Life At Slow-Mo

More research shows that intermittent fasting helps to lower cholesterol, blood pressure, insulin, and blood sugar level. That will happen even when you are fasting with no weight loss intention. (1)

It seems natural if intermittent fasting has a direct relationship with cholesterol, insulin, and blood sugar level. Those three are directly affected by what we eat. For me, the impact on blood pressure is the most intriguing, considering that IF does not demand a low salt diet. You can eat normal food, only in a shorter period of time.

Some studies suggest that intermittent fasting affects blood pressure by reshaping the composition of the gut microbiota, or the makeup of the microbes that live in our digestive system. (2)

I have been taking daily blood pressure readings (BPR) since the beginning of my fasting and entering the data into this app called BP Journal. I used to keep records using an Excel file, which required firing up my laptop, opening the spreadsheet, typing in the data, and saving the file. Does anyone here find going through all that steps just to record a single piece of data exciting? Show of hands! No one?

Other than making data entry a thousand times easier, the app came enabled with report generation capability. This is very useful for doctor consultations. Hypertension or cardiac patients are usually asked to keep a daily record of their blood pressure reading so their doctors can evaluate the progress of their medications. Using this app, you can simply mail the report to your doctor prior to your appointment.

Alright, that is enough talking about the app. Every morning, as soon as I wake up, I do the following two things: I get on the scale to check my weight, and I take my blood pressure. Then I water the plants. Yes, there might be days when I didn’t get the chance or didn’t remember to check the BP in the morning. So I did it later in the day. But I can say that most of the time I measured it around the same time of the day.

This picture is the graphical representation of my blood pressure readings from January 24 until today.

Although they are still on the high side, especially my diastolic readings, the graphic shows my blood pressure trend to be lowering. I must say that the only drastic change in my life in the past 8 weeks is this fasting. I still have a similar level of stress to that before I began fasting.

This might indicate that my IF works. I’m very curious to know its effect on my cholesterol and blood sugar levels. Unfortunately, I didn’t take a blood test before I began fasting. But I’m sure the subsequent result would be just as interesting. I am planning to go to the lab this week, so we’ll see how I do in a future post.