Do you know about intermittent fasting?
Intermittent fasting or fasting diet is a diet method by applying two kinds of periods, namely the period when you can eat as much as you want and the period when you are not allowed to eat at all.
This method actually adopts the fasting tradition that has been known to humans since ancient times, and is practiced by several cultures and religions.
This fasting method as a diet became popular in the UK and Australia around 2012. According to several sources, the people who first introduced this method were Michelle Harvie and Mark Mattson.
Although intermittent fasting is basically the same as regular fasting, for example this Ramadan, there are several differences between the two. Of course, intermittent fasting is for dieting, while Ramadan fasting is for worship.
However, there are also some other differences, as discussed below.
1. Differences in the duration of fasting and eating
The duration of Ramadan fasting starts from the time of Imsak until the time before sunset. This causes differences in the duration of fasting in various parts of the world, ranging from 11 hours to 16 hours.
If Ramadan fasting refers to the duration rule, intermittent fasting has variations in the duration of fasting and eating, or better known as a method.
Reporting from Healthline, there are three types of intermittent fasting methods that are most common, including:
Method 16:8, where you are allowed to eat in a period of 8 hours and the next 16 hours you are not allowed to eat at all.
The eat-stop-eat method, which includes fasting for 24 hours, once or twice a week.
Method 5:2, where you can eat normally for 5 days, and the remaining 2 days you have to limit the calorie intake consumed.
2. It is allowed to drink
During Ramadan, we are not only prohibited from eating food. We are also not allowed to drink during the fasting period.
Meanwhile, on the intermittent fasting diet, it is allowed to drink with certain restrictions. These limits relate to the type of drink and the number of calories consumed.
In a sense, you can drink during the fasting period provided that the drink does not contain a lot of sugar and calories.
3. Suggestions for Consuming Sugar
During Ramadan, there is a recommendation to break the fast with the consumption of sweet foods. This recommendation is based on the hadith of the prophet regarding the recommendation to eat dates when breaking the fast. However, there is still much debate about the validity of this suggestion.
In intermittent fasting, there are actually no strict limits on the consumption of certain foods. During the meal period, we are allowed to eat as we normally eat.
However, in certain methods it is not recommended to drink or eat sweet foods (containing sugar), especially in excess. This is quite reasonable, considering the more sugar content in a food/beverage, the higher the calories. Consumption of excess calories actually has the potential to thwart the diet that is being carried out.
Well, the discussion about the difference between intermittent fasting and Ramadan fasting has been completed. Intermittent fasting has indeed become a diet trend lately. What makes this method interesting is that it is less restrictive than other diets. So, we can go on a diet, or we can consume food --- it's just that we are limited in time, so it is considered not too torturous.
Reporting from Hopkins Medicine, some of the benefits of intermittent fasting are: improve memory, improve blood pressure, and prevent obesity.
Hopefully this article can add to your information, especially about intermittent fasting. If you are interested in trying it, cheers!