times you do it. Not only do we live in a world of abundance, we are sheltered and comfortable, which makes us weak. A lot of us don't get to go through real challenges, or pain. We shy from things that are even slightly uncomfortable. You can definitely regain control of your mind by going through fasting because the first three days will be uncomfortable, and you have to control your mind to stick with the fast.

 

So, how should you start fasting? Well, there are various lengths you can choose from and it's all up to you. Some of your options may be:

• 16/8, 18/6, 20/4 Intermittent fast
• One meal a day (OMAD)
• 24, 48, or 72-hour extended fast
• 7, 10, 14, 21-day extended fast
• Or a combination of the above

 

I do not recommend any longer than five days extended fast for first-timers, and I do not recommend any longer than fourteen days without first consulting a physician or medical supervision. If you can find a clinic that provides medical supervised fast, they will advise you of the length you need. There are lots of anecdotes from cancer patients who have treated cancer successfully with fasting but there is not much scientific data. I understand the theory behind the hypothesis but I will not go over it in this post. Feel free to do your own research.

 

I recommend doing extended fasts only one way: water fast. You can only drink water and nothing else. When you eat anything, you may increase your glucose and insulin level and therefore be out of the fast. That thing you eat will only cause you to be more hungry, as it is proven - people on calorie-restricted diets feel more hungry than those who are fasting.

 

If you have been on an unhealthy diet or are malnourished then I would not suggest you to go on an extended fast to begin with. If you have been eating well, you will have all of the minerals and vitamin stores in your body for you to make it through the fast. And remember, this is your chance to get off the caffine and/or alcohol dependence so I do not recommend coffee or tea during a fast although they have no calories.

 

It is easiest to start with a form of intermittent fasting, and the difficulty increases as you make your way across and down the list.

 

Personally, I do one meal a day, and if on a day I crave to eat more, I often do it within an eight hour window. You do not need to be too strict with yourself.

 

You can add a one-day fast every week, or a three-day fast every month, or a five to seven-day fast every three months. My general advise is that the longer the fast, the less frequent you should do it.

 

When I was preparing this post, I started a ten-day fast. I am on my seventh day. This is the second fast I've ever done. I cannot say that it is any easier. The timing of this fast is not coincidental. I wanted to provide you with some of my personal experiences as I go through the fast, in addition to the information above.

 

I didn't do anything special on my last meal but you can eat less carbohydrate to help kick start your ketosis.

 

My first fast and this second fast were both the most difficult on day two and day three. The first day is always not that difficult as I am already used to eating one meal a day so I am justing skipping one meal. Day two is when hunger kicks in. Again, your body has that internal alarm clock for releasing ghrelin. The more meals you eat a day, the more frequent you will experience that ghrelin kicking in. Therefore, I suggest before you start an extended fast, you get your number of meals down and eat at precise times. If you are constantly eating, then you will feel constant hunger. The wave of hunger lasts about two hours each time.

 

You may also experience lightheadedness or weakness on day two or three. This is normal as your body is getting used to burning fat for energy and adjusting your metabolism. In the beginning of the fast, your metabolism decreases as your body conserves energy, but around day two or three, your metabolism returns to normal. Your brain is also adjusting to using ketones as the energy source, when it has been accustomed to glucose for so long. But don't worry, our bodies are very adaptive. If you experience headaches, drink more water! Water is very important during the fast as your kidneys process and excrete toxins. You will get dehydrated faster. Do not drink too much water, though, as that will dilute the electrolytes in your body. The key is balance.

 

You may also feel that your extremities (hands and feet) get cold. Very cold. This is also normal as your body focuses blood flow to your brain and internal organs. You can dress warmer, e.g. wear socks even at home, or turn up the heat.

 

I do a lot of therapeutic activities such as massage (I have this very good massage gun), and take hot baths during my fast to increase blood flow.

 

For day two and day three to be more bearable, you may want to sleep more and just let the time pass. Your basal metabolic rate, the calories your body uses to keep you alive, is enough to burn quite a bit of fat.

 

After the third day, your hunger will subside; you may not even feel hungry at all. Right now, on day seven, I can watch videos about food and cooking and not be hungry. My energy is also pretty stable, and I feel great overall. My extremities are still cold though.

I don’t want to give you unrealistic expectations. The first few days of weight lost is mostly water, as you deplete glycogen store. Glycogen contains a lot of water. You may lose about two pounds per day of fasting but realistically, you will be losing only a pound of fat every two days because a pound of fat provides 3500 Calories and your basal metabolic rate is around 1500-2000 Calories depending on your age, height, weight, and gender. There may be a day or two during the fast when your body adjust the its water content and you will see less weight loss.

 

How to get out of a fast is very important too. I see a lot of recommendations on the Internet and again, there are a lot of conflicting information. The consensus, however, seems to be to eat less, and eat food that is easier to digest, such as cooked vegetables or soups. One way to make sure your food is as easily digestable as possible is to chew more. The recommended caloric intake is 500-800 Calories on the first day of refeeding.

 

My plan: ox tail soup.

 

That's it for this week. I hope you have learned a lot about fasting. If you have any questions, feel free to ask in the comments below or if you have any experience with fasting, please share with us as well. I have yet to think of what topic to discuss for next week but stay tuned and find out!