So, intermittent fasting yes or no?

After my previous article about the generalities of intermittent fasting, medical friends have written to me asking me to clarify what my position is regarding whether or not people should perform intermittent fasting.

Bluntly, my answer is YES, considering that it is not better than the daily caloric restriction. I think it is a valid alternative to vary the monotony of the traditional diet, so if anyone is comfortable with intermittent fasting, go ahead!, ideally with a specialized medical accompaniment.

The method that I would advise is modified alternate-day fasting, because it is the one with more studies.

This strategy consists of a caloric restriction on alternate days (nominally 24 hours). It involves consuming a single meal on fasting days of around 600–800 kcal from 12.00–14.00 hours (in other words, it would be one meal that represents 25% of the energy needed for a day in a healthy person ), alternated with a diet without restrictions (always respecting the portions) on days not destined to fast.

I insist that there must be a healthy diet on the days when fasting is not carried out, with a Mediterranean Diet as a model in mind.

Here is an example of food (portion for one person) for this approach, obviously it may not be liked by everyone because everyone will have particular food preferences, but it is an idea to start from something:

Steamed salmon with rosemary, asparagus and orange, risoni with mashed roasted peppers and crispy pita (Calories 740)

Ingredients:

Category and quantity: 2 flours + 1 vegetable + 200g of animal protein

Salmon fillet without skin 200 grams

1/2 teaspoon olive oil

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 teaspoon rosemary

Asparagus 3 units or stems

Valencia orange, juice 1/3

For the risoni:

1/3 cup risoni or orzo pasta

For the puree:

Small red paprika 1 unit

Skim milk 2 tablespoons

Fresh cheese 1/2 slice

For the crispy:

Pita bread 1/2 unit

Procedure:

Heat a large pot with water, on top of this place a steamer or a rack.

Season the salmon with the olive oil and salt, arrange the salmon in the steamer or on the rack with the rosemary sprig on top of it and the asparagus next to it, cover with a lid or aluminum foil. Once covered, cook for 12 minutes.

After cooking, bathe with the orange juice.

For the risoni:

Heat water until boiling, add the risoni and cook for 8 minutes, strain and reserve.

For the puree:

Roast the paprika directly over the fire of a gas stove, the skin must be burned, once it is completely black, remove from the heat and put in a plastic bag to remove the skin, then remove the seeds. Put the paprika, milk and cheese in a blender and process

Heat a pan and add the puree and risoni, mix and serve together with the bread, salmon and asparagus.

I hope this information is useful to you, and please share it!

Knowledge is power!

Isaac Guzman MD