Intermittent fasting (IF) has become a popular trend for people wanting to lose weight, regulate their sugar levels, and just to have an overall healthy lifestyle. For those of you that are not familiar with this diet, it’s basically an eating pattern in which a person eats only during a certain number of hours within a day, and then fasts for the rest—the pattern usually begins after dinner time through part of the next day.
Other benefits of intermittent fasting include the increasing your life span, ability to manage stress, as well as the ability to reduce risks of health problems like obesity and different cancers. Anyhow, the real question of the day is if a person with diseases like IBD (inflammatory bowel disease) or Crohn’s should participate in the trend. Our Orlando GI experts are here to break it down for you. Check it out!
Intermittent Fasting with IBD
Kelly Kennedy, a registered dietitian nutritionist with Everyday Health says “Some studies have shown that intermittent fasting/time-restricted feeding may decrease inflammation and improve gut microbiome health… But this research is still in its infancy.” Besides the lack of research being a point, many experts, including our Orlando GI physicians believe that doing IF is not a good idea is you have IBD. The issue is that people diagnosed with this disease are deficient in vitamin D, better known as the “sunshine vitamin”. It’s a challenge to get this source of vitamin from food. The majority are found in dairy products like milk and yogurt, but people with IBD usually avoid dairy products because it’s hard on the stomach. So by limiting themselves in how often they’re eating, they also limit themselves in the amount of nutrients they’re consuming.
Intermittent Fasting with Crohn’s
If there’s a Crohn’s patient that wants to participate in intermittent fasting, it has to be done in a calculating way. Our Orlando GI experts recommend the patient to work with a registered dietitian nutritionist that specializes in digestive conditions. It’s vital for the person’s weight and diet to be tracked closer than usual while doing IF. The reason behind this the same reason as to why a person with IBD shouldn’t do IF. The time spent fasting means that the person is missing out on essential vitamins and minerals that they possibly need to control their symptoms. If that is the case, then IF is NOT for you.
Visit the Digestive and Liver Center in Orlando
This has been a topic of debate for a while and as you can see, many experts are geared toward not taking the risk in IF, if you do have any of the above-mentioned diseases. Nevertheless, we’re not ones to say “never”. Before making any decisions, you should still consult with a GI expert to see what the best plan is for you. Call us at the Digestive and Liver Center of Florida to schedule an appointment with one of our Orlando GI experts. You can reach us at (407)384-7388.