Intermittent Fasting and Testosterone: Does IF Benefit Men?

Intermittent Fasting Testosterone Benefits

Have you come across the mention of the health benefits of intermittent fasting while browsing the web?

Are you looking for strategies for weight loss but don’t know whether it is beneficial for you or not?”

If that’s the case then this article is all you need as it will walk you through the essentials of intermittent fasting, its health benefits but most importantly its effects on testosterone production.

So let’s get started.

What is Intermittent Fasting?

The phenomenon of intermittent fasting is currently one of the most popular strategies out there for someone to adopt for health and fitness.

The process basically involves alternating cycles of eating and fasting. Many studies have shown that it can lead to weight loss, improved hormonal health, a longer life and can protect against different diseases.

Intermittent fasting is an eating cycle where a person alternates between eating and fasting cycles.  It doesn’t tell you anything about which foods to eat but rather when to eat those foods.

Most people “fast” when they sleep. Intermittent fasting is all about extending that fast a little longer. You can simply fast by skipping your breakfast or eating your first meal at noon and your last meal at 8 pm.

This makes you fast for about 16 hours and leaves only 8 hours for eating. This is the most popular method of intermittent fasting known as the 16/8 method.

People usually think that intermittent fasting is quite difficult because it requires 16 hours of fasting. But in reality, it’s easier than it looks. Hunger will only be an issue during the first few days of your intermittent fasting.

Once you get a hold of this, things will start to become easier. You aren’t allowed to eat any food during the fasting period but you can drink beverages like tea, coffee, and other non-alcoholic beverages. Some methods of intermittent fasting also allow you to eat a low-calorie diet during the fasting period.

The Nutritionist Brad Pilon is considered to be an expert on the subject of intermittent fasting and he explains everything there is to know in Eat Stop Eat.

Intermittent Fasting Testosterone – And Other Health Benefits

Now let us look at some health benefits of intermittent fasting. Following are the major health benefits of intermittent fasting:

An increase in Testosterone Levels

Intermittent fasting leads to an increase in testosterone levels. Research also supports this fact. Intermittent fasting has been shown to increase LH hormone (a hormone that increases testosterone production) by up to 67% and the overall testosterone up to 180% with a single short period of fasting.

Testosterone levels are positively correlated with insulin sensitivity. The insulin levels spike during the morning time after your breakfast. But when you skip breakfast, as in intermittent fasting, this causes a decline in the production of insulin and causes a resultant increase in the production of testosterone.

Intermittent Fasting also increases the levels of a hormone known as adiponectin. The increase in this particular hormone during fasting helps improve insulin sensitivity. Adiponectin is quite a powerful hormone and it has been shown to reverse insulin resistance, which then leads to an increase in testosterone levels.

Intermittent Fasting also increases growth hormone levels by 2000% with just 24 hours of fasting. Growth Hormone levels and testosterone levels are positively linked and both improve the glycogen uptake in the muscles, protein synthesis and increase our training capacity.

Detoxification

The detoxification process happens all the time in the body. This process is automatic but a poor diet can be a hindrance to it. The kind of diet we eat today is full of fats, sugar, and toxins.

It overloads your body systems and makes the detoxification process sluggish. This can result in diseases like Alzheimer’s.

Research has indicated that fasting has benefits on neuron-centric diseases like Alzheimer’s. This indicates that there is a connection between intermittent fasting and slowing the aging process.

Weight Loss

The natural sugars in the body which aren’t needed are stored in the body as glycogen. The body stores the food as fat when maximum glycogen levels have been reached. A human body takes 6 to 8 hour to burn the supply of glycogen.

When glycogen becomes lower in the body then the body turns to the energy stored in fat cells. A person fasts for 16 hours during intermittent fasting, which helps to burn the excess body fat and thus facilitates weight loss.

Longevity

Intermittent fasting helps a person enjoy a longer life. A study from 1940 found that different levels of 24 hours intermittent fasting increased the total life of animals without causing any side effects or retarded growth. Maybe fasting really is the fountain of youth we have all been looking for?

Blood Lipids

Going into a pharmaceutical store and asking for cholesterol-lowering drugs is one thing but eating real food and exercising to cause a change in your lipid profile is a different thing altogether.

Intermittent fasting brings changes to the blood lipids in an organic way. It is more effective than calorie restriction at improving metabolic syndrome and cholesterol levels in overweight and obese women.

Neurological Health

Most people would think that fasting would not be good for the brain but it is quite the opposite of the general perception. It’s actually beneficial for brain health.

Dietary restrictions increase the neurological responses but intermittent fasting has the greatest effect. A study found that meal frequency affects neuronal health. Individuals who eat fewer meals have a greater increase in their brain and overall health.

Cancer

Intermittent fasting helps cancer patients and there is evidence to prove it. Research has shown that calorie restriction and intermittent fasting helped to fight cancer cell proliferation.

Another study which was done on human subjects showed that fasting during chemotherapy reduced the negative side effects of the treatment.

Autophagy

Autophagy is a process in which the cells recycle and eliminate waste materials and repair themselves. Research has shown that fasting turns on autophagy.

Autophagy is very important for maintaining muscle mass and reducing the side effects of aging. It also reduces the progression of age-related diseases. Intermittent fasting also helps with neural autophagy which helps in mental well-being.

Conclusion

Intermittent fasting is very beneficial for the human body. It has a wide range of benefits for the human body ranging from decreasing body fat to having anti-cancerous effects.

Combine intermittent fasting with the correct exercise and a proven testosterone booster like Tongkat Ali and you will be surprised at all the benefits you will receive.

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