Page 32 - ARUBA TODAY

A32 FEATURE
Friday 3 January 2020
In a 24/7 food culture, periodic fasting gains followers

By CANDICE CHOI physical challenge," she
Associated Press says. But people react dif-
NEW YORK (AP) — On ferently to diets, and fast-
low-carb diets, meat and ing may be a lot harder for
cheese are OK. some than for others, says
On low-fat diets, fruit and Dr. Fatima Stanford, a Har-
oatmeal are fine. vard Medical School obe-
With the latest diet trend, sity specialist.
no foods at all are allowed "There's no one size fits all,"
for long stretches of time. she said.
A diet that forbids eat- FASTING ON TRIAL
ing for hours on end might Obesity experts have be-
seem doomed in a culture come interested in intermit-
where food is constantly tent fasting, but studies on
available, but apps and the diet are still emerging.
Facebook groups are pop- For now, limited research
ping up for people practic- suggests it may not be any
ing "intermittent fasting." better for weight loss than
Bri Wyatt, a 32-year-old Melissa Breaux Bankston, a CrossFit athletic trainer at CrossFit Algiers in New Orleans, works out at conventional calorie-cut-
Tennessee resident, tried it the gym Monday, Dec. 23, 2019. ting over the long term.
this summer. Associated Press "Unfortunately, intermittent
"At first I was like, there's no Varady said there isn't restricted feeding and isn't tually be easier, since eat- fasting gets a little hyped,"
way," she said. strong evidence yet that as difficult as some other ing small amounts could said Courtney Peterson,
But after reading more intermittent fasting has any approaches, since the fast- stimulate appetite. who studies the diet at the
about it, she thought it unique effects compared ing period can include the Whatever the method, University of Alabama at
might not be that hard. She with other diets. time you're asleep. people aren't supposed to Birmingham.
started by skipping break- Regardless, people should Many people tailor the eat- gorge when they stop fast- Still, some fasting ap-
fast and night-time snacks, consult their doctor before ing window to be shorter or ing. Fung says it's a myth proaches may be more
and later moved on to a trying it. It's not advised for longer. that fasting leaves you effective than others. And
60-day challenge of fasting children, people on certain Some eat just one meal a famished. Peterson notes the difficulty
every other day. medications and people day, while others fast en- Sumaya Kazi, who posts of designing studies that
Melissa Breaux Bankston, a with a history of eating dis- tire days a couple times about her intermittent definitively capture a diet's
Crossfit instructor in New Or- orders. a week. On fasting days, fasting online and offers effects. That's in part be-
leans, Louisiana, also tried FASTING MENU people may allow them- coaching services on the cause so many other vari-
intermittent fasting as a One of the more popular selves around 600 calories diet, says it seems more ables could be at play.
way to curb her snacking. "I approaches to intermittent if needed. difficult than it is partly be- For instance, researchers
wanted to limit the amount fasting is to limit eating to But Dr. Jason Fung, who has cause overeating has be- are looking at whether any
of time that I was eating," an 8-hour window and to written books on intermit- come the norm. "Intermit- benefits of intermittent fast-
she said. fast during the day's other tent fasting, says skipping tent fasting is more of a ing might be tied to when
Studies on the potential 16 hours. This is called time- food altogether might ac- mental challenge than a the eating period falls and
health benefits of intermit- fluctuations in how well
tent fasting are still limited, our bodies process food
including for its effective- throughout the day.
ness with weight loss. But Some health experts say
heading into the new year, intermittent fasting might
you may be wondering be too difficult for many
whether it could help you people.
get in better shape. They point to a study of 100
WHEN, NOT WHAT people where those placed
Like other diets, intermit- in the alternate-day fasting
tent fasting helps you lose group lost around the same
weight by setting boundar- amount of weight as those
ies around food. But instead on conventional calorie-
of limiting what you eat, it restriction diets over time.
restricts when you eat. But the fasting group had a
"It's really another way of dropout rate of 38%, com-
fooling your body into eat- pared with 29% for the con-
ing less calories," said Krista ventional diet group.
Varady, who studies inter- But intermittent fasting may
mittent fasting at the Uni- be easier than other diets
versity of Illinois at Chicago. for people who already
Proponents say intermittent skip meals when they're too
fasting helps with weight busy, said Varady of the
loss in other ways. University of Illinois at Chi-
For instance, they say it cago.
forces your body to start To make weight loss stick,
burning its own fat for fuel she said people should pick
after depleting the energy diets that resemble how
it normally gets from food. they already eat.
But any effects would de- This combination of 2015 and 2019 photos provided by Sumaya Kazi shows her before and after "Different diets do work
pend on the specific ap- her intermittent fasting regimen. for different people," she
proach you take, and Associated Press said.q