“Beyond what you eat, when you eat is another component of maintaining ketosis and reducing inflammation. Intermittent fasting is an excellent tool to help your body function optimally.”
p. 120, From Doctor to Patient
Dr. Nagula on Intermittent Fasting
In his book, “From Doctor to Patient,” Dr. Nagula advocates for intermittent fasting. Intermittent fasting is the practice of shortening your eating window. You eat all of your meals during a pre-selected window, typically eight or twelve hours long (e.g., 8 am – 8 pm). With a longer than usual non-feeding window, your body can reach ketosis – a metabolic state wherein the body runs out of glucose to burn for energy, so it burns stored fat instead. Beyond ketosis, benefits of intermittent fasting include improved brain health, body composition, and cardiovascular health. In his journey to better health, Dr. Nagula used intermittent fasting to jumpstart his positive lifestyle changes. Here’s an inside look at Dr. Nagula’s weekly fasting schedule:
- Monday: 10 am – 6 pm
- Tuesday: 10 am – 6 pm
- Wednesday: 10 am – 6 pm
- Thursday: 10 am – 6 pm
- Friday: 10 am – 6 pm
- Saturday: Eat whatever (pizza, desserts, etc.)
- Sunday: 24-hour fast
The NIH on Intermittent Fasting
Dr. Nagula isn’t the only trustworthy source that supports intermittent fasting. On February 27th, the National Institute on Aging (NIA) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) published an article in support of intermittent fasting. These are some highlights from the article:
- Decades of research on humans and animals suggest a myriad of benefits of intermittent fasting including:
- Improvements in health conditions such as:
- Obesity
- Diabetes
- Cardiovascular disease
- Cancer
- Neurological diseases
- Reduced calorie consumption
- Inflammation suppression
- Stress reduction
- Glucose regulation
- Improved mental and physical performance
- Improvements in health conditions such as:
- Certain barriers to acceptance of intermittent fasting exist such as:
- Established three-meals per day routine
- Marketing and availability of food
- Lack of discipline
- Few physicians are trained in intermittent fasting
- Further research on intermittent fasting is still needed. Topics for future study include:
- Lifespan/long-term effects of intermittent fasting for humans
- Safety of intermittent fasting for
- Non-overweight individuals
- Younger people
- Older people
- Medications that produce similar effects to intermittent fasting, without drastic lifestyle changes
For more on Dr. Nagula’s journey to better health, check out his new book “From Doctor to Patient” here: https://www.amazon.com/Doctor-Patient-Healing-Cancer-through-ebook/dp/B081PG4P87
Sources:
National Institutes of Health. (2020, February 27). Research on intermittent fasting shows health benefits. Retrieved March 5, 2020, from https://www.nia.nih.gov/news/research-intermittent-fasting-shows-health-benefits