Fasting and Functional Medicine

General Terminology

🥑Fasting: usually refers to a period of at least 24 hours without caloric intake.
🍓Intermittent Fasting: overarching term for cycling between periods of restricted eating and non restricted eating.
⏰Time Restricted Eating: extending an overnight fast to a 14-16 hour fasting window.
🫐Fasting Intervals: alternating between days of fasting (consuming either only water or a limited amount of calories, typically no more than 500-600/day) and days of eating.
🥩Fast mimicking: a specialized ketogenic low calorie diet plan, 5 days in duration that has similar benefits to fasting without avoidant all caloric intake.

How to decide if fasting is a good option for you?

You should avoid fasting if you are pregnant, breastfeeding, have an eating disorder, underweight BMI, or a heart arrhythmia. You should work with an experienced healthcare practitioner to determine the risks and benefits of fasting if you have type 2 diabetes, or metabolic syndrome.

How to decide which fasting plan is the best option for you?

While there is an indication that time restricted eating is easier to maintain long term than other varieties of fasting, the best fasting plan for you is one you can stick to! All variations of intermittent fasting have beneficial effects on cardiovascular health, metabolic flexibility, weight loss, glucose to ketone utilization, blood pressure, insulin resistance, brain function, cholesterol, and inflammation. Bonus perk, unlike some health and longevity promoting activities, fasting is not only affordable, it’s free!

General recommendations for all forms of fasting

💦Drink lots of filtered water, then drink some more!

🧘🏻‍♀️Avoid high-intensity exercise, instead favor walking, yoga or other light-intensity activities.

🥬🍇🥥🫐Prioritize eating unprocessed, organic, nutrient-dense foods when limiting caloric intake.

🗣Talk to a functional medicine practitioner for a personalized fasting plan (including type, duration, supplements, electrolytes and continued monitoring) to help you best meet your goals safely!

🛑Stop if you feel unwell!
Written by: Dr. Megan Lipp, PharmD, AAHIVP
Always speak to your healthcare provider before starting a fast. Intended for educational purposes only.