Fasting

Intermittent fasting triggers “evolutionarily conserved, adaptive cellular responses that are integrated between and within organs in a manner that improves glucose regulation, increases stress resistance and suppresses inflammation” (7). Cells activate pathways that help to bolster defenses against stress, both oxidative and metabolic, and “remove impaired or damaged molecules” (7). Intermittent fasting also has extremely powerful effects on the modulation of development and severity of potential disorders, including obesity, cancer, diabetes, neurodegenerative disorders and cardiovascular disease. Biologically, what happens during a fast is the breakdown of triglycerides into fatty acids and glycerol, both of which are used as energy. The liver then converts the fatty acids into ketones, which are also important energy sources, particularly for the brain, in periods of fast.