Dangers of Intermittent Fasting: Cortisol and Low Blood Sugar
I usually only recommend intermittent fasting (IF) for my patients who are low carb/keto and not overly stressed/anxious. If my patients consume a fair amount of carbs and/or are stressed/anxious, I try to work on decreasing carbs and de-stressing first. I’ve heard nothing but great things about intermittent fasting lately, but everyone is failing to address the risks of intermittent fasting. Cortisol is pumped out in large amounts during the fasted state. We have this survival mechanism so, if our blood sugar gets too low or we’re stressed, we’ll pump out a bunch of cortisol (stress hormone) to turn the glycogen stored in our liver back into glucose to bring our blood sugar back up without having to eat anything. It also increases glucose to the muscles so we can fight or run away from whatever threat is present. This is a great survival mechanism and was great for the cave people because the cortisol would put them into fight or flight mode but now that food is in abundance and we’re not hunting anything down, it’s just contributing to our stress load. We pump out a bunch of cortisol when we’re low in blood sugar, when we’re stressed and when we have too much caffeine. We have enough stress in our lives, we don’t need intermittent fasting amplifying our stress levels.
Edit (Nov 12, 2018): Intermittent fasting is meant to be a stressor to our system in order for it to induce phagocytosis and regenerate our immune system. This can be a great thing when used in appropriate situations (under supervision of a trained professional, and while fat-adapted/keto). It's bound to worsen your symptoms if you are already stressed, anxious and eating a fair amount of carbohydrates. Intermittent fasting does have some benefits but just like any other therapeutic modality, should be done with proper guidance from a medical professional. If that medical professional denies that there are any risks, including the ones I list below, you need to find a different medical professional to help you through it. Rhonda Patrick mentions that our bodies were meant to be challenged and that's why IF helps, but in our current society our systems are already being challenged (stress, anxiety, external factors, insomnia, carbs, sugar, etc...) It's common for Intermittent Fasting to be a bit too much stress for an already over-stressed system. Please read some of the comments below for personal stories if you don't believe me.
Check out how similar the symptoms of low blood sugar are to stress symptoms.
Edit (Nov 12, 2018): Intermittent fasting is meant to be a stressor to our system in order for it to induce phagocytosis and regenerate our immune system. This can be a great thing when used in appropriate situations (under supervision of a trained professional, and while fat-adapted/keto). It's bound to worsen your symptoms if you are already stressed, anxious and eating a fair amount of carbohydrates. Intermittent fasting does have some benefits but just like any other therapeutic modality, should be done with proper guidance from a medical professional. If that medical professional denies that there are any risks, including the ones I list below, you need to find a different medical professional to help you through it. Rhonda Patrick mentions that our bodies were meant to be challenged and that's why IF helps, but in our current society our systems are already being challenged (stress, anxiety, external factors, insomnia, carbs, sugar, etc...) It's common for Intermittent Fasting to be a bit too much stress for an already over-stressed system. Please read some of the comments below for personal stories if you don't believe me.
Check out how similar the symptoms of low blood sugar are to stress symptoms.
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