You might associate cutting out all food with crackpot diets like the Cabbage Soup Diet. However, according to a research study published conducted by the Intermountain Medical Center Heart Institute, fasting may be a surefire way to stop Type 2 diabetes.

Genome Collision: It’s been said Type 2 diabetes and other chronic diseases that plague Western civilization are caused by a “collision of the genome” with our modern day lifestyles. Our genes have stayed relatively unchanged since humans first burst onto the scene thousands of years ago. But our lifestyles filled with modern-day conveniences like abundant fast food and computers are brand new. Our genes haven’t had time to adapt to these new technological advances.

Cheap viagra australia

The moral of the story? Your body is still worrying about surviving and eating its next meal even though there’s a McDonald’s on every other corner of your neighborhoods.

As you may imagine from a loincloth donned caveman having to hunt and forage for every meal, fasting was relatively common. Over millennia, the human body developed mechanisms to keep it going when your ancestral self wasn’t able to find food for stretches of time. Because we rarely find ourselves too long without food (and skipping lunch to finish that report doesn’t count), these mechanisms never have a chance to kick in.

This study found people who fasted for short periods of time… known as intermittent fasting:

boosted sagging HDL levels,
improved insulin sensitivity, and
reduced high triglycerides.

These three factors make up 3/5ths of what’s known as the metabolic syndrome… a cluster of symptoms often found together that raise a person’s heart disease risk substantially. Even better, there were no serious side effects to the fasting treatment.

Added to this, the participants lost significant amounts of body fat as well. Because the body doesn’t have energy coming in its forced to take body fat stored in your stomach and thighs.

Practical Use: However, fasting isn’t a magic trick that will melt away fat and cure Type 2 diabetes. It should be used as an adjunct approach to a healthy lifestyle that you already have. It may also be a way to “kick-start” a new lifestyle program to help accelerate your results.

Suddenly fasting can throw off the effects of the medications you are taking, medications which are usually dosed based on a typical day’s diet. Be sure to check in with your health care team before trying a fast.