Intermittent Fasting, and Why It Could Be Dangerous For Women
Intermittent fasting also known as IF has been becoming increasingly popular over the last couple of years. It’s said to boost energy levels, increase motivation and stamina, and improve cognitive function. Those benefits sound amazing, right?
Maybe not. It turns out that most of the early research was only done on men and we are now learning that fasting isn’t the same for men and women at all. Studies now show how fasting can actually cause more harm than good if women don’t do it properly. Why? Because women’s bodies are biologically built for fertility and reproduction. Extended periods without food tell the body that now isn’t a good time for reproduction.
This started to affect me when I started to try and tackle my hormonal acne naturally. I cut out all dairy, refined sugar, and gluten. I started to see amazing results, but I wanted to go a step further. I started to hear about IF and thought I would give it a try because the benefits were just too good not to. Within a month of starting IF, my acne journey started to plateau and I even started to break out again. When I got my blood work tested it turned out my hormone levels were all out of whack which led me to understand that maybe IF wasn’t for me… It wasn’t until the past year that I saw more studies on IF and women that got me thinking that my hormones were most likely out of order because of the IF trial.
Even if you don’t necessarily want to get pregnant now. Women have to consider that estrogen and progesterone do more in the body than simply get us pregnant. Estrogen helps us with metabolism, weight loss, mood, anxiety, stress, energy, bone density, and cognitive function, just to name a few.
Thankfully it’s not all negative. When you know how to use intermittent fasting in a way that is safe for your unique female biochemistry you can reap some amazing benefits as long as some simple rules are followed. Don’t fast on consecutive days, or for longer than 12 or 13 hours. It’s also important to avoid intense workouts and to not fast while you’re on your period.
