Evidence suggests that intermittent fasting may benefit your gut health and boost your gut microbiome, the trillions of bacteria and other microorganisms that live in your gut. Intermittent fasting is an approach to eating where you switch between periods of fasting and eating as normal.
Sears suggests 12 to 14 hours of fasting overnight, with your eating window ending between 5 and 8 p.m. Don't restrict your calorie intake during the eating periods. Most of your gut bugs need food to survive—not to mention you need food for energy and other functions—said Devkota.
Fasting during prolonged periods gives the gut the time it needs to restore its integrity. This is especially important for those with “leaky gut”, also called intestinal permeability, where the gut lining is weakened thereby allowing toxins, partially digested foods and pathogens to enter the bloodstream.
Research has found that fasting periods ranging from several hours to a day support the health of the gut microbiome. One mouse study found that alternate-day fasting (twenty-four hours of eating regular meals that meet your calorie needs followed by twenty-four hours of fasting) promoted bacterial clearance.
So to answer the question…to kill off dormant bacteria it can take up to 6 months. This highlights the importance that if any healthy habits are being adopted they must be sustained for at least this amount of time to result in permanent shifts in your microbiome.
Drinking plenty of water and staying hydrated is a great way to regulate digestion. Drinking lukewarm water has been shown to be good for digestion as well. Also, try eating plenty of foods high in water content. This includes fruits and vegetables like watermelons, tomatoes, lettuce, and celery.
Eating a plant-based diet that includes fermented foods and fiber from colorful fruits and vegetables, having healthy sleep habits and managing stress levels are other ways to support a healthy gut. If you want to adopt a healthier lifestyle, start easy with small diet changes and build from there.
Both the time restricted eating and modified fasting diets showed reduced inflammation in the gut and brain, improvements in the gut barrier, and an increase in anti-inflammatory related gut bacteria.
Initial evidence suggests that intermittent fasting may benefit your gut health, particularly by increasing the diversity of your gut microbiome and the “good” gut bugs that make their home there. Certain foods may improve your gut health while intermittent fasting, as well as help support you during fasting periods.
Fasting also increased microbial richness (number of different species in the microbiome) and diversity (how diverse and evenly spread out species are), and increased levels of the beneficial SCFA, butyrate8,9,12 which are all generally associated with a healthy gut microbiome.
Digestive issues
The reduction in food intake that comes along with some intermittent fasting regimens may negatively affect your digestion, causing constipation and other side effects. Plus, changes in diet associated with intermittent fasting programs may cause bloating and diarrhea ( 8 ).
The ability of intermittent fasting to lower inflammation has been proven (25). More recent research has shown that alternate-day fasting and time-restricted fasting methods appear to improve gut permeability. This means they make the gut less leaky.
Prolonged Water Fasting
Doing so quickly reduces stress and inflammation in the gut, allowing it to heal and rebuild. Fasting also helps to bring down dysbiosis microbial growths that are causing digestive issues. A window of time that seems to provide the most benefits is 3-5 days.
A 2013 study concluded that fasting for more than 24 hours may lower inflammation by reducing oxidative stress in cells. A 2014 study found that both intermittent fasting and alternate-day fasting were as effective as limiting calorie intake at reducing insulin resistance.
That's because the fasting pattern can help promote the movement of the motor complex, which can improve certain irritable bowel syndrome symptoms, especially when there is an overgrowth of sugar bacteria.
The immune system responds incorrectly to environmental triggers, such as a virus or bacteria, which causes inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract. There also appears to be a genetic component. Someone with a family history of IBD is more likely to develop this inappropriate immune response.
We recommend staying on the diet for at least 3-4 weeks as it will take about that long to “heal the gut.” Some patients may take up to 3 months to reestablish a normal functioning intestinal mucosa.
The most immediate organ affected by a fast is the pancreas. During times of low plasma glucose, the pancreas will release more glucagon from the alpha cells found in the islets of Langerhans. Glucagon will mainly affect the liver as it stores most of the glycogen in the body.
In order to provide your body with the adequate nutrients, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants it needs, taking supplements and even probiotics is ideal when you fast. This ensures you don't miss out on the essentials even while you're not eating.