Fasting: Key to Weight Loss

Intermittent fasting could be the secret to losing weight and reducing risk of cancer, heart disease, say scientists. Fat loss pills and strenuous exercise could be a thing of the past, with a new diet claiming to improve your waistline, as well as extend your life and keep wrinkles at bay.

The 5:2 diet - also known as intermittent fasting - requires two non-consecutive days of "fasting" each week, when the dieter is to consume no more than 500 calories if they are a woman and 600 if they are a man, the Daily Telegraph reported.

There are no dietary restrictions for the remaining five days, which are often referred to as the "feeding" days.

The diet has gone viral following the BBC documentary 'Eat, Fast and Live Longer' by doctor and journalist Michael Mosley, which screened in the UK last year.

It is expected to create a similar craze when it screens in Australia on SBS on April 22.

The program follows Dr Mosley on an intermittent fasting investigation.

In six weeks following the diet, he lost over 6kg and 25 percent of his body fat.

His cholesterol dropped and his blood glucose, which he described as "borderline diabetic", went back to normal.

Dr Mosley also found that fasting lowered levels of IGF-1 in the body - an insulin-growth hormone - which in turn lowered blood pressure and the risks of cardiovascular disease, cancer and diabetes.

There are now 5:2 groups on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter, as well as blogs dedicated to the diet.

Source-ANI