The Daily Five by Dr Will Cole

Intermittent fasting puts your body into ketosis, which means you start burning fat for fuel instead of sugar. As an added energy benefit, a state of ketosis develops an additional and more efficient energy source: ketones.

If you’re only eating between 6-12 hours per day, life becomes simpler as you’re thinking about and prepping less meals. In most cases, intermittent fasting doesn’t mean you’re eating less calories, but more calories per meal.

When you are constantly eating throughout the day, your digestion isn’t given much of a break. Talk about burn out. But fasting gives our gut the rest it is craving. And not only that, fasting works to repair your gut at the very cellular level. Think of fasting as a digestive siesta.

Studies have shown that fasting can have antidepressant effects, which may be explained by an increase tryptophan, serotonin and, endorphins (which are two important feel-good chemicals in the brain), and BDNF, which is one of the factors involved in the activity of antidepressants. Achieving more metabolic flexibility can help reduce blood sugar ups and downs, which can cause shakiness, crankiness, and “hanger.”

Once you’ve established metabolic flexibility, everything changes. Healthy eating becomes more effortless, intuitive, and you don’t have to think about food all the time.