Various diets are advocated for weight loss and diabetic control. 5:2 intermittent fasting diet is one of them. What exactly is this diet? How to start on it? What are its advantages? How safe and effective is it?
What is 5:2 intermittent fasting diet?
5:2 intermittent fasting diet is a popular diet for weight loss. Studies have revealed that it improves insulin resistance as well. Hence blood sugar spikes come down. Therefore, it is good for people with type 2 diabetes mellitus or borderline diabetes.
This diet is popular because except on the 2 fasting days, the dieter gets flexibility on eating and food choices for the remaining 5 non-fasting days. Many people adopt low carb diets along with this intermittent fasting diet for better outcomes in weight loss.
5:2 intermittent fasting diet (Source: YouTube)Proponents of this diet feel that intermittent fasting helps the body in repair of damages. But it does not push the body into a starvation mode of conserving energy. This hypothesis lacks scientific backing. But the clinical studies have shown usefulness of this diet. However, the studies are limited and short term ones only.
Diet details
In this 5:2 diet, the slimmer takes the required calories for 5 days a week. This amounts to 2500 calories per day for men and 2000 calories for women. But for the other two days of the week, the dieter should take only 25% of above calories. This means 600 calories for men and 500 calories for women.
The two fasting days can be one after another and consecutively with no gap in between. Or it can be on 2 days with a gap in between. Moreover, these fasting days can be on any days of the week.
Portion control on fasting days of 5:2 intermittent fasting diet (Source: Good Housekeeping)This is a practical diet. Some people feel that on the two fasting days, caloric intake is too low. But main point is that the dieter should have more of fresh fruits and vegetables and lessen the intake of processed foods with added salts, sugars, and high in saturated fats.
Health benefits
People on this diet experience significant weight loss. The blood pressure reduction is seen. Moreover, there is a lowering of blood LDL cholesterol and lessening of insulin resistance. These parameters of health are good and can decrease risk of heart diseases, type 2 diabetes and early deaths. Risk of cancer and neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s also decreases.
This diet is overall safe and even diabetics can follow it for better blood sugar controls. But they should involve their family doctor in it. Those diabetics who have poor control of their blood sugar benefit the most from it. Also people with BMI above 25 are able to feel better on this diet.
5:2 intermittent fasting diet (Source: News Medical)But the dieter should be able to tolerate the two days of calorie restriction. It might be hard for some. On these fasting days, the body uses the stored fat and glycogen to get glucose in the blood and for the body. This brings about a weight loss.
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However, type 1 diabetics and those with brittle diabetics should avoid this diet. They could land with hypoglycemia or ketosis and coma due to it.