Get Summer Ready

With the sweltering heat approaching,here’s what the world’s healthy are eating, drinking and decorating their homes with this season.

Intermittent fasting

It’s not exactly a new weight loss trend, but intermittent fasting (IF) has gained immense popularity in the last few years, especially after ketogenic diets—high-fat, medium-protein and minimal-carb—became a rage. (Keto diets are often combined with IF for best results.) According to research, the benefits of IF include a lower risk of heart diseases, an increase in metabolic activity, regulation of the body’s insulin production (which means a reduced risk of diabetes), and a slowing down in the ageing process due to increased autophagy, a cellular self-cleaning process. Celebrity nutritionist Pooja Makhija believes that IF can be an effective nutritional strategy, but only when practised under supervision. “Your fasting period should be decided by your nutritionist, doctor and you, after a careful study of your medical history, body mass index, fat ratio, etc. If those are taken into consideration, then I do believe that fasting is an effective way to lose weight. Otherwise, there is a risk of going wrong with fasting periods, which can adversely affect your health,” she says.

While there are several ways to practice IF, the most popular is the 16/8 method—this restricts food intake to an 8-hour window, while allowing fasting to anywhere between 12 (minimum) and 16 (ideal) hours. Within the 8 hours window, one is advised to eat two to three well-balanced meals. Other IF techniques include the 5:2 diet, where you eat normally, but healthy, for five days a week and fast for the remaining two, eating only 500 to 600 calories; the eat-stop-eat or alternate-day fasting, where you either observe a strict 24-hour fast every alternate day, or limit calories to 500 on fasting days, while eating normally for the rest.

Sustainable living