M Usman - Amazing Health Benefits of Intermittent Fasting

By M Usman and John Davidson

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Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2013 by M Usman and JohnDavidson

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personalenjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away toother people. If you would like to share this book with anotherperson, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. Ifyoure reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was notpurchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchaseyour own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of thisauthor.

Health Learning Series

JD-Biz Publishing

All Rights Reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproducedin any form or by any means, including scanning, photocopying, orotherwise without prior written permission from JD-Biz CorpCopyright 2013

All Images Licensed by Fotolia and 123RF

Disclaimer

The information is this book is provided forinformational purposes only. It is not intended to be used andmedical advice or a substitute for proper medical treatment by aqualified health care provider. The information is believed to beaccurate as presented based on research by the author.

The contents have not been evaluated by theU.S. Food and Drug Administration or any other Government or HealthOrganization and the contents in this book are not to be used totreat cure or prevent disease.

The author or publisher are not responsiblefor the use or safety of any diet, procedure or treatment mentionedin this book. The author or publisher is not responsible for errorsor omissions that may exist.

Warning

The Book is for informational purposes onlyand before taking on any diet, treatment or medical procedure it isrecommended to consult with your primary care provider.

Preface.

There are different dieting plans present inthe world today which can be obtained through different resources.Each of these dieting plans claims to be better than the other one.But the plan mentioned in this book makes no such claims. It isabout a popular plan or you should say a complete way of eating andliving known as Intermittent Fasting. Now you might be wonderingwhat is intermittent fasting, what are its benefits and how toapply it in your own life? But wait a minute. Just take a deepbreath. If the answer to all these queries would have been thiseasy, I would have just sufficed on writing an article and not awhole book on the topic. You will just have to read this book toget your queries answered.

Before formally starting the topic, a briefoverview of the book will give the readers a better idea about thebook. As the title suggests, the focus of this book is to answeronly one question and it is that what are the health benefits ofintermittent fasting? However, other aspects are also discussed inthe book. This book can be divided into three parts. The first partwill give a brief introduction about intermittent fasting like whatit is, the mechanism behind it and how to apply it in your everydaylife? The second portion analyzes the pros and cons of intermittentfasting and ways to maximize its benefits. The third part willdiscuss the health benefits (the main focus of this book) ofintermittent fasting.

So, as of this moment, the choice is yours.You can either throw it away just by reading the introductionbecause it doesnt fascinate you much or you can read through thewhole book. But let me just say one thing. After reading this book,you will be happy that you came across something this good.

SECTION 1:
Intermittent Fasting:An Introduction

Chapter 1:
How It Works?

What Is Intermittent Fasting?

Intermittent fasting can be defined simply asan alternation between fasting (time when you arent allowed toeat) and non-fasting periods (time when you are allowed to eat).The question of how long the fasting period is depends upon thetype of fasting plan you have chosen. Each of the plans has its ownspecific benefits and normally the fasting period lasts from aminimum of 16 to 36 hours. An example will further clarify theconcept of intermittent fasting. Suppose a person who is doingintermittent fasting might fast 16 hours and eat in the remaining 8hours.

Mechanism and Working behind IntermittentFasting:

Now that you have some understanding ofintermittent fasting, you would better understand the mechanismbehind it.

The main source of the body fuel is glucosewhich can be obtained from three energy sources namelycarbohydrates, proteins and fats. The easiest way to obtain glucoseis from carbs (carbohydrates) whereas the hardest way is from fats.So firstly all the energy is obtained from the carbohydrates; it isonly after the glucose reserves run out that the body makes use ofthe fats, converting them into glucose and thus providing energy tothe body.

Now that you have an understanding about theenergy sources of the body, let us see what happens when we eatfood. The calories produced after eating are first stored in thebody in the form of glycogen. When the glycogen reserves arefilled, the remaining calories are stored in the body in the formof fat. In normal circumstances, when a person eats six meals aday, the glycogen reserves never run out because of continuoussupply of calories. And our body never gets a chance to burn itsfat reserves.

On the other hand what happens when a persondoesnt eat food or in other words the person fasts? The body hasto use the stored energy to keep the things going smoothly. Firstthe glycogen reserves are called upon and glycogen is broken downto form glucose. When the reserves of glycogen deplete, it is onlythen that body starts to use other sources of energy like fats.

Now let us go at micro level to have a betterunderstanding of intermittent fasting. After eating, glucose isreleased in the body which basically increases the blood sugarlevel in the body releasing a hormone known as insulin, the mainfunction of which is the removal of sugar from the blood and storeit in the liver in the form of glycogen. First, all the extraglucose gets stored in the form of glycogen and if still enoughglucose is left it is shunted to the fat synthesis pathway.Opposite happens during fasting, the levels of insulin fall and ahormone known as HSL (Hormone Sensitive Lipase) is released whichis responsible for the conversion of fats to fatty acids and energythereafter.

In a crux, during fasting, the glucoseobtained from carbs run out quickly and the body uses the storedglycogen and fats for the synthesis of glucose. Fat burning canthappen when a person six meals a day because more and more caloriesare obtained from food. Instead of fats being used for energy, moreand more fats start being stored in the body.

Chapter 2:
Does It Really Work Or Another Way To Rob Your Money?

So you might be wondering that doesintermittent fasting really work or is it just another of many waysto rob you of your money. Now I can keep on boasting about howbeneficial this diet plan is but it wont be that convincing. Somestatistics and researches mentioned in the following paragraphswill be all it takes to get you interested in intermittentfasting.