Ayurvedic Guide to Intermittent Fasting: What Is It?How to Do It Safely Is it Right for You?

I'm sure you've heard all the buzz about "intermittent fasting" lately--and I think it's definitely a buzz-worthy topic with lots of health benefits (more on that below). Did you know, however, that the ancient practice and medical wisdom of Ayurveda has always advocated a certain amount of fasting in your everyday-diet? Yep. For thousands of years, Ayurveda has touted the benefits of keeping your digestive system clean, healthy, and strong by:

• seasoning your food properly (this will depend upon your unique Ayurvedic constitution),
• eating only until you are 70% full, and
• only eating again, once your last meal has been completely digested.

This translates as waiting (or "fasting") at least 3 hours between meals/snacks...4-5 hours is truly best, unless you have hypoglycemic (low blood sugar) tendencies.

Not only should you be "fasting" between meals, but, according to Ayurvedic tenets for optimal health and digestion, you should also finish your last meal at least 3 hours before you hit the hay. Yep, you heard me. This means, if you go to bed at a decent hour (around 10pm), you should finish dinner by 7pm. This is a natural, daily fast of, roughly, about 12-13 hours (if you figure that most people eat breakfast around 7/8am).

"Why should I fast overnight," you ask? I will gladly tell you, if you don't mind a little reading. We should start with the liver, an AH-mazing organ. The liver performs over 500 metabolic functions in the body (whoa!). Some of its functions include the manufacture of bile, which helps us break down and emulsify the fats we eat. It also helps "clean up" the blood, by recycling old red blood cells and dumping those into your bile. Also, did you know that EVERYTHING you eat or put on your skin (and therefore into your bloodstream) must pass through the liver for filtration? Your liver is a hard-working organ, my friends.

And wait! Your liver is not just hard-at-work during the day. Nope, unlike you, who's snoozing away and blissfully unaware, the liver is doing its "janitorial duties" at night. The liver cleans up your blood and removes toxins (or substances it might perceive as "toxic," like gluten, chemicals, metals, etc.) that were stored in the cells of your body throughout the day. So if you eat too closely to bedtime, and your liver has to keep busy by aiding to digest your dinner or bedtime snack, it won't be able to do "clean up on aisle 6." In other words, your liver will be too busy digesting food to mop up the possible garbage you introduced into your system during the day.

Think of it this way: just like you, your liver is less effective at doing its job when it has to multi-task, "splitting" its energy among many different jobs. Let's face it, you know what a crappy night's sleep you get when you pig out right before you go to bed: you're hot, uncomfortable, and keep waking up, only to emerge as "rested" as a passenger on a red-eye flight from Los Angelos to New York City. (Rested? Not...at...all.) This all happens because you've overloaded your digestive system and liver.

So what, exactly, am I trying to tell you?

WE SHOULD ALL BE "INTERMITTENTLY FASTING" ANYWAY, EVERYDAY, ABOUT 12+ HOURS, BETWEEN ABOUT 7PM AND 7/8AM.

Now, are there studies, showing health benefits of longer fasting times? Yes! But what I've just described is a really simple way to get started. Why would you want to try to fast for 14-16 hours (which is what most studies are suggesting you'll want to eventually aim for to really reap the benefits of intermittent fasting), when you can't even go from dinner to breakfast without having a snack? Start with the overnight fast, people--I promise you will suffer so much less!

So what are the benefits of going a little longer on your fast (say, going 14-16 hours, or only eating during an 8-10 hour window)?

• Well, for starters, you'll probably shed a few pounds. In one study, there was a 3% reduction in weight, BMI, and percent body fat, as well as a 4% reduction in waist circumference for those who limited their eating to about 10 hours out of the day (that's a 14-hour fast).

• Improved digestion and sleep: I have clients who have all but cured themselves of acid reflux, heartburn, and even insomnia by simply laying off food for just 12 hours! I highly recommend giving this practice a shot if you suffer from any of these disturbances.

• And while that's nice, the bigger benefits come in the area of blood sugar. Because we have been told for a few decades now that "snacking," or eating every 2-3 hours, is "really good for our metabolisms" (which, I will point out, has absolutely no scientific basis or factual evidence to support it), our blood sugar is constantly elevated. Our liver never gets a chance to grab all that stored fat in our cells because we're constantly supplying it with a usable source of energy/sugar (ie. all those snacks you're eating!). People who fast for 16 hours at a time (which is basically skipping breakfast or dinner), have much healthier and responsive blood glucose markers AND lowered cholesterol (probably because the liver has been better able to process fat/lipids/cholesterol).

• Additionally, when we give the liver a "break" between meals (just like when we're sleeping), it can do a little clean-up and help rid the body of toxins, dead cells, and even bacteria and viruses. Worried about your immune system these days? Who's not? By fasting (even just overnight, like we should be anyway--see above), you'll improve your immune system and do a "mini-detox" everyday!

• FINALLY, the cells in your body undergo a process called "apoptosis," which essentially means that a cell dies when it's time to die. If this doesn't happen, the un-destroyed cells could go on to replicate and further destroy cells around them. These out-of-control cells are called "senescent" cells (they're, in effect, "senile"!). This is (in a nutshell) how abnormal cells become cancerous. When you fast, this triggers natural apoptosis. What am I saying? When you fast, you reduce your risk of cancer!!!

Here's what I want you to take away from this little rant of mine: THERE ARE MANY WAYS TO FAST TO IMPROVE YOUR HEALTH, AND THEY DON'T ALL HAVE TO BE EXTREME. Here are the steps you can take to see what works for you and ensure that you don't pass out from hunger or take everyone down around you in a state of hanger:

1. If you're a newbie to fasting, start out by simply waiting to eat your next meal/snack until you are actually, genuinely hungry. (Remember those things called "hunger pangs"? Yeah, you should try to get to know them again.)
2. Once you've mastered this, stretch out the time between meals a little further. I try to wait about 5 hours between meals. Yes, I get hungry because my liver is telling me, "Hey! We're out of sugar in here!" But guess what? If you don't feed it, it HAS to draw upon stored fat to create more fuel. Score! At that point (and you may have experienced this), your hunger pangs will probably go away for another hour or so. Again, if you are prone to hypo-glycemia or really, truly suffer when you're hungry, this might not be right for you. In this case, go back to #1 and proceed to #3.
3. Finish dinner 3 hours before bed. Go the natural 12 hours between dinner and breakfast that nature intended for you. Give your liver a chance to do its amazing, all-natural, "detoxication" processes overnight, and you'll never have to do a "cleanse" again...unless you just like drinking green juice. (I have to admit: I do!)
4. Once a week or more, stretch out the window in which you fast overnight. Have breakfast a little later or eat dinner a little earlier. Eventually, you might find that you can go 14-16 hours without eating. (I do this most mornings by just sipping herbal tea and water. Then I eat an early lunch around 11:30am. And yes, I also eat an early dinner around 6pm.)
5. Once you've created a more "flexible" metabolism (it doesn't send you into shock when you skip a meal), try going a whole day with just water and herbal tea to really give your liver and digestive system a break. See how you feel. Many people do this once a week or once a month. One doctor in the field of fasting says that, if everyone would do a 3-day water fast just once a year, we would reduce our risk of cancer by 99%!!! I'm not there yet, but let me know if you do this. Many people are finding health benefits from fasting a few times a year or even a few times a month.

FINALLY, and most importantly, LISTEN TO YOUR BODY. IF YOU HAVE ANY DIAGNOSED HEALTH CONDITIONS, PLEASE CONSULT WITH YOUR PHYSICIAN OR HEALTH CARE SPECIALIST BEFORE TRYING ANY OF THE ABOVE SUGGESTIONS

Feel free to email me with any questions--I hope you found this informative and helpful! I love sharing this information with you!