If you are also resorting to intermittent fasting to lose weight, then be careful. The pattern of staying hungry for 16 hours can weaken your heart. Understand why intermittent fasting can be dangerous.
Intermittent fasting risks heart: People have started adopting new trends in the world of fitness to reduce weight, control blood sugar, and improve metabolic health. One of the trends that has become quite popular is intermittent fasting. But there are some risks of this which are coming to the fore. Especially the 16:8 pattern in which you eat only for 8 hours a day and fast for the remaining 16 hours. Surprising results are coming out regarding this pattern.
This has been mentioned in a research published recently in the journal Diabetes & Metabolic Syndrome . According to the research, this pattern of intermittent fasting can be fatal for the heart. 16:8 intermittent fasting, where people eat food for 8 hours of the day and fast for the remaining 16 hours. This practice can increase the risk of heart disease manifold in the long term.
Don't forget your health in pursuit of trends
Intermittent fasting is now trending for weight loss and improving metabolic health. But it has now been found that its effect on the heart and blood vessels may be the opposite rather than positive. Research published in the journal Diabetes states that when the eating time window is very short, such as 8 hours, the risk of cardiovascular death almost doubles. An article in Harvard Health suggests that intermittent fasting can improve blood pressure , cholesterol and weight in the short term . But these benefits often seem to be limited to 12 to 16 weeks. Fasting for longer than this can be dangerous.
Research cautioned
A study conducted by Harvard Medical School and some other universities found that people who followed the 16:8 diet for a long time could double their risk of heart attack and cardiovascular death. This result was especially seen in those who already had a problem like heart disease or diabetes.
What Is The REAL Reason?
Scientists believe that the problem is not just in “fasting” but also in the eating pattern. When people remain hungry for a long time, many times they eat more calories and low quality food in the 8-hour window. That is, the consumption of junk food or high calorie diet increases to satisfy hunger. Apart from this, continuous long hunger can affect the body with stress hormones. This makes blood pressure and cholesterol levels unstable, which can prove to be dangerous for the heart in the future.
What to do to stay safe?
- Consult a doctor – If you have any heart or sugar related problems then do not start fasting without asking an expert.
- Quality of food – Whatever you eat in 8 hours, make sure to include green vegetables, fruits, healthy proteins and whole grains.
- Do not adopt it for long term – Use fasting as a temporary tool (adopt it for some time only), considering it a lifetime solution can be dangerous.
- Listen to your body – If you experience dizziness, fatigue or irregular heartbeat while fasting, stop immediately.
