Intermittent Fasting To Protect Against The Coronavirus

Intermittent fasting refers to reducing the amount of time during the day or week within which we can eat food or to the amount of calories that we consume on particular days. The reason for doing so is that if the body has an extended rest period between foods, then it can regenerate & heal itself much more effectively on a daily basis. This can improve our health, immunity & wellbeing quite strikingly.

In my own experience, I have found the daily time restriction of food consumption to be the easiest to do & the most effective. This is often referred to as the 16:8 style of intermittent fasting, where we are able to consume foods just within an 8 hour window each day.

Intermittent Fasting & Viruses

When facing a viral pandemic like the present Coronavirus outbreak, intermittent fasting can be really helpful for 3 reasons:

• It Boosts The Immune System
• It Helps The Body To Heal
• It Enables People To Eat Less

Obviously, the first two benefits are helpful because they can reduce the likelihood that someone will get a severe virus but it could also help people to overcome viruses if they catch them.

The third benefit is helpful in this time of global pandemic because an extended period of lockdown could result in there being less food available.

How to do 16:8 intermittent fasting correctly

Essentially, to do this properly, all one needs to do is eat within an eight hour window of opportunity each day. It is necessary to avoid consuming any foods or drinks that contain sugars or protein (including milk), outside of this time.

The easiest way to do this for most people is by dropping breakfast – only starting to eat at midday & then finishing eating before 8pm. For other people they may wish to start eating earlier & then end earlier. The great thing about this practice is that you can experiment & set it up in the way that works best for you.

In practice, a 16:8 day will probably mean that you only have 2 meals per day instead of 3, which is actually a much healthier way for adults to eat.* It isn’t necessary to make these meals much larger to compensate for this & it is best to avoid snacking between these meals too.

* Intermittent fasting is not recommended for children under 16, as they require more nurtition throughout the day to maintain their growth & generally higher energy levels.