We've always been told that breakfast is the most important meal of the day and that ideally we should eat five meals a day. What if I told you that none of that is true?
Breakfast isn't essential, nor do we have to strictly adhere to that number of meals. There's no single ideal diet for everyone, as it depends on your goals, health conditions, and lifestyle. The ideal diet is one that's healthy, suits you, and can be maintained over time.
Today I'm here to talk not about a diet, but about a tool: the famous intermittent fasting .
You've probably already heard of it from celebrities who've tried it, or maybe your neighbor did it once. Intermittent fasting isn't a diet, as I mentioned, but a nutritional tool that involves abstaining from food for a specific period of time.
There are 12-hour, 16-hour, and 24-hour fasts, done every other day or twice a week… We all fast for a certain number of hours at night, but increasing these fasting hours has been shown to have various health benefits:
• It improves various metabolic parameters such as insulin resistance, blood pressure, and triglycerides (1, 2). Therefore, it is of interest to people with type 2 diabetes and other metabolic disorders.
• It facilitates greater weight loss compared to a low-calorie diet (3). However, this is only possible if a calorie deficit is maintained while fasting. If you eat a low-nutrient diet and/or the same food as always but in fewer hours, it won't work.
• It increases sensitivity to leptin, a hormone secreted by fat cells, improving satiety control systems (4). Thanks to this effect, it is easier to create a calorie deficit and promote weight loss.
• It promotes better gut health by increasing beneficial bacteria. Specifically, it increases Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium , as well as species like Akkermansia muciniphila , which produces butyrate—an antioxidant that generates fuel for our body—and forms part of the lining of our intestinal walls. It also plays a crucial anti-inflammatory role in maintaining gut health (4, 5).
There are many benefits to fasting, aren't there? As long as it's done within the context of a healthy diet with plenty of plant-based foods.
Although you can't eat during fasting hours, you can drink non-caloric liquids like teas, herbal infusions, and black coffee without sugar. So you don't have to wait until your next meal without eating anything at all.
How you break your fast is also important. If you've gone 16 hours without eating, and then you consume ultra-processed foods as your first meal, you're doing yourself a disservice. Breaking your fast with sweets or foods very high in carbohydrates isn't the best idea either.
Ideally, you should break your fast with vegetables, protein, and healthy fats, such as a salad with avocado, chicken, or tofu. Generally, it's good to have a moderate portion of food with any fast, especially after a long one. For longer fasts, an ideal first meal would be chicken broth.
Although fasting can be very beneficial, if in your case following a fast involves feeling very hungry or generates anxiety, it is not for you.
Fasting is not for everyone and it is always advisable to do it under the guidance of a professional, especially for longer fasts.
I hope you found this article useful and interesting, and that you learned a little more about this tool!
Coral Martín, Dietitian and Psychologist.
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Coral Martín is a dietitian and psychologist. Every Tuesday she offers nutritional counseling at Salud Mediterránea Manuel Becerra: C/Ortega y Gasset 77.
Click here for more information and pricing for this service.
Bibliographic references
1. Horne, BD, Muhlestein, JB, & Anderson, JL (2015). Health effects of intermittent fasting: Hormesis or harm? A systematic review. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 102(2), 464-470.
2. Moon, S., Kang, J., Kim, SH, Chung, HS, Kim, YJ, Yu, JM, Cho, ST, Oh, C.-M., & Kim, T. (2020). Beneficial Effects of Time-Restricted Eating on Metabolic Diseases: A Systemic Review and Meta-Analysis. Nutrients, 12(5), E1267. 3. Wang, X., Li, Q., Liu, Y., Jiang, H., & Chen, W. (2021). Intermittent fasting versus continuous energy-restricted diet for patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and metabolic syndrome for glycemic control: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice, 179, 109003. 4. Pinto, FCS, Silva, AAM, & Souza, SL (2022). Repercussions of intermittent fasting on the intestinal microbiota community and body composition: A systematic review. Nutrition Reviews, 80(3), 613-628. 5. Angoorani, P., Ejtahed, H.-S., Hasani-Ranjbar, S., Siadat, SD, Soroush, AR, & Larijani, B. (2021). Gut microbiota modulation as a possible mediating mechanism for fasting-induced alleviation of metabolic complications: A systematic review. Nutrition & Metabolism, 18(1), 105