Why Is Everyone Fasting? Here’s What You Should Know
If you even passively follow wellness influencers, there’s a good chance you’ve heard of intermittent fasting (IF). The concept is simple: During certain hours of the day, you eat. During others, you don’t. The buzzed-about benefits include weight loss, lowered disease risk, more energy, and even slower aging.
But does intermittent fasting actually work for losing weight and improving your health? And even if it works — since when is not eating a good idea? Here’s what you need to know about this trendy eating style including benefits, drawbacks, and what to keep in mind before you try it.
Intermittent fasting’s rise to popularity
Though it came into the spotlight more recently, people have been practicing intermittent fasting much longer (think about it: you technically fast when you’re asleep). “A British journalist produced a documentary about IF in 2012, and shortly after that, wrote a book about it,” explains Katherine Basbaum, an R.D. with UVA Health. “IF made its way to the U.S., and then more or less snowballed with more media coverage, books, and celebrity endorsements.”
Excerpted from InStyle
