Throughout history, even our primitive ancestors practiced intermittent fasting as a diet, be it because of food scarcity or religious tradition. Today, the diet requires one to eat for no more than eight hours a day, hence, spending sixteen hours of the day consuming no calories and drinking only water.

While some might perceive this as unhealthy or impossible (who can go so long without eating?), intermittent fasting is, in fact, very beneficial.

“[Intermittent fasting] allows you to reap the benefits of fasting without leaving you feeling weak or deprived,” registered holistic nutritionist, fitness expert, and health coach, Yuri Elkaim said.

This is because an individual still consumes normal caloric intake while on the diet. The only difference is that the body is provided more time to burn fat and calories that are consumed.

“When you’re in a fed state, the body has to produce insulin to help your blood sugar at a safe level,” Elkaim said.  “Insulin’s main job is to shuttle excess glucose (sugar) from the bloodstream over to the muscle, liver, or fat cells for storage. But insulin doesn’t only take sugar out of the blood; it also increases fat storage.”

Much more research has surfaced on the topic of intermittent fasting, even within the past ten years. In addition to regulating weight, intermittent fasting reduces blood pressure, burns fat, increases metabolic rate, improves blood sugar control, and improves one’s control of their appetite.

Teddy Beadle, a junior entrepreneurship major, practices intermittent fasting.

“I use intermittent fasting as a way to keep my body fat and weight in check,” Beadle said. “[You eat for] a normal eight hour period and have your body burning fat for the next sixteen hours. The benefits are that you can keep your body fat down while simultaneously eating all the calories you normally eat.”

Also, due to the fact that this diet continues to allow one to consume their usual caloric intake, hunger should not be as much of an issue as one might think. However, hunger could be felt when starting this regimen.

Still, Beadle affirmed, “Hunger doesn’t affect you after a while as well. Combine this with working out hard and you’ll see results in a week.”