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Nutrition

Intermittent Fasting

Tyree Saldaña

People are constantly looking for a new way to lose weight and develop a healthier lifestyle, one of the many trends that we hear about is Intermittent Fasting. Intermittent fasting is primarily used for caloric restriction. Multiple sources specify how important it is that when an individual is thinking about beginning the intermittent fasting diet, they should consult their doctor. Most people usually ignore this step because they want results fast since we are in an environment that is constantly on the go. We want results and we want them now. Although, we never really take time to consider how we are treating our bodies even if it is for the best. It is common for people, especially in our society to want to follow the advice of celebrities like Hugh Jackman, Beyoncé, Nicole Kidman because they have a large influence on their fanbase. Although, it is important to realize that not all information is true. Intermittent Fasting gives different results to everyone that tries it because we all have different body types, therefore it is important that we aren’t comparing and relying on the health information from only bloggers and YouTubers, but taking more consideration into doing the research from real health professionals. 

 

There are 3 types of intermittent fasting that are being used:​​

  • Alternate Day Fasting, also called 5:2 Diet can be explained as eating only a small amount one day and eating your normal consumption amount the next day.

  • Whole Day Fasting, also called Eat-Stop-Eat consists of 1-2 days of complete fasting per week.

  • Time Restricted Fasting, also called 16/8 Method is designating a certain number of hours as the fasting window and the remaining hours a feeding window.

 

If you would like to find out more information about these methods.

 

Myths associated with Intermittent Fasting: 

  1. Eating Frequently Boosts Your Metabolism

    1. Fact:Studies show that there is no evidence that weight loss and meal frequency correlate. Your body is able to produce energy by using the food that we eat. So by fasting your body is still able to use the carbohydrates in your body to produce energy. 

  2. Eating Frequently Helps Reduce Hunger

    1. Fact:  Multiple studies showed various results between having no effect on hunger, to reducing hunger, and increasing hunger. Therefore, this myth is completely dependent upon the individual and how their body adjusts to frequent eating.

 

"The food you eat can be either the safest & the most powerful form of medicine or the slowest poison." - Ann Wigmore 

Alkaline Diets

Melissa Gregoire

One of the newest diet crazes these days is the alkaline diet. With celebrities like Victoria Beckham, Kelly Ripa, and even Tom Brady swearing by its benefits it’s hard not to wonder if there’s something to it.  The alkaline diet is based on the premise that the foods we eat leave behind an ash when metabolized and that ash is either acidic or alkaline which in turn either makes our body either more alkaline or more acidic. Proponents of the diet claim that by eating foods that create a more alkaline environment in your body the diet can help treat or prevent cancer, heart disease, osteoporosis, promote weight loss, and help improve energy levels. This all sounds great but is there any science behind it? Will eating these certain food make your body more alkaline and less acidic? Will it promote weight loss?

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Well first let’s start with what you can and cannot eat. The alkaline diet is more about what you can’t eat than what you can eat. Meat, poultry, fish, eggs, cheese, grains, and most nuts are off limits with the exception of almonds and chestnuts. Also off limits are processed foods, white flour, wheat, sugar, honey, molasses, caffeine, milk, artificial sweeteners and alcohol. Fruits and vegetables are allowed except cranberries, prunes, and plums. As you can see, this turns out to be a pretty restrictive diet. It is more or less a vegan diet as there are no dairy or animal products but does seem to make some allowances for fish occasionally. If you can get over the hurdle of being able to stick to such a restrictive diet is there any truth to it and is there any benefit?

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Claim: Eating certain foods make your body more alkaline or more acidic.

As far as this one goes there is really nothing that supports this claim. While it is true that the metabolism of certain foods do leave behind an acid or an alkaline ash, there is no proof that this ash has any effect on changing your body’s pH. Meats, and other animal products do leave behind an acid ash and fruits and vegetables leave behind an alkaline ash. Pure fats, raw sugars, and starches are neutral. The foods you eat can change the pH of your urine. So, if you were to eat a lot of fruits and veggies for lunch your urine would be more alkaline than if you ate a big juicy steak, but what you eat has little to no effect on your blood pH. There are some exceptions, if you ingested high doses of sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) you could temporarily increase your blood pH, making it more alkaline, but you would probably be spending a lot of time in the bathroom as well. There are also other times were the blood becomes more acidic due to reduced kidney function or other health problems but this is not due to one meal or eating certain foods. It’s normally a sign of a larger health problem and usually requires medical intervention.  So, absent some type of renal failure or other illness the body is very efficient at keeping your blood pH between 7.35-7.45 and what you eat is not going to have an effect on that.

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Claim: Eating an alkaline diet can promote weight loss, increase muscle mass, fight cancer, heart disease and improve energy.

These are some pretty ambitious claims. One of the most common claims about the alkaline diet is that it can cure or help prevent cancer. This is based on the belief that cancer can only grow in an acidic environment. The premise is that being on a diet that promotes an alkaline environment you would either prevent the growth of cancer or eliminate existing cancer cells. While it’s true that cancer cells do tend to grow better in an acidic environment it isn’t true that they are incapable of growing in an alkaline environment. We’ve also already talked about how food isn’t what causes a change in the pH of body tissue or blood. While eating more fruits and vegetables that contain cancer-fighting antioxidants certainly could help prevent or reduce the risks of cancer, thus far nothing supports the claim that it has anything to do with the alkaline promoting properties of these foods.

 

As far as helping prevent osteoporosis there are not any studies or clinical trials that acidic diets cause loss of bone minerals or osteoporosis. While studies do show that higher acid diets do increase the excretion of calcium in the urine, when calcium balance was taken into account researchers found that they do not have a negative effect on calcium metabolism. There is nothing to support the claim that an alkaline diet can help prevent osteoporosis. The diet also fails to take into account the importance of exercise and activity in the prevention of osteoporosis.

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As far as an increase in energy there are a few observational studies that have shown that an alkaline diet did help with an increase in maximal exercise respiratory exchange ratio and that an acid producing diet could inhibit maximal exercise respiratory exchange ratio. These studies were limited in the sense that they only relied on food diaries to estimate dietary acidic load and they did not actually measure systemic pH. Further studies would be needed to determine if there is any real benefit.

When it comes to weight loss and the prevention of heart disease the evidence is very limited. There are a few observational studies with mixed results but nothing conclusive and no clinical trials to back up any of the data. Some have hypothesized that highly acidic diets lead to hypertension, high cholesterol, obesity, and insulin resistance, but nothing has been validated.

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There is no doubt that there are health benefits to increasing your intake of fruits and vegetables and eliminating highly processed foods. As far as weight loss the reduced calories this diet promotes is sure to help with that and increasing fiber, and eliminating sources of saturated fats from animal sources can help with the lowering of cholesterol. Many people have likely seen many health benefits from this diet just as you would expect from a diet low in saturated, fats, refined sugars, alcohol, and caffeine; but that has less to do with any acid, alkaline balance and more to do with the restriction of calories, processed foods, and increase in fiber, and vegetables. While this diet does include healthy foods there may be issues with getting the proper amount of protein and calcium due to the restriction of dairy products. There are ways to get enough calcium and protein through plant sources; you just have to make sure to get enough. This is a diet that may be hard to follow due to being so restrictive. Cutting out or limiting refined sugars, processed foods, alcohol, and caffeine isn’t bad advice and can help with not just weight loss but can help improve overall health. If this is a diet that you can stick to there is no harm in it but make sure you are getting all proper nutrients and speak with a doctor or nutritionist. As far as all the claims and the science behind it, so far it remains unsupported without enough studies to back up any of its claims.

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