Exactly How Intermittent Fasting Can Help You Achieve A Healthy Gut

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More often than not, I see an unhealthy gut as the underlying factor to almost every one of my patient’s health problems in my telehealth functional medicine clinic. And for many of my patients, they’ve tried almost everything to repair it including supplements, bone broth fasts, and elimination diets. But it’s not until they come to me that they consider intermittent fasting as a tool to heal their microbiome.

While fasting has a wide variety of well-known health benefits, it’s ability to improve gut health is drastically overlooked. When you fast, you are giving your gut a much-needed rest - a gastrointestinal siesta if you will. In fact, it’s a point I cover in depth in my latest book, Intuitive Fasting. It’s hard to fathom how simply taking a break from food can restore your gut health. But once you learn how it actually changes your gut and just how impactful it can be, you’ll be ready to try it for yourself. So let’s take a look.

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First, Let’s Acknowledge That Your Gut Needs A Break

I bet you didn’t realize that digestion uses 10% of your body’s total energy. Yes, you read that right. Chewing, making saliva, and swallowing all requires energy. And that’s just the beginning. Digestion requires your stomach to produce acid, hormones to regulate hunger signals, and enzymes to break down macronutrients.

Additionally, your body produces almost 2 gallons of liquid - water, enzymes, mucus, bile, and base salts - all while your gastrointestinal tract is making rhythmic muscular contractions to send your food through your intestines so it can be absorbed into your bloodstream for your body to utilize.

That’s a lot of work! When you are constantly eating throughout the day, your digestion isn’t given much of a break. Talk about burn out. But fasting gives our gut the rest it is craving. And not only that, fasting works to repair your gut at the very cellular level.

How Fasting Changes Your Microbiome

1. Fasting restores your gut-metabolism connection

Metabolic problems take root in the gut. Research has seen this time and again with studies showing (1) that gut dysfunction and poor microbiome diversity is more common in overweight individuals. But research also shows (2) that fasting can reduce the absorption of bacterial endotoxins linked to insulin resistance and obesity risk.

2. Fasting regulates your microbiome

Just like the ocean tides ebb and flow throughout the day, so do the different colonies of bacteria in your microbiome. These populations of bacteria increase and decrease depending on if we are awake, eating, or sleeping. This circadian rhythm of your microbiome is normal and happens on a daily basis but continuous eating can throw off it’s normal pattern. Because our bodies aren’t built for 24/7 eating, fasting can reset your microbiome’s natural ebb and flow.

3. Fasting improves gut inflammation

Systemic inflammation usually begins in the gut. While fasting lowers gut-specific inflammation (3) in health problems like Crohn’s disease and IBS, it can also lower (4) inflammatory markers like IL-6 and CRP that contribute to inflammation in other areas of the body besides just your gut.

What’s Next?

Thankfully, your gut is a quick learner. It responds to fasting extremely well with studies showing it can start changing your gut for the better within hours. If you’re ready to dive in, but need a little help getting started, check out my book Intuitive Fasting, for the complete guide on how to heal your gut by establishing a fasting practice that works for you.

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References:

  1. Facts & Statistics Anxiety and Depression Association of America https://adaa.org/about-adaa/press-room/facts-statistics
  2. Kassed CA, Herkenham M. NF-kappaB p50-deficient mice show reduced anxiety-like behaviors in tests of exploratory drive and anxiety. Behav Brain Res. 2004;154(2):577‐584. doi:10.1016/j.bbr.2004.03.026
  3. Crippa JA, Derenusson GN, Ferrari TB, et al. Neural basis of anxiolytic effects of cannabidiol (CBD) in generalized social anxiety disorder: a preliminary report. J Psychopharmacol. 2011;25(1):121‐130. doi:10.1177/0269881110379283
  4. Bergamaschi MM, Queiroz RH, Chagas MH, et al. Cannabidiol reduces the anxiety induced by simulated public speaking in treatment-naïve social phobia patients. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2011;36(6):1219‐1226. doi:10.1038/npp.2011.6
  5. Hill MN, Patel S. Translational evidence for the involvement of the endocannabinoid system in stress-related psychiatric illnesses. Biol Mood Anxiety Disord. 2013;3(1):19. Published 2013 Oct 22. doi:10.1186/2045-5380-3-19

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BY DR. WILL COLE

Evidence-based reviewed article

Dr. Will Cole, DNM, IFMCP, DC is a leading functional medicine expert who consults people around the globe, starting one of the first functional medicine telehealth centers in the world. Named one of the top 50 functional and integrative doctors in the nation, Dr. Will Cole provides a functional medicine approach for thyroid issues, autoimmune conditions, hormonal imbalances, digestive disorders, and brain problems. He is the host of the popular The Art Of Being Well podcast and the New York Times bestselling author of Intuitive Fasting, Ketotarian, The Inflammation Spectrum and the brand new book Gut Feelings: Healing the Shame-Fueled Relationship Between What You Eat and How You Feel.

Gut Feelings Dr. Will Cole 6

Gut Feelings

Healing The Shame-Fueled Relationship
Between What You Eat And How You Feel