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Intermittent Fasting (IF) has recently become popular in the world of health and fitness for benefits including weight loss, reducing hypertension, eliminating water retention and supporting the bodies removal of dead or damaged cellular tissue known as autophagy. But what exactly is intermittent fasting and how can it help heal leaky gut? IF has been very beneficial for me personally and for my nutritional therapy clients when it comes to healing leaky gut also known as intestinal permeability.

What is Intermittent Fasting?

Intermittent fasting is a way of eating that cycles between shortened “eating windows” and extended fasting periods. Typically, an intermittent fast would last 12 to 16 hours but can be as much as 24 hours. For example, a 12 hour fast would begin after finishing dinner at 7:00 pm and then the next morning the fast would end with breakfast at 7 am which is common for most people during their hours of sleep.

A 16 hour fast however, would extend another 4 hours from 7pm to 11 am the next day, at which time you would have your first meal of the day. The longer the fast, the longer you extend the period of cellular cleansing and low levels of insulin production which allows you to burn stored fat until your next meal when you replenish nutrients.

While intermittent fasting has gained recent popularity, it’s a cyclical way of eating that has been practiced by people in cultures around the world for centuries, primarily for health reasons, religious purposes or even for survival when the season changed to winter and less food was available.

Benefits of Intermittent Fasting

Many people today use intermittent fasting for weight loss but it has other health benefits as well including:

  • Reducing blood sugar levels
  • Improving insulin sensitivity
  • Achieving nutritional ketosis
  • Burning stored fat in muscle tissues and around vital organs
  • Stimulating autophagy, cellular repair and regeneration
  • Reducing hypertension
  • Reducing seizures
  • Reducing brain fog
  • Reducing autoimmune symptoms

Additionally, intermittent fasting can promote healing of leaky gut and support a healthy immune system.

Autoimmune and a Healthy Gut

According to this Johns Hopkins Medicine article, there are currently more than 80 types of autoimmune diseases that affect a wide range of body parts including our blood vessels, connective tissues,  joints, skin, endocrine glands such as thyroid and pancreas, muscle tissue and red blood cells. Some of these include but are not limited to:

  • Lupus
  • Psoriasis
  • Rheumatoid arthritis
  • Celiac
  • Crohn’s
  • Multiple Sclerosis
  • Thyroid diseases
  • Type 1 Diabetes
  • Inflammatory Bowel Disease
  • Fibromyalgia

A predisposition to the affected area is typically caused by either genetics or environmental factors. But whether or not the gene is “turned on” and the individual begins experiencing autoimmune symptoms is often directly associated with intestinal permeability; also known as leaky gut.

Leaky gut is a condition in which the junctions in the lining of the intestines separate allowing undigested food particles into the blood stream. These undigested particles are determined by the body to be “foreign invaders”. They simply should not be in the blood stream and anything in the blood that should not be there will stimulate the launch of an attack by the immune system. Our immune cells go to work to kill the invader and protect the body. But, then we eat again. More food leaks into the blood and more immune cells are signaled to go to work to kill the new invaders. This continues to occur after each meal we eat as long as the gut lining is damaged and the junctions are loose allowing undigested food to “leak” into the blood stream.

Eventually, the immune system becomes confused. It can’t figure out why it continues to send out fighter cells to rid the body of these foreign food invaders and yet they are continually present in the blood stream. At this point the immune system launches an all-out attack and sometimes will begin to attack healthy cells in addition to what it recognizes as the cells that threaten our health.

Intermittent Fasting to support a Healthy Gut Lining

Intermittent fasting helps heal leaky gut by giving the intestines a break from food passing through, slowing the immune response and by initiating cellular repair and healing known as autophagy. IF has shown to have potential benefits in reducing autoimmune symptoms when continued as a regular practice and combined with a gut healing protocol. IF helps heal the gut in the following ways:

  1. Repairs Leaky Gut – By helping to “seal” the leaks in the mucosal lining of the intestine, IF can reduce intestinal permeability preventing undigested food particles from entering the system and triggering an overactive immune response that can lead to autoimmune disease.
  2. Cellular Repair – IF initiates autophagy, in which the body begins breaking down damaged and dead cells removing them from the body and the intestinal lining. Autophagy increases the body’s ability to create new healthy cells, avoid disease and resist infections by building a healthy barrier between the gut and the blood stream that only allows fully digested nutrients to enter.
  3. Reduces Internal Inflammation – Inflammation is higher in individuals with leaky gut and autoimmune conditions. IF helps to reduce internal inflammation that prevents healing and can lead to increased pain throughout the body, discomfort and elevated autoimmune symptoms.
  4. Increases glutathione – IF can help induce ketosis converting the body from using primarily glucose for energy to using primarily ketones for energy. Ketosis can be induced by fasting and then maintained by eating a diet that is low in carbohydrates, moderate in protein and high in fat. A ketogenic diet can help reduce seizures in patients with epilepsy, reduces brain fog and also increases levels of glutathione. Glutathione is a detoxifier that is typically low in patients with autoimmune disorders. Replenishing low levels of glutathione in people with autoimmune disorders can help manage autoimmune symptoms.

Is Intermittent Fasting Right For You?

While intermittent fasting has many health benefits, it’s not right for everyone. IF can exacerbate thyroid conditions, adrenal fatigue and chronic fatigue for some people, particularly women. People who are of a lean body type may want to limit or avoid altogether to maintain a healthy weight if unable to consume enough calories in the “eating window”.

Intermittent fasting has shown to be very helpful in patients with PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome), metabolic disorders, difficulty losing weight, improving insulin resistance and in some women during perimenopause and menopause to reduce hot flashes and other symptoms.

Intermittent fasting is not recommended for pregnant or lactating women or for growing children who need an abundance of nutrients from a nutrient dense, real food diet.

If you or someone you know needs help with gut health or has other health coaching questions reach out to Lacee Cunningham, FNTP at https://simply28.com/contact/