What Is Intermittent Fasting?

Intermittent fasting has become a popular health trend, but the idea itself is far from new. Humans have been fasting throughout history.  Sometimes because food wasn’t available, and other times as part of cultural or religious practices centred on discipline, cleansing or reflection.

Today, intermittent fasting has returned to the spotlight as we learn more about how the body responds to when and what we eat.

Intermittent Fasting for Weight Loss

As your local Gold Coast dentist, we understand how maintaining a healthy weight benefits your overall health and lifestyle — including your oral health.

For years, weight loss was thought to be simply about reducing calories. But we now know it’s not that straightforward.  Two meals may contain the same number of calories, but the body reacts very differently to a plate of salad compared to a bowl of ice cream.

If you cut calories but continue to eat frequently, your body senses the shortage and slows down your metabolism.  It may even begin breaking down muscle and fat for energy.  This makes traditional calorie restriction difficult to sustain and often ineffective.

Reducing Your Eating

A more modern way to think about food is by looking at the signals it sends your body — especially its impact on insulin.

Foods high in refined carbohydrates or sugar cause a rapid rise in blood sugar, followed by a spike in insulin.  Insulin’s role is to move glucose out of your bloodstream and into your cells for storage.  When this happens often, due to frequent snacking or high-GI foods, your body produces more and more insulin.

Over time, this can lead to:

• Increased hunger
• Insulin resistance
• Fat storage, especially around the organs (visceral fat)
• Fatty liver

This is where fasting can help.  During fasting, you consume no calories (only water, tea or black coffee).  With no food coming in, your insulin levels drop.

In the first 12 hours of fasting, your body uses stored glucose (glycogen). After 12 hours, it begins breaking down fat for energy, in particular the visceral (belly) fat, which is the most harmful type.

Intermittent Fasting for Health Gains

After about 12 hours of fasting, as insulin levels fall, fat is released from storage and transported to the liver, where it’s converted into ketones.

Ketones are a clean, efficient energy source. They:

• Produce fewer harmful byproducts during metabolism
• Improve mental clarity
• Trigger the release of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), which supports brain function, cell growth, reflexes, and visual acuity

Ever noticed someone who’s fasting say they can think more clearly? BDNF is part of the reason why.

Fasting also promotes Autophagy.  Autophagy is your body’s built-in “clean-up mode.” When no new nutrients are coming in, cells begin repairing themselves by clearing out old or damaged components. This process is associated with better long-term health and longevity.

There are many more benefits we’ll cover in future blogs, including improvements to the microbiome of the mouth and gut and reductions in overall inflammation.

Is Intermittent Fasting the Silver Bullet?

While intermittent fasting offers many benefits, what you eat still matters.  High-fibre, minimally processed foods support health far better than refined foods high in sugar and low in nutrients.

Now that we’ve explored what intermittent fasting is and how it works, we’ll soon dive deeper into how it connects to your oral health in Part 2 of this blog.  Stay tuned for our next newsletter!

At Define Dental, your trusted Gold Coast dentist, we take a holistic approach to your care.  We look beyond symptoms to identify the underlying causes of dental issues and help prevent problems before they start.

If this topic resonates with you or you’d like personalised advice, call us on 5597 2100. We’d love to schedule a comprehensive examination and discuss a proactive, preventive approach tailored to you.

At Define Dental, we treasure the relationships we build with our patients. By getting to know you well, we can guide you towards the best choices for your long-term health and wellbeing.