A growing trend in the field of nutrition is intermittent fasting and for good reason! A lot of people are seeing great results from fasting for improved concentration, weight loss, blood sugar regulation, and even longevity. Luckily, CBD oil can be a great complement to this lifestyle habit. It can help to further boost the effects of intermittent fasting. We also wrote a post about how CBD oil can be a great complement to the Keto and Paleo diets. Keep on reading to finding out how CBD and intermittent fasting work together.
CBD, just like intermittent fasting, has been shown to contribute to increased productivity, weight loss, blood sugar regulation, and decreased inflammation by acting on the key hormones and neurotransmitters within the body. We discuss each of these further below.
What is Intermittent Fasting
Intermittent fasting is a pattern of eating that cycle between fasting and eating. These cycles can have a wide range, but most commonly people fast somewhere between 10 to 16 hours. However, this can also be done by alternating days or on a more extended basis for maximum benefits. The goal of intermittent fasting can also vary from stabilizing blood sugar and giving your digestion a break, to weight loss and increased brain function.
The importance of giving your digestion a break lies in that it lessens the burden on your body. Instead of spending energy on digesting food, the body can focus on other processes. This includes things like healing, repair, and general maintenance which includes getting rid of metabolic wastes. In addition, the body begins to break down your own tissues and damaged cells are then replaced with healthy new ones.
CBD oil for Intermittent Fasting and Blood Sugar Regulation
There are two main hormones that are responsible for blood sugar regulation. These are also a key part of intermittent fasting. Insulin gets released when blood sugar levels are high. It works to shuttle sugar from the blood into the cells for use and storage. Glucagon does the opposite and gets released when blood sugar levels are low. It does this to burn stored energy from glycogen in the liver and fat reserves.
CBD has been shown to balance out these hormones, particularly working to increase insulin sensitivity, thereby lowering insulin levels. Intermittent fasting works to do the exact same thing, which is why they can work so well together. This, in turn, helps to lower inflammation in the body and balance the metabolism to allow for steady energy levels, promote weight loss, and even helping you live longer by slowing the aging process and preventing chronic diseases.
CBD oil for Intermittent Fasting and Weight Loss
One of the most common reasons why people will choose to do intermittent fasting is for weight loss. Of course, by eating within a specific time frame it becomes more challenging to consume the same amount of calories, even more so if you are focusing on healthy calories. However, fasting also changes hormone levels of insulin by increasing sensitivity and decreasing resistance to facilitate easier fat loss. By lowering insulin levels and raising human growth hormone levels, this increases the release of the fat-burning and stress hormone norepinephrine. Therefore, fasting can boost your metabolic rate quite significantly. Fasting has also been shown to help gain lean muscle mass in addition to fat loss.
In addition, CBD can help to balance out the hormones ghrelin and leptin. These are responsible for hunger and satiety, respectively. Leptin is produced by fat cells in the body, and the more fat they hold, the more leptin they produce. Weight gain is linked to leptin resistance which means the hunger signal does not properly. So the body cannot tell when to stop eating and fewer calories are burned as a result. CBD oil is a great compliment by helping to balance hormone levels and possibly decreasing appetite, thus making it easier to stick to this way of eating.
CBD Oil for Intermittent Fasting and Brain Function
More women are searching for ways to boost their brain function for increased productivity in an extremely busy and distracted world. Intermittent fasting can certainly be one method of doing it. Intermittent fasting has been shown to improve memory, better concentration, and decrease inflammation which positively affects the brain. It even slows the aging process preventing the development of neurodegenerative diseases.
In a nutshell, when you are intermittent fasting, your body starts to burn fats instead of carbohydrates. This, in turn, lowers insulin levels. Decreased insulin levels are linked with improved mental abilities and increased blood flow to regions of the brain responsible for attention, focus, reasoning, and more complex and abstract thought.
In addition, both intermittent fasting and CBD have been shown to positively influence neurogenesis or the replacement of damaged nerve cells with new ones. This can also be a factor in preventing neurodegenerative disease by slowing the aging process. Also, CBD has been shown to activate specific regions of the brain, just like intermittent fasting, that are connected to improved cognitive function.
The Verdict
Intermittent fasting and CBD oil could just be a match made in heaven. They both offer similar promises which is awesome for boosting the effectiveness of each of them when used together. This can further help you reach your health goals faster. We can see increased productivity, weight loss, blood sugar regulation, and decreased inflammation, to name just a few of the things mentioned.
Ready to try out CBD oil? We suggest getting ICARIA’s APHRODITE product. This oil comes with hemp flavour which can make fasting a bit easier and add some of those beneficial Omega 3’s and 6’s. It can also help boost the results of intermittent fasting by helping you improve brain function, keep blood sugar levels stable, and even lose some weight.
