Join us for FebFast

We are planning a big, new health event for our practice members for this upcoming February. We’re calling it FebFast.

After the festivities and, for some of us, the excesses of the Christmas, Holidays and New Year celebrations we may feel that our health could use a bit of a boost. So, a great way to get back on track and give yourself a kickstart into the new year is with intermittent fasting (IF). No really, I’m not joking, keep reading it’s worth it. I promise. What is Intermittent Fasting anyway? It’s probably not what you think. Intermittent fasting is a way of eating that involves eating and fasting for set periods of time. There are a few different types of intermittent fasting. Time-restricted eating is one of them, and it’s the most popular.

It’s important to note that time-restricted eating is different from the 5:2 type of intermittent fasting, where you reduce your calorie intake to 500–800 kcal on 2 days per week and eat your regular diet on the other days.

Doing time-restricted eating means that you eat during certain hours of the day and fast — or don’t eat — the rest of the time. For most people, this way of eating means extending the natural fast that happens when they sleep.

With time-restricted eating, you can pick which eating window best suits you and your lifestyle, and it doesn’t involve changing how much or which foods you eat. Instead, you eat your regular meals during a set window of time. If you fast during a 14-hour window and eat during the remaining 10 hours, you’re following a 14/10 time-restricted eating pattern.

This could mean that you eat your first meal at 8 a.m. and start your fast at 6 p.m., after your last meal. Or you might eat your first meal at midday and start your fast at 10 p.m.

There are also 16/8 and 20/4 versions of time-restricted eating.

What does the science say about it so far?

Many people who eat a typical Western diet have their food during a 12-hour window each day, with dinner and post-dinner snacks making up nearly 45% of their average daily energy intake.

But scientists are increasingly seeing links between meal timing and health. The science of how food and meal timings interact with your body clock is called chrononutrition.

The time you spend not eating is one aspect of chrononutrition. Scientists investigating this have shown that a number of things happen to your body when fasting:

Your body can swap from using sugar to using fat for energy.
Your cells can improve their resistance to stress and disease.
The beneficial bacteria in your gut may increase.

When you sleep, your gut activity also slows down. This allows time for your gut microbes to clean up your gut lining and keep it healthy. Extending the natural fasting window that happens when you sleep may help strengthen your gut barrier.

Research also indicates that fasting may have several other long-term health benefits.

These health benefits include better blood sugar control, improved heart health and cholesterol levels, as well as weight loss. There’s also some evidence that fasting may help with brain function during aging and could reduce the symptoms of mental health conditions like anxiety and depression.

A recent study with 150 firefighters doing shift work saw the participants’ health and quality of life improve after they followed a 14/10 time-restricted eating pattern — eating between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. — for 3 months.

Through February the team here at Lane Cove Chiropractic will be doing a 28 day “Fast Start” Intermittent Fasting Program and we invite you to join us.

We will be providing you with more information over the coming weeks on how to do this style of fasting and the many health benefits, backed by science, that it can provide.

Let us know if you’re interested and we’ll pop your name on a list of potential participants.

Lane Cove Chiropractic Centre (02) 9428 4033

(The information on IF and the science supporting it is taken from the Zoe Science and Nutrition Website)