Fitness experts and nutritionists have been talking about the benefits of the "eight-hour diet," also known as 16:8. The diet program has become a favourite in Hollywood with celebrities like Nicole Kidman, Miranda Kerr and Hugh Jackman following it.
People who follow the diet usually eat over a period of 8 hours, starting with breakfast at around 10 am, lunch at around 2 pm and dinner at around 6 pm, and then give a gap of 16 hours before consuming the next meal.
This diet has helped several in losing the unwanted kilos. The process of fasting for 16 hours helps increase your energy level and boosts your metabolism that will eventually lead to shedding the extra kilos.
However, this diet has its pros and cons. Leading Australian holistic nutritionist and wellness guru Lee Holmes spoke to FEMAIL about the positive and negative effects of the diet.
Holmes said that most of the people unknowingly follow this diet because when they sleep, they don't eat until the next morning. But she said that the best way of intermittent fasting is keeping a long-time gap between your night meal and the morning breakfast.
"If you delay your fasting time for just a few more hours, you can easily fit right into the very trendy and extremely sustainable '8 Hour Diet'. By practising fasting, you allow your body and gut time to digest, rest and heal. Fasting actually lightens the load on the gut, allowing it to work at its optimum. It also improves the cleansing process,' Holmes told FEMAIL.
"New Research is beginning to demonstrate that intermittent fasting can increase the speed of cell recycling and regeneration which reduces inflammation in the body. This means we can get sick less, experience less pain and become less susceptible to diseases."
She also said that intermittent fasting lowers "levels of insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1) which is linked to ageing, tumour progression and cancer risk."
"Intermittent fasting helps kick-start weight loss and additionally, repairs the body, reducing blood pressure, increasing energy and normalising hunger hormones for better appetite control," she said.
"But don't be fooled! Just because you're fasting, it doesn't mean you'll go hungry! If you eat satiating, delicious whole foods, you won't be hungry throughout the day - think good fats and protein sources instead of low calorie junk food."
While the positive impacts of the diet are many, there is also a negative effect of the eight-hour diet.
"Some traditional fasting methods can have a negative effect on female hormones, sending a signal to the body that it's experiencing famine and triggers the body to shut down fertility," she said.
"Before you trip out, if you satisfy your body with quality saturated fats throughout the day, like eggs and good fats (which are only around 40 calories for a teaspoon), the body will know it's in a safe environment and will continue with proper hormone synthesis."
