Recently, Elon Musk’s picture showcasing him basking in the sun shirtless on a yacht in Mykonos, Greece on the Aegean Sea surfaced on Twitter and it prompted a meme fest on social media. Netizens trolled Musk for his weight gain and pointed out that he looked unfit in general in the pictures. His father, Errol Musk, a South African engineer and entrepreneur went on to say that Elon should consider getting weight loss supplement pills on an Australian radio station KIIS FM, on a show titled the Kyle and Jackie O show. However, Elon didn’t seem to be rattled by the attention; and went on to say that he “should take off his shirt” more often and “free the nip”.
However, days later Elon took to Twitter to share a weight loss transformation picture in which he’d lost 9 kgs after practising intermittent fasting. “On advice of a good friend, I’ve been fasting periodically & feel healthier,” he had tweeted. Before jumping on the bandwagon, let’s take a look at what intermittent fasting is, its advantages and disadvantages, whether it’s safe to practice or not, and more.
On advice of a good friend, I’ve been fasting periodically & feel healthier
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 28, 2022
What is Intermittent fasting?
Intermittent fasting is the practice of going without food for 6-10 hours a day (sometimes more) and then repeating the practice as frequently as possible. A study titled Clinical application of intermittent fasting for weight loss: progress and future directions said that the degree of weight loss achieved with intermittent fasting is the same as traditional dieting approaches combined with regular exercise and a healthy lifestyle. So, are there benefits to intermittent fasting?
The study further mentioned that the intermittent fasting protocols’ ability to help manage long-term weight is still unclear and more research is required. However, the report mentioned that intermittent fasting improves cardiometabolic risk factors such as blood pressure, levels of LDL cholesterol and triglycerides, insulin resistance and HbA1c. It is also said that IF is generally safe, however, caution must be exercised as it can cause a few gastrointestinal, neurological, hormonal, or metabolic adverse effects.
