Should a woman over 60 try intermittent fasting?
Fasting gets talked about as if it means going days without food. That is not what Dr. Martin means, and it is not what he asks of anyone. On this episode he was responding to an article on the importance of not eating at night, and he made his own position plain.
Dr. Martin, The Doctor Is In, Episode 1772Well, I like fasting. I'll tell you what is doable is intermittent fasting. Eating in windows.
Eating in windows means you eat your meals inside a set stretch of the day and leave the rest of it empty. For a woman over 60, the attraction is in that word doable. Nothing here asks you to skip whole days, count anything or buy anything. It asks you to stop eating at a certain point in the evening.
He did not single out women or any age group on this episode. The advice is the same for everyone. What he says it does, on insulin and on digestion, covers two of the most common concerns women bring up after 60.
Why not eating at night matters
The study he brought in looked at people who stopped eating at least three hours before bed. When the body is not digesting, he says, it can get into rest and digest and finish the job properly. When it is still working on a late meal, it cannot.
Dr. Martin, The Doctor Is In, Episode 1772If you eat at 10 o'clock at night and go to bed, it just is not good because now your body is not resting.
He listed what the research showed from not eating at night. It decreases blood pressure, which he says is very good for the heart. And it lowers insulin. He repeated that one twice.
Insulin is the thread through almost everything Dr. Martin teaches about blood sugar. Every time you eat, you need insulin. A long evening and night with no food is a long stretch where your pancreas is not being asked for any. If you have been told your blood sugar is creeping up, the same idea runs through insulin resistance in women over 60 and prediabetes at 60.
How long should you fast?
This is the part most people want, and he gave a straight answer. The example he used is an ordinary evening. Stop at 6 o'clock, no snacks, and do not eat again until 8 o'clock the next morning. That is 14 hours, most of it asleep.
Dr. Martin, The Doctor Is In, Episode 1772When you hit that 14 hour mark, it seems to be the sweet spot when it comes to intermittent fasting. 12 hours is good, but better when you get to 14.
He also mentions that some people push it further, not eating until 10 o'clock in the morning or even noon. That takes you to 18 hours or more, and he says it is really effective. But the number he hangs the advice on is 14, and the starting point is 12. For many people the change is just the bedtime snack.
"Anyhoo, intermittent fasting, a good thing."
Dr. Martin, The Doctor Is In, Episode 1772What it does for digestion
After blood pressure and the heart, he called digestion the big, big thing. Not eating at night gives your stomach time to do its work, and in particular gives the acid in your stomach time to break down protein before you lie down.
He tied this to acid reflux, which he says he saw in tens of thousands of patients. His view is that reflux generally comes from too much sugar and too little stomach acid, not too much. The stomach is built to be very acidic so it can break down meat, and when it is not used that way, things go wrong. Lying down on a full stomach does not help. Women who find digestion getting slower with age will find more of his thinking in why digestion slows down after 60.
A plan to succeed, not to fail
He is open that there are other kinds of fasting and that he is not against them. But he calls himself a realist, and the reason he likes intermittent fasting is the same reason he gave at the start. People can stick to it.
Dr. Martin, The Doctor Is In, Episode 1772I am going to give you a plan not to fail, but to succeed.
So the habit he hands out is short. Have your supper. Then stop.
Dr. Martin, The Doctor Is In, Episode 1772You have your supper, stop. And don't eat until the next morning.
He adds that from there you might find you can go another hour or two in the morning. And he offers one improvement for anyone who wants it, without making it a rule.
Dr. Martin, The Doctor Is In, Episode 1772It would be actually better if you had your heavier meal at noon or in the morning, but that's all right.
That last part, but that's all right, is the whole tone of it. He wants it easier to succeed, not a list of rules that sets you up to quit.
Water, then coffee
Breaking the fast is where he gets specific about the morning. He starts his own day with water, about 16 ounces or half a liter, before anything else, and he says tens of thousands of his patients changed that habit with him.
Dr. Martin, The Doctor Is In, Episode 1772I start my day with water because I know what the body needs and you need water to start your day.
Then coffee. He has no time for the claim that coffee in the morning is the worst thing you can do. Water first, then your coffee, and he is happy for you to have it every day.
Common questions
Is intermittent fasting safe for women over 60?
The version Dr. Martin recommends is simply not eating between supper and the next morning. He calls it doable and a good thing. If you take medication for blood sugar or blood pressure, talk to your doctor before changing when you eat.
How many hours should a woman over 60 fast?
He says 12 hours is good, but better when you get to 14, which he calls the sweet spot. Some people go to 18 hours by waiting until 10 o'clock or noon to eat.
What is the easiest way to start intermittent fasting?
Stop eating after supper. No snacks in the evening, and nothing until the next morning. That alone takes most people to 12 to 14 hours.
Can I have coffee while intermittent fasting?
He wants you to start the day with water first and then have your coffee. He disagrees with the claim that morning coffee is bad for you.
Help for the insulin side
Not eating at night lowers insulin, he says. Martin Clinic Blood Sugar Support Formula is the one he built for the blood sugar side of your health.
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