Fasting to reduce inflammation & promote cardiovascular health
Inflammation is one of the leading causes of all kinds of chronic inflammatory conditions such as cardiovascular disease, autoimmune disease, cancer, diabetes, and arthritis, to name but a few (de Cabo et al., 2019)
There are many ways to reduce inflammation e.g., eating a wholesome and healthy diet full of fresh fruit and vegetables, avoiding high sugar/salt/trans fats typically found in processed foods, exercising regularly, not smoking, consuming alcohol in moderation, and reducing the amount we eat.
Fasting is becoming a popular approach for managing inflammation in the modern world. Whether time restricted or intermittent fasting, it’s an evidenced-based and drug/cost-free approach to reducing inflammation and preventing the progression of a disease.
With cardiovascular health, in particular, intermittent fasting improves several factors, including blood pressure; resting heart rate; levels of high-density and low-density lipoprotein (HDL and LDL) cholesterol, triglycerides, glucose, and insulin; and insulin resistance. As well, intermittent fasting reduces markers of systemic inflammation and oxidative stress that are associated with atherosclerosis (i.e., a build-up of fats, cholesterol and other substances on the artery walls which causes heart attacks and clots).
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