Win by abstention – The Hindu

The Germans have grown. Half of women and two-thirds of men are now considered overweight, reflecting a global trend. At the same time, hunger makes you want a full-bodied society, more than 70% of Germans can imagine themselves fasting, according to a survey of the research institute on Forsa opinions. This number has increased by almost 10% in the last five years.

Last year, the Munich Medical Weekly Journal reported that fasting was "increasingly used in the field of medicine … Supported by current studies, so-called therapeutic fasting is currently experiencing a real boom" .

As such, people are turning to a principle born thousands of years ago. The ancient Greek writer Plutarch said: "Instead of using drugs, will fast better today!" In Germany, in the 1920s, the pacifist Otto Buchinger, the pacifist, created a version of the therapeutic fast that remains popular to this day. After refraining from drinking alcohol and nicotine and intestinal cleansing, only vegetable broth, juice, honey, herbal tea or herbal tea are eaten. water – the energy intake should not exceed 500 calories a day. Buchinger believed that fasting not only affected the body but also the soul, which gave it a spiritual component.

Also popular in Germany, the alkaline diet, or Basenfasten, is based on the notion that the body "overacids" if an excess of sugar, coffee, white flour or other refined foods is ingested. Only fruits and vegetables are eaten during the fasting diet, in order to deacidify and detoxify the body.

The alkaline diet is very popular among naturopaths, according to the information service of the German Society for Nutrition in Bonn. However, they note: "From a scientific point of view, neither the existence of toxins nor the assumption that acidic foods disrupt the acid-base balance does not been proven. "

The alkaline diet and Buchinger's method are based on endless questionable concepts. The German Nutrition Society simply says, "Fasting is not suitable for weight loss". But one thing is clear: fasting causes measurable biochemical changes in the human body, which have a pharmacological effect. Long breaks between calorie intake help fight obesity, as well as type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Supercharged people benefit especially if they voluntarily abstain.

The risk of adverse consequences is low when fasting regimens are performed under medical supervision. However, staying in luxury fasting clinics for several weeks at a time is far too expensive to solve a problem that affects so many people – and few people can even afford fasting treatment in a hospital.

Another option is known as fasting at intervals, although neither version 2: 5 (fast two days a week, normally eats five days a week) nor version 1: 1 (fast one day, normally eats the day next) has really made its way. "Reports of extreme hunger during the fast indicate that it may not be a feasible public health intervention," wrote an article in the report. Annual review of nutrition States, as regards version 1: 1.

But does this also apply to "time-limited feeding?". The concept of this method, particularly popular in Germany for three years, seems simple. By refraining from eating at the beginning or end of the day, calorie intake is limited to a six to 12 hour time slot in a 24-hour cycle. Outside this window, only non-calorie beverages, such as water, tea and black coffee are allowed. The advantage: on time, you can eat as much as you want, but it should be healthy.

This method was inspired by animal experiments conducted at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, California, which Journal of cellular metabolism reported some time ago. A group of lab mice were allowed to eat 24 hours a day; after 100 days, the animals were fat, had high blood glucose and liver lesions. Food was only available for the other group of mice in a time interval of 8 hours. Although they consumed as many calories as mice in the first group, they were healthier and 28% lighter on average after 100 days.

So, could the timing also be decisive? In a study published in June in the same journal, men with early-stage type 2 diabetes were given foods that contained exactly the number of calories their bodies needed. The test subjects were allowed to eat only six in the morning, according to a schedule known as restricted feeding early in the day. For example, if they had breakfast at 8 am, they would not be allowed to eat after 2 pm After five weeks, the test subjects had improved sugar metabolism, low blood pressure, less oxidative stress and a desire to eat something else in the evening.

These results are consistent with previous observations. In 11 dietary studies restricted to 16/16 people, the subjects tested were able to significantly reduce their body weight. In addition, according to studies, sleep and digestion improve if nothing is consumed a few hours before bedtime. On the other hand, people sitting in front of the television or the computer screen nibbling crisps or sipping beer bother their biorhythm. Shift workers who eat at night have an increased risk of obesity, heart attack and cancer.

Consuming calories early in the day and prolonged fasts in the evening and at night "could be a simple, feasible and potentially effective disease prevention strategy at the population level," according to Annual review of nutrition.

Obviously, the human body is not designed to eat permanently. Not snacking at night could be a relatively easy step towards weight loss and improved health.