Start your detox journey with fasting

Have you ever thought about intermittent fasting? Eating 3 meals a day is usually what most Americans eat on a daily basis. But what about our ancestors? Did they eat 3 meals per day? Most likely the answer is no. Our bodies were created for food, but also for fasting. More and more research studies has been done proving the amazing benefits of fasting. Intermitted fasting is when you give your body a break from food, and you do not eat any food for a period of time. If you ever thought about giving your stomach a break from food, it turns out, that break will cause many different benefits.

If you've been struggling to shed some extra weight, intermittent fasting will help aid in weight loss because over a certain time without food, your body will go into ketosis. Ketosis is when your body stops using sugar as fuel and now must go into the stored fat cells for fuel and energy. You will notice a decrease in your weight especially around your mid section and stomach area. Gas and bloating will decrease and you will notice you are less likely to overeat. Your stomach will start to get smaller and you won't feel the need to indulge and you will feel more satisfied with your meal quicker. Eating only one meal a day 5 days a week is great way to start your journey to weight loss. When its time for dinner, make it count by having a great protein rich balanced meal including vegetables and fruit. Try your best to avoid pastas and breads to prevent a blood sugar spike. Taking a break from food will also help repair your gut.  If you've ever taken antibiotics and your gut microbe is off balance, intermittent fasting can help repair your gut microbe especially with a probiotic. When you break your fast, it is best to eat sauerkraut or kefir yogurt which is fermented food that increase your gut microbe and good bacteria naturally. I also recommend taking a good quality probiotic supplement before bed.

Ketosis has many benefits other than to aid in weight loss. Research has shown that ketones are also needed for your brain as fuel to help decrease the risk of Alzheimer's and Dementia. If you only continuously consume sugar as your main fuel source for energy by eating three meals a day you will never feed your brain ketones. Ketones are an amazing fuel source for your body and mind. Many studies are showing these benefits. As a registered nurse, I cannot emphasize enough how many of my patients had memory problems. Most of my geriatric patients were confused. By allowing your body to start producing ketones to feed your brain cells instead of sugar, research is showing this can help prevent Alzheimers.  Ketones are an amazing brain fuel and need to be used as well.

Over my 5 years in the hospital system as a travel nurse, I also saw the benefits of patients coming in to the hospital with gastrointestinal issues such as bloody stools or stomach pain and had to become NPO (nothing by mouth) to do testing. Most of these patients were in fact fasting with the help of IV fluids. Most of these patients go home the very next day and feel much better. This happened most of the time to my patients. Simply putting patients in the hospital with IV fluids and nothing by mouth helped heal their stomach problems.  It was amazing to see this happen so often.

If you're interested in fasting, always start step by step to allow your body to adjust. First, remove one meal such as breakfast, and only eat lunch and dinner in a 6 hour window time frame, for example 12pm-6pm. Then after a week, start eating one meal a day 3- 5 days a week. In the beginning, you may feel some of the detox symptoms such as tiredness and energy fluctuations. This is a normal symptom due to detoxification and your body trying to learn how to go into ketosis more efficiently. Your body must first learn to adjust.  These symptoms are all temporary and over the course of one month, should improve. Once your body can go in and out of ketosis easily without feeling tired, you'll notice a huge increase in energy and more mental clarity.