Three Reasons Why I’m So Excited About FastBlast (And You Should Be Too)

I was very excited to receive a box of FastBlast banana-berry smoothies from The Nutra Company recently, and I cannot wait to get started. Here’s why:

1) I have no willpower 

I am a nutritional therapist, and I believe passionately in the power of healthy eating. I have no doubt that if the human race collectively overhauled our eating habits – and happily it is the case that many people are starting to do so – that the world would be a better place for us and our descendants to live in.

I also know that sometimes, eating nutritious food all the time (ok, most of the time) isn’t enough. Sometimes, you also must be a bit less greedy. And that’s the bit I find hard. When you’re cooking dinner for two children, you must make plenty, don’t you?

And sometimes you don’t want to keep leftovers – there just isn’t enough Tupperware. And at other times you just want to eat six sweet potato brownies, rather than just one. No point in leaving them to go stale.

In short, I have a bit of extra cushioning I would like to get rid of. Trying to get twenty minutes of exercise a day (sadly it often ends up being less) is one highly effective way of turning that cushion into a nice hard seat. But something else needs to happen too.

Diets don’t work because our bodies compensate by slowing down metabolism and storing calories as fat more readily after the diet has finished in case there is another food shortage. However, intermittent fasting is showing promising results in terms of a more effective way to lose weight. 

Dr. Michael Mosley, author of The 5:2 Diet and intermittent fasting expert, claims that intermittent fasting benefits the metabolism by improving insulin use. And recent research from longevity expert and biologist Valter Longo suggests that when mice are put on an intermittent fasting eating regime, they lose weight even though they consume the same number of calories as when they eat normally. ‘In humans, we’re starting to see something very similar,’ says Longo.

I’ve done the 5:2, but I only lasted a few weeks, as I somehow ran out of steam. But having these tasty FastBlast pouches full of goodness, and being allowed one every three hours or so, is going to make intermittent fasting so much more fun and do-able. They are going to make all the difference between ‘planning to do the 5:2 someday soon’ and actually doing it.

2) I prefer eating nutrient-rich foods on the ‘fasting’ days

According to its proponents, including Dr. Mosley and Kate Harrison, author of The 5:2 Diet Book (I recommend Harrison’s book – compelling and entertaining), it’s fine to eat junk food on your ‘fast’ days, so long as you keep to below 500 calories (for women) or 600 (for men).

That means that all your calories could go into one chocolate fudge sundae (I just Googled that, and it came in at 437 calories, leaving 63 to play around with, so you can have a small glass of lemonade as well).

Personally, that would make me feel gross; but I also have two other problems with it. One is that you only get one eating-time during the day (boring!) and the other is that you aren’t giving your body the nutrients it can really use to get through its ‘to-do’ list.

For example, if your liver has a lot of toxins in its ‘in-tray’, a nutrient-rich FastBlast pouch is going to provide some of the raw materials it needs to neutralize the ultra-toxic products of the first phase of liver detoxification, send them through Phase II, and have them eliminated from the body.

So, for me, it’s FastBlast pouches all the way. I know I’m going to feel great for it, and that the concentrated nutrients will give me the energy I need to get through the day, as well as providing health benefits.

3. I want to stay well, age slowly, and remember where I’ve left my keys

‘A little starvation can really do more for the average sick man than can the best medicine and the best doctors,’ said Mark Twain. I couldn’t agree more. I have read many, compelling reports of people being cured of chronic illness by fasting, including in a book called Fasting Can Save Your Life by the great fasting expert, Herbert Shelton.

Proponents of the practice claim that when the body is in fasting mode, enormous amounts of energy and resources, which would normally be put into digesting food, are liberated, and, put simply, the body gets a good ‘spring clean.’ Immune bodies scour the blood for diseased cells, gobbling them up and disposing of them. Cells are rejuvenated. The digestive organs get a break and have a chance to rest and repair.

We could do with some more research into the mechanisms and benefits of fasting; unfortunately, the diet industry and Big Pharma aren’t too keen on investing, for obvious reasons. But the information we do have is compelling.  Here are some of the key findings:

• Longevity expert Professor Valter Longo claims that fasting reduces free radical damage and inflammation, optimizes metabolism, and boosts cellular protection.
• When we fast, our stores of glycogen are used up, and our bodies burn fats in the form of ketones which promote improved function of our brain synapses. Mice predisposed to dementia had better brain health and ‘younger’ brains when they were given an intermittent fasting regime than mice eating normally. 

Conclusion

There’s never been an easier way to consistently lose weight and become healthier overall. If you value your time, don’t want to worry about a rigorous diet or exercise program, and just want to make life easier; FastBlast is definitely the solution for you.

Disclaimer: do not fast without the close supervision of an expert practitioner, particularly if you suffer from any medical conditions.

References

1. Fernanda Reis de Azevedo, Dimas Ikeoka & Bruno Caramel (2013). Effects of intermittent fasting on men. Revista da Associação Médica Brasileira 59(2) 167-173.   
2. Valter D Longo and Mark P Mattson (2014). Fasting: Molecular Mechanisms and Clinical Applications. Cell Metabolism 19(2):181-192.
3. Bronwen Martin, Mark P Mattson & Stuart Maudsley (2009). Caloric restriction and intermittent fasting: two potential diets for successful brain raging. Ageing Res Rev 5(3):332-353.

By Sally Beare

dip BCNH, CNHC