HJBR Jul/Aug 2022

HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF BATON ROUGE  I  JUL / AUG 2022 57 discovered in an important study conduct- ed by Satchin Panda, PhD, at the Salk In- stitute. In Panda’s study, it was discovered that mice feeding in a time-restricted win- dow lost or maintained weight over time, and in addition, they were healthy with respect to some important health mark- ers such as cholesterol levels, obesity, and diabetes. In the study, they were compared to mice who were exposed to the same caloric intake of the very same foods but were fed throughout the day and suffered in the four areas previously mentioned. Since this study, similar results have been attained with human subjects. There are also other studies that indicate fasting will get us into a state of ketosis, if your goal is to have your body burn fat as its primary fuel source, then learning how to get into ketosis is for you! According to Harvard medicine, ketosis kicks in when our bodies run out of glucose to burn. This can hap- pen after 12 hours of fasting, which is gen- erally accepted as a safe means of achiev- ing ketosis without being on a ketogenic diet. Another silver lining is that after 15 hours of fasting, a process called autoph- agy can begin. In an article written by Sara Lindberg at healthline.com : “Autophagy is the body’s way of cleaning out damaged cells, in order to regenerate newer, health- ier cells, according to Priya Khorana, PhD, in nutrition education from Columbia Uni- versity.”Autophagy is literally translated as meaning “self-eating.” I can tell you anecdotally that my own personal health markers are monitored yearly and, since implementing the 8:16 intermittent fasting protocol, remain in very desirable condition. I am as fit and healthy as I ever have been. I encourage you to research this with your physician, implementing an intermittent fasting pro- tocol in a safe manner, not making any drastic changes initially, but doing it grad- ually over time and focusing on a consis- tent feeding window. After all, what have you got to lose … except maybe unwanted weight and improve your overall health! In a follow-up article, we will explore two key features of intermittent fasting that can enhance its effectiveness: what time we should eat and what we should eat. n Jerry Fontenot Special Correspondent feeding window (between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m., which is my daily routine) and fast- ing the other 16 hours per day. There is also feeding normally for five days a week then fasting for 2 full days per week. It’s worth exploring if you feel like you could use one of the benefits of intermittent fasting. The internet is loaded with articles on various protocols. I chose credible sources that are backed by science, such as: hopkinsmed- icine.org, mayoclinic.org, and uclahealth. org to name a few. As always, before en- gaging in any of the protocols out there, it is important to consult with your physician to see if any new practice is safe for you. What are the benefits of fasting? Some research suggests that intermittent fasting is beneficial for reducing inflammation. Notably, Miriam Merad, MD, PhD, direc- tor of the Precision Immunology Institute at Mount Sanai School of Medicine, and colleagues published a study finding that intermittent fasting reduces the release of pro-inflammatory cells called “mono- cytes,” which can cause serious tissue damage at high levels in the bloodstream. Other benefits include weight loss, as was “Intermittent fasting is essentially not about what we eat, but when we eat. There are several protocols that are associated with fasting, and they are all based on choosing a consistent feeding window throughout the day, week, or month.”