There has been a rising trend of intermittent fasting – utilization of short-term fasts in order to improve body composition and overall health. Intermittent fasting is generally classified into alternate-day fasting, whole-day fasting and time-restricted feeding. Through clinical trials, researchers found that these practices are effective at reducing body weight (3% – 9%), body fat (3 – 5.5kg), total cholesterol (10% – 20%), and triglycerides (14% – 50%) in normal-weight, overweight, and obese humans.

Clearly, intermittent fasting helps improve health, reduce or eliminate certain medications and their side effects, cut health care costs and enhance people’s self-esteem.