Do you eat dinner? Well, if you’re Chris Martin, then the answer is no. Now, before we delve into the dangers of skipping meals, it’s important to note that the Coldplay frontman doesn’t actually skip dinner – he just stops eating before 4 p.m. Joining the likes of Jennifer Aniston and Chris Hemsworth, Gwyneth Paltrow’s ex-husband is all about intermittent fasting.
Why Does Chris Martin Skip Dinner?
Speaking on the Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend podcast, the Grammy-award winner shared that he doesn’t “actually have dinner anymore.”
“I stop eating at 4, and I learned that from having lunch with Bruce Springsteen.” – Chris Martin
Having been already on an incredibly strict diet, Martin shared that when he got the opportunity to share a meal with Bruce Springsteen, he noted how Springsteen, 73, was “more in shape” than him at the time. Springsteen’s wife, Patti Scialfa, shared that it was because her husband “only eat[s] one meal a day,” and Martin thought, “Well, there you go. That’s my next challenge.”
Should I skip dinner?
Well, no because skipping meals can be dangerous.
For one, skipping dinner may lead to nutritional deficiencies because your body isn’t getting adequate doses of vital nutrients like magnesium and vitamins. Nutritional deficiencies, as well as an empty stomach, can increase the risk for many health issues that compromise your cognitive, mental, and physical well-being.
Now, if you’re asking if you should adopt intermittent fasting when your feeding period ends before 4 p.m., then yes, doing so wouldn’t be a bad idea.
According to a study from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, participants who adopted intermittent fasting and ate their meals before 3 p.m. experienced reduced blood pressure and appetite satiety. The participants also experienced improved fat burning, which is great news for anyone looking to lose weight.
How does fasting help my body?
Weight loss isn’t the only way that intermittent fasting can help the body. Now, while you won’t get to chat about it over lunch with Bruce Springsteen, here are a few ways intermittent fasting can help your body:
- Improved glucose levels: High glucose levels not only increase the risk of diabetes, but they can also raise the risk of heart disease. Research has found that intermittent fasting has a therapeutic effect on glucose levels.
- Boosts longevity: An animal study featured a group of mice that were placed on a time-restricted feeding schedule. The researchers revealed that they observed changes in nearly 80% of their genes, with these changes improving cell function, while simultaneously suppressing inflammation and cell degeneration.
- Improved brain function: A 2021 review concluded that intermittent fasting may help in protecting against the development of neurological disorders.
Intermittent Fasting is not skipping meals
It’s important to remember that intermittent fasting isn’t about skipping meals. Chris Martin may not eat dinner, but that doesn’t mean that he’s starving himself. It just means that he’s eating his meals in a smaller period of time.
So, which style of periodic eating is right for you?
Well, there are four main eating styles that you can adopt or adjust to your preference:
- Time-Restricted fasting: Fasting for 12 hours, eating for 12 hours.
- The 5:2 Diet: Eating normally for 5 days of the week and restricting calorie intake for the remaining 2 days.
- Alternate-day Fasting: Fasting every other day according to individual preferences.
- Eat-Stop-Eat: Fasting for 24 hours once or twice a week.
A guide to intermittent fasting
When it comes to fasting, especially if you’re doing so for the first time, preparation is key. Here are a few steps to follow when starting the fasting process:
- Eat moderate quantities before fasting so that your body can get used to your limited calorie intake.
- Reduce coffee intake as caffeine when fasting can cause intense headaches and dehydration.
- Consume nutrient-rich foods that will keep you full as well as help maintain healthy electrolyte levels.
- Stay clear of processed foods as their high-fat content can lead to inflammation, aggravated acid reflux, and increased calorie intake, which can lead to weight gain.
Want to know more?
We all know that we are what we eat, but when we eat can also make a significant difference in our lives. The skin is the largest organ in the body, so can fasting improve skin health and prevent aging?
MAIN IMAGE CREDIT: coldplay/instagram
References
Deota, S., Lin, T., Chaix, A., Williams, A., Le, H., Calligaro, H., Ramasamy, R., Huang, L., & Panda, S. (2023). Diurnal transcriptome landscape of a multi-tissue response to time-restricted feeding in mammals. Cell metabolism, 35(1), 150–165.e4. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cmet.2022.12.006
Gudden, J., Arias Vasquez, A., & Bloemendaal, M. (2021). The Effects of Intermittent Fasting on Brain and Cognitive Function. Nutrients, 13(9), 3166. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu13093166
Ravussin, E., Beyl, R.A., Poggiogalle, E., Hsia, D.S. and Peterson, C.M. (2019), Early Time-Restricted Feeding Reduces Appetite and Increases Fat Oxidation But Does Not Affect Energy Expenditure in Humans. Obesity, 27: 1244-1254. https://doi.org/10.1002/oby.22518
Yuan, X., Wang, J., Yang, S., Gao, M., Cao, L., Li, X., Hong, D., Tian, S., & Sun, C. (2022). Effect of Intermittent Fasting Diet on Glucose and Lipid Metabolism and Insulin Resistance in Patients with Impaired Glucose and Lipid Metabolism: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. International journal of endocrinology, 2022, 6999907. https://doi.org/10.1155/2022/6999907
