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Topics: Health, Food And Drink, Science
James Moorhouse
It's difficult to keep track these days of all the health advice we receive from the internet, with influencers and celebrities often guilty of distorting our perception of what a normal human body looks like.
Yes lads, it's true, you don't need to have a six pack and gigantic muscles to be in good shape. I'll let you in on another secret, following a carnivore diet is not healthy or clever.
People are always looking for new ways to lose weight, whether that be through terrible diets that make us give up chocolate, or fasting, which seems to be all the rage right now.
After simulations of what happens to the body following 36 hours of no food went viral, it's no doubt crossed the mind of many that maybe giving up food for long periods is the route to go down. It does make sense after all.
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But we're talking nothing at all here. Nul-pwa. No breakfast to set you up for the day. No visit to the biscuit tin at 11 when you get snacky. Not even that apple to keep the doctor away. Surely there's an easier alternative?
Good news mi amigos, it turns out there is. But, as they say, no pain, no gain, which in this case, has double the meaning if you're French.
A scientific study completed in March of this year, found that a low-carb diet can have a similar impact to fasting. Maybe Gwyneth Paltrow was right all along?
The study authors recruited 12 people to test out their new theory, giving them around 75 percent less food than usual one day, and providing a low-carb diet another.
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Adam Collins, Associate Professor of Nutrition at the University of Surrey, wrote: "After each fasting day, we gave them a high-fat, high-sugar meal (similar to an English breakfast) to see how easily their bodies burned fat.
"What we found was that the shift to fat burning and improved fat handling of the high-calorie meal were near identical following both the traditional calorie-restricted 'fast' day and the low-carb day. In other words, restricting carbs can elicit the same favourable metabolic effects as fasting."
While intermittent fasting can potentially lead to a 'full reset' for those who try it, neither of these methods are all that recommended for anyone who simply wants to get healthy, and doesn't need to lose any weight.
After all, one could lead to nutrient deficiency, and the other could lead to an unhealthy fear of carbs, which after all are the best of the food groups.
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The method works as after several hours without food, in the post-absorptive 'fasted' state, our metabolism switches to using some of our fat stores for energy, rather than carbs.
So, if you're not willing to give up food entirely, then maybe it's worth trying this low-carb diet. For me though, the so-called benefits of giving up bread will never make me as happy as a sourdough or garlic bread would.