Watch out for These Side Effects If You Practice Intermittent Fasting
Intermittent fasting has numerous potential health benefits, including weight loss and improved cardiovascular health. Still, it’s not the best diet option for everyone and of those who practice it, many are unaware of the side-effects.
Intermittent fasting, which entails restricting calories by eating in short time-restricted windows, fasting for 24 hours once or twice a week or severely reducing intake for two days each week, can be a great way to lose weight and improve health. It’s perfectly safe for most healthy people, but the practice can pose risks when combined with low blood pressure or any type of blood sugar issue. Watch out for dizziness, nausea, shakiness, blurry vision and fainting. Excessive thirst or hunger, frequent urination, excessive tiredness and shallow breathing may also indicate a problem. Here are the details.
What Is Intermittent Fasting?
Intermittent fasting involves restricting food intake in a specific way to induce weight loss or to restrict calories. There are different ways to achieve this:
- The 16/8 method allows an 8-hour window each day in which to do all eating. You can choose any time period, as long as you restrict all eating to those 8 consecutive hours.
- The eat-stop-eat method requires you to commit to a 24-hour fast once or twice a week. Water is allowed, but all calorie consumption is stopped for the given 24-hour window.
- The 5:2 diet has you restrict your caloric intake to 500-600 calories on two separate days each week, eating normally the rest of the week.
Most people find the 16/8 method to be the easiest to adhere to, but people who are interested may need to see what works best for them. A little internet research will turn up several other variations on the main ideas above.
Fatigue and Poor Concentration
It’s common to feel a little off at the beginning of intermittent fasting. This feeling is a normal part of shifting metabolic gears. You may feel more tired than usual, or find it harder to concentrate.
For most people, these side effects pass once their body has successfully changed over to burning fat in place of carbs or once they get used to fasting for part of their day in which they used to eat. The length of time this will take can depend on the previous diet and how strictly participants adhere to the new one. The fewer carbs you previously ate, and the fewer you eat after you start, the shorter the transition. But most people can expect these things to fade after a while.
Hunger and Gastrointestinal Problems
Some people experience intense hunger when they first start to fast, and they may binge when their window to eat opens up. This may lead to an over-consumption of unhealthy foods, which means less nutrition to fuel the body properly. Yes, this diet allows many people to consume more calories and still lose weight, but the body still needs a constant influx of vitamins, minerals and healthy fats if you want it to function correctly and feel its best.
Some people may also experience gastrointestinal troubles in the early stages, though some also find relief of ongoing problems over time. If you experience stomach upset, consider breaking the fast with something gentle and calming such as a cucumber rather than spicy or with a lot of acids such as an orange or a bowl of chili. Overall, choose small, gentle portions to restart the digestive system after fasting rather than chowing down on a cheeseburger and milkshake at the first opportunity.
Low Blood Pressure and Blood Sugar
Intermittent fasting may worsen the symptoms associated with low blood pressure. This side effect may cause:
- Dizziness.
- Nausea.
- Shakiness or clamminess.
- Fainting.
- Blurry vision.
- Shallow breathing.
It can also be unsafe for people with unstable blood sugar levels, and it can pose serious health risks to diabetics. Symptoms of dangerously low blood sugar include:
- Feeling extremely hungry or thirsty.
- Excessive tiredness.
- Nausea.
- Blurry vision.
- Frequent urination.
Talk to a doctor if you experience any of these symptoms. Be sure to report any new or unusual symptoms, even if they’re not listed here. And use extreme caution before fasting if you have a condition that affects blood sugar.
Increased Risk of Eating Disorders
A potential pitfall of intermittent fasting is that people at risk for anorexia and other eating disorders may find intermittent fasting a trigger, turning it into an unhealthy venture. For some, calorie-restriction can easily turn into a slippery slope leading to deadly extremes. These risks are low for most people, but for those who have a history of eating disorders, it might be best to avoid intermittent fasting.
Worsened Colds and Flus
Studies on animal models performed in Graz, Austria, have shown intermittent fasting can worsen the symptoms of viral illnesses like colds and the flu. This may be due to a worsening of pro-inflammatory proteins the body releases when faced with infectious threats. This means continuing an intermittent fast while sick can worsen all that stiff achiness you feel while fighting off infection.
Intermittent fasting has helped a lot of people meet their health and weight loss goals, but it can also cause some serious problems. If you’re fasting and something doesn’t feel right, stop and call a doctor for advice before proceeding further. No diet is perfect, and neither is this one. It’s important to find the safest and most effective strategy for each individual, so it helps to talk to a doctor before starting intermittent fasting or any other weight loss regimen.
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