Originally Posted by jdowns

The reason why IF and proper fasting has so many benefits is because of something called autophagy, which was the subject of the Nobel prize in medicine in 2016. Autophagy literally translates to "self eating." When we are not in an mTOR state (cellular growth), we can switch into autophagy (cleaning mode, where the cell literally consumes less desirable debris inside the cell, like misfolded proteins and inflammation-causing waste).

There are many things that promote mTOR, but a few major ones are amino acids, folate (i.e. needed to grow a baby), fructose, and iron. We can't be in a state of mTOR at the same time as autophagy. When we fast, and studies show 16/8 is the optimal fasting/feeding time to promote autophagy, the cells are able to start cleaning house instead of dealing with the things coming into the cell that promote growth. This is why it's so good for inflammation because it is the time when the cell can clean and repair itself (we can't deep clean or repair our house if we have house guests, right?). Healthier cells = healthier glands, organs and systems.