INTERMITTENT FASTING - IMPROVED CHOLESTREROL

High cholesterol is considered treatable to prevent cardiovascular disease such as heart attacks and strokes. Several studies show that intermittent fasting can lead to a reduction in total cholesterol by about 20%.

Did you know that 80% of the cholesterol in our blood is generated by the liver? Your total cholesterol consists of the following:

• LDL the "bad cholesterol"

• HDL the "good cholesterol".

• Triglycerides

"Good" cholesterol (HDL) is protective, so the lower the HDL, the higher the risk of cardiovascular disease. Triglycerides are a type of fat used to store excess energy from our diet, and high levels may be associated with cardiovascular disease and insulin resistance.

So since the total cholesterol is derived from a formula that includes LDL, HDL and triglycerides, we want to make sure that a decrease in cholesterol comes from decreases in LDL or triglycerides and not HDL.

Cholesterol can be found in arterial blockages in the heart, so it was natural for doctors to believe that high blood levels caused the arteries to clog.

We now know that lowering high cholesterol in your diet will not significantly reduce high cholesterol in your blood and eating more cholesterol will not raise blood levels.

So, what happens to cholesterol when you run intermittent fasting?

LDL not only decreases by about 25% after eight weeks of periodic fasting but even better, there is a reduction in LDL. Although normal medicines can reduce LDL by about 50%, simple periodic fasting has almost half the power of some of the most powerful medicines used today but without any of the side effects. Studies have also seen triglyceride reductions of as much as 32% because triglyceride levels are sensitive to diet. But it is not the reduction of dietary fat or cholesterol that helps, it is the periodic fasting. And as expected, with periodic fasting the levels of HDL are maintained.

But why do intermittent fasting work where regular diets fail?

Simply put, during intermittent fasting, the body switches from burning sugar to burning stored fat for energy and it no longer stores fat. The best way to lower your LDL is to get your body to burn it.

The decrease in triacylglycerol production results in a decrease in VLDL secretion (very low density Lipoprotein) from the liver which also results in decreased LDL.

The downside of low fat diets is that they feed your body sugar instead of fat which does not cause the body to burn fat, it causes it to burn sugar. The disadvantage of the low carb diet is that by giving the body lots of fat, the body will burn fat, but only the fat that enters the system when you eat (dietary fat), not stored fat. It does not remove fat from the body.

To summarize the effects of intermittent fasting:

1. Reduces weight

2. Maintains muscle mass

3. Reduces waist size

4. Minimal change in HDL

5. Dramatic reductions in triglycerides

6. Dramatic reductions in LDL

The Kickstart team