Three Reasons Why Intermittent Fasting Works

For people who loathe the idea of dieting, intermittent fasting offers a simple alternative that doesn't involve calorie counting or starvation. In fact, I prefer to think of intermittent fasting as a lifestyle shift rather than simply a diet change. It's a way of living and eating that can help you live a longer, healthier life without feeling like you sacrificing too much. If you're still skeptical, there are three major mechanisms by which fasting benefits your body, as it extends lifespan and protects against disease, including:

1. Increased insulin sensitivity and mitochondrial energy efficiency – Fasting increases insulin sensitivity along with mitochondrial energy efficiency, and thereby retards aging and disease, which are typically associated with loss of insulin sensitivity and declined mitochondrial energy.
2. Reduced oxidative stress – Fasting decreases the accumulation of oxidative radicals in the cell, and thereby prevents oxidative damage to cellular proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids associated with aging and disease.
3. Increased capacity to resist stress, disease and aging – Fasting induces a cellular stress response (similar to that induced by exercise) in which cells up-regulate the expression of genes that increase the capacity to cope with stress and resist disease and aging.