How To Do Intermittent Fasting When You Work Night Shift

Before answering the question if intermittent fasting works with night shift work, we check a few details.

Would you like to live 100 years? Who wouldn’t want it!

But the idea of living so long loses its charm, if you are not healthy all this time.

An excellent health and longevity practice can be the intermittent fasting: it is like a food calendar. How does it work? You regularly eat a few days, and take a break from food in others or for several hours per day.

One of the main mistakes in modern western lifestyle, is eating too often, which makes your body sluggish in repair and renewal.

Intermittent fasting very effectively mimics the eating habits of our ancestors, who did not have access to supermarkets and food or food at all times.

Our ancestors alternated periods of satiety food, with periods of fasting. Modern research shows that these cycles are very beneficial. In fact, they improve cardiovascular health and metabolic functions and reduce cancer risks.

Furthermore, Intermittent fasting renews the blood and the immune system.
A study published in Cell Stem Cell found that intermittent fasting strengthens the immune system, which gets rid of damaged white blood cells and replaces them with new ones. Stem cells become from a state of “slumber and stasis” to a state renewal.

Fasting is essential to give your body a shake

Researchers from the University of Southern California have found that during a prolonged fasting period, white blood cells decrease, but when you resume eating, the number increases.
By investigating this phenomenon further, the researchers found that the body was eliminating old and damaged immune cells, by replacing them with new cells.
The fasting cycle promotes regeneration through a key gene that controls the PKA enzyme. During fasting, PKA is reduced, which initiates the regeneration process that sets stem cells in motion.
Scientists believe these findings have implications for healthy aging. They are trying to understand if these benefits, also affect different systems and organs, beyond the immune system.

Is intermittent fasting and night shift work compatible?

It could be a problem but not impossible. You have to understand what the job is doing. If the job you need to do is hard work, in fact it is strictly not recommended to do intermittent fasting as it could be very hungry and make you very weak.
It is good to evaluate your expectations and talk about it especially with your doctor.

The work you do affects your life. Working on shifts and doing night shifts, could already cause you problems related to circadian cycles and sleep. So, it’s strictly not recommended if you do shift work to apply intermittent fasting.

What can you do when you have a hunger attack and are you at work?

Many people who follow this type of diet, complain of hunger attacks and a sense of fatigue, which can easily occur, when skipping meals. But some say that once the critical phase has passed (about 2 days), hunger disappears. In times when you feel a sense of hunger too strong, you can drink green tea or black coffee, to be able to resist until the next meal.

Who should be careful about fasting or shouldn’t do it at all?

There are some particular categories that should avoid fasting.

If you belong to one of these 5 categories, focus on improving your nutrition, before thinking about fasting:

• Hypoglycemia
• Diabetes
• Chronic stress
• Cortisol imbalance
• Pregnancy and breastfeeding

Conclusions

Intermittent fasting and working in night shift can put two stress factors on your body. This diet is not for everyone, but it is a good method of reducing body fat. However, you must keep your diet under control and avoid hamburgers, pizzas and French fries. The goal remains to try to eat healthily and to follow a balanced diet.

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