Intermittent fasting may not mean what you think

› We need to rediscover the ancient wisdom that says let food be your medicine DR DAVID LUDWIG, professor, Harvard

› Ideally, nothing should be had during the fasting period except for water and medicines DR SATCHIN PANDA, professor, Salk Institute

NEWDELHI: You can be healthy and fit, without counting calories, by merely changing meal times and avoiding processed carbohydrates, said experts on the second day of the 17th Hindustan Times Leadership Summit on Saturday.

“Our studies have shown eating all calories within a consistent 10-hour window, and fasting for the remaining hours in a day, protects from diseases such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases etc.,” said Dr Satchin Panda, professor, Salk Institute, and author of The Circadian Code.

“Ideally nothing should be had during the fasting period except for water and medicines,” he said.

The second expert on the panel, Dr David Ludwig, professor, paediatrics and nutrition, Harvard University & paediatric endocrinology, Boston Children’s Hospital, emphasised the importance of food and diets. “In India, for example, type 2 diabetes is big; and to stop this epidemic, diet plays a great role, especially avoiding processed carbohydrates that result in most of the metabolic disorders that give rise to diabetes, hypertension etc. We need to rediscover the ancient wisdom that says let food be your medicine,” he said.