The American actress recommends intuitive fasting as a method to improve nutrition and health. What does it consist of and what benefits does it produce?
WHAT IS INTUITIVE FASTING?
The essential idea of the book by Will Cole, who is a personal advisor to the actress, is that the intake of food and the calories they contain must be adapted to the real needs of our body, which should manifest themselves through hunger.
That is, to know when and how much we have to eat we only have to pay attention to our appetite, eating only when we feel the need. The problem is that most people have a feeling of hunger conditioned by many years of bad habits and excesses in the consumption of refined carbohydrates and added sugars.
Somehow, we have to learn again to feel hungry and fasting is the tool of choice for Dr. Will Cole. More specifically, intermittent and progressive fasting.
INTUITIVE FASTING TO REDUCE WEIGHT AND INFLAMMATION
Dr. Cole proposes a four-week plan that combines intermittent fasting with personalized eating. The goals are to lose weight, only, if necessary, act on the hormones that control feelings of appetite and satiety and blood glucose levels, and reduce inflammation to prevent it from eventually leading to disease.
Intuitive Fasting proposes to start in the first week with 12-hour night fasts, which can be done, for example, by finishing dinner at 8 pm and having breakfast at 8 am.
Next, Cole suggests extending this overnight fast until 18 p.m. in the second week and in the next week reaching 20 or 22 p.m. This means that every day there is a two-hour window to make all the intake of food.
In addition, Paltrow’s advisor recommends consuming a minimum of carbohydrate-rich foods and taking plenty of protein and vegetable fats to cause ketosis. This occurs when the body does not get enough carbohydrates to transform them into energy and resorts to fats.
IS GWYNETH PALTROW’S DIET RECOMMENDED?
Some versions of intermittent fasting have renowned advocates such as Dr. Valter Longo, a researcher of aging processes. However, adapting to the extreme version that Cole proposes, with only two hours a day to eat, can be a problem for some people. Not everyone can go quietly 22 hours without eating and ingesting everything they need in two hours. There is a risk of suffering deficiencies or developing an eating disorder.
Dr. Cole himself recommends that if you suffer from an eating disorder you consult a doctor before following his recommendations.
On the other hand, the ketogenic diet can be useful to treat some disorders for a short period of time, but it is not proven to be a good model to maintain it indefinitely. None of the traditional diets that are associated with good health (such as the Mediterranean diet, the Japanese diet or the naturopathic vegetarian) respond to the ketogenic pattern.
In addition, Cole recommends a diet with a predominance of fatty meat and fish, combined with vegetable fats such as coconut oil. This type of diet can provide too much protein and fat, and too little fiber, which may not be best for the gut microbiota and cardiovascular system health.
If you decide to implement Cole’s suggestions, it is best to do so under the supervision of my doctor or a dietitian-nutritionist, especially if you want to lose weight in a healthy way or suffer from a metabolic disorder such as diabetes.