Gut Health

5 Ways Intermittent Fasting Is Good for Your Gut

The latest trend in eating – intermittent fasting – has been around since paleo times. Ancient humans didn’t have pantries full of food. They had to hunt and gather every day, and eat whenever they could. So they often went long stretches without eating at all... and that’s still what our bodies expect. 

That’s why intermittent fasting is packed with proven health benefits. Along with its impressive effects on weight, blood sugar, and body compositions, this mindful way of eating can also help improve your gut health.

So let’s take a deep dive into exactly how intermittent fasting works… and how adding key supplements can boost the healthy gut benefits even further.

What Is Intermittent Fasting?

Unlike diets that center on what you eat, intermittent fasting focuses on when you eat. Like the name suggests, you spend pre-planned blocks of time fasting.

The most common intermittent fasting patterns include:

  • 5:2 Fasting, where you eat normally five days and fast for two non-consecutive days during a week. On the fast days, you consume no more than 500 calories.
  • Alternate Day Fasting, where you fast every other day and eat your normal healthy diet on non-fast days
  • Time-Restriction Fasting, where you fast for 12 to 20 hours every day or most days

Whichever interval you choose, as long as you consume enough calories and nutrients to sustain your body, intermittent fasting can help you achieve better health.

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Intermittent Fasting Delivers Many Health Benefits

When you introduce periods of fasting into your routine, your body undergoes changes all the way down to the cellular level. Hormone patterns shift. Cellular repair processes kick in. And all of those things can positively affect your health.

Scientists are still looking into the ways intermittent fasting can impact our health, but they’ve already learned a lot. Practicing intermittent fasting offers health benefits including:

And it seems that nearly all the above benefits are tied to a single health enhancement intermittent fasting offers: better gut health.

5 Ways Intermittent Fasting Improves Gut Health

Your gut – and more specifically your gut microbiome – has an enormous influence on your overall health

Your gut microbiome contains trillions of bacteria, including beneficial probiotics and harmful pathogens. In a healthy gut, probiotics vastly outnumber pathogens – and your body needs that balance to function properly. Intermittent fasting helps keep your gut healthy in five important ways:

1. It gives your gut a break: Digestion takes a lot of high-intensity energy. And your gut is responsible for making sure food is fully broken down so nutrients can be delivered everywhere in your body. Intermittent fasting gives your gut a rest, letting it recover just like your muscles after a hard workout. 
    2. It reduces toxins introduced through eating and digestion: Every time you eat – no matter what you eat – your body has to deal with a surge of toxins known as lipopolysaccharides, or LPS toxins (released as a byproduct of digestion.) These toxins can cause leaky gut. And they’ve been linked with a wide variety of diseases from type 2 diabetes to Alzheimer’s disease to obesity. Intermittent fasting dramatically reduces your gut’s exposure to LPS toxins.
      3. It boosts production of essential SCFAs: Short chain fatty acids, or SCFAs, work wonders when it comes to keeping you in the best health. SCFAs help reduce inflammation, promote healthy immune function, and reduce your risk of developing diseases like cancer and diabetes. And all of these benefits start in your gut. SCFAs improve gut health and help regulate gut barrier function, which is crucial for delivering nutrients and blocking toxins. Studies show that intermittent fasting increases production of SCFAs.
        4. It promotes a well-balanced gut microbiome: Intermittent fasting helps probiotic bacteria flourish, especially important keystone strains such as Akkermansia. Several scientific studies show that using this eating strategy improves both the composition and diversity of the gut microbiome, both crucial for a healthy gut.
          5. It speeds leaky gut repair: The protective lining in your intestines – the gut barrier – keeps pathogens and toxins locked safely inside your gut. But when you have a leaky gut, those harmful compounds can break through the barrier and get into your bloodstream. Intermittent fasting helps your body perform critical repair work, restoring a strong gut barrier. Plus, it also helps prevent further damage to the gut barrier. 

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            Should You Try Intermittent Fasting? 

            While intermittent fasting works well for many, there are some people who should not attempt it. This eating pattern can be harmful if you currently have conditions such as:

            • Hormone imbalances
            • Thyroid issues
            • Adrenal fatigue
            • Diabetes
            • Low blood pressure

            It’s also not recommended for women who are pregnant, trying to get pregnant, or nursing, or for anyone with a history of eating disorders. Check with your doctor to make sure intermittent fasting is a safe choice for you.

            Boost the Benefits of Intermittent Fasting with Just Thrive

            If you’d like to give intermittent fasting a go to experience the many health benefits it offers… And you can take those benefits even further… Consider adding Just Thrive Probiotic and Ultimate IgG to your daily routine.

            Just Thrive Probiotic contains four clinically studied spore probiotics that support a well-balanced, diverse gut microbiome.

            Just Thrive Ultimate IgG supports optimal gut barrier function, efficient detoxification, and a healthy immune response.

            Take intermittent fasting to the next level with Just Thrive.

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