The year has been dominated by studies and celebrity weight loss stories, highlighting how nutrition and diet are becoming key pillars in managing and preventing chronic diseases. Be it mindful eating, intermittent fasting, portion-control, time and calorie restriction or plant-based diets, each seems to have had demonstrable effects in lowering weight, blood sugar and body fat. In fact, diet figures with exercise and sleep as an equal driver of lifestyle correction. But the trouble with fad diets is that they are not one-size-fits-all and are, therefore, not sustainable. The best diet is the one that you can stick to, factors in all food groups and doesn’t build denial craving. However, nutritionists and dieticians have narrowed down on intermittent fasting or time-restricted eating as the wonder formula that could work for Indians prone to diabetes, hypertension, cholesterol and heart disease. How to choose the right schedule for intermittent fasting? There are various ways to follow intermittent fasting — you can eat in an eight-hour window and fast for 16 hours, crunch meals in 12 hours and fast for the other 12, or have all your meals on weekdays and restrict calorie intake on weekends. “Whichever method you choose, it is essential to stick to a schedule,” says Ritika Samaddar, regional head, Department of Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics, Max Healthcare. “People need to be more in line with their circadian clock to improve insulin sensitivity — one of the most talked-about benefits of intermittent fasting. What is happening right now is that people are doing it at their own convenience — starting late and ending late. But it is at night that the gut needs rest,” she says. That’s because glucose is the worst inflammatory agent and erodes the endothelial or the inner lining of the arteries and veins in the heart. So a fasting cycle leaves 16 hours for the body to repair these cellular walls. An injured endothelium causes plaques and damages the heart. Who should do intermittent fasting? Intermittent fasting is not meant for all, says Samaddar. Youngsters under the age of 25 and pregnant women, both of whom have a higher calorie requirement, should not. Neither should people with diabetes dependent on high dose medication and insulin. “While improved insulin sensitivity does help in keeping blood glucose levels under control — and even reverse Type-2 diabetes in some — it can happen only during the initial years after diagnosis,” Samaddar says. What about exercise? Take up resistance training, advises Dr Priyanka Rohatgi, chief nutritionist, Apollo Hospitals. “If you do not exercise while fasting intermittently, you are likely to lose muscle mass,” she says. So those who do not have a sleep schedule, eat large meals, are not used to fasting or exercising regularly, should not jump directly into intermittent fasting. “They need to fix the other habits first before they start fasting,” she says. It is also important that you do not consume large portions and junk food just because you will fast for 12 or 16 hours afterwards. Dr Rohatgi says, “Stop eating when you are halfway or 3/4th full.” Samaddar emphasises it is essential to follow a balanced diet with enough proteins, fruits and vegetables during the eating hours. During the off hours, you can only have drinks that are non-caloric such as water, black coffee or green tea. Avoid soups and coconut water. People on medication such as beta blockers should consult their doctors and ask them to space them out as per their diet plan, says Dr Rohatgi. This is because such medicines can cause dizzy spells while fasting. How does intermittent fasting help? Evidence over the years has shown that intermittent fasting doesn’t simply help in burning fat during the off periods. It also triggers essential cellular functions that can improve metabolism, insulin sensitivity, reduce blood glucose levels, lessen inflammation and improve gut health. A study published earlier this year shows that intermittent fasting improves autophagy — a process by which the body removes damaged cell components — helping with conditions such as cancer. Calorie restriction in animals was found to reduce accumulation of beta-amyloid protein, one of the key markers of Alzheimer’s disease.
