How intermittent fasting may improve your health

NEW YORK (FOX 5 NY) - So many diets focus on what you put in your body. But have you ever considered limiting when you eat?

"Intermittent fasting describes a pattern of eating that limits your feeding window, shortening it, making it about eight hours of the day that you're eating leaving 16 hours of fasting," said Rachel Lustgarten, a registered dietitian at Weill-Cornell Medicine.

Ideally, eight of those hours would be spent sleeping. Plus, you can have water and black coffee while you fast.

"In addition to weight loss, people are having better blood sugar control," Lustgarten said. "It's been shown in studies to help some types of cancer, and they're also seeing and animals diets to help with longevity."

Lustgarten said it only takes a few weeks to get used to a fasting pattern and see some results.

"There are different types of fasting which include time restriction, also alternate-day fasting and an approach called 'one meal a da,' which is exactly how it sounds: people are limiting their food intake to just one meal a day."

The health experts say fasting is suitable for most people without a lot of drawbacks.

"People can use it as a nice excuse to eat healthier foods during that window," Lustgarten said. "But for people that are wary about giving up their favorite treats, this is a nice diet change that is more behavioral an actual food-related."

Fast food in moderation is fine as long as you eat it within your window.