Have you heard the term ‘intermittent fasting’ kicking around the health space? The practice has been happening for a number of years, but its popularity has gained major momentum recently.

There are a few forms of intermittent fasting ranging from ‘ease-into-it’ to extreme. We’ll take you through the most common intermittent fasting methods, noting their differences and pointing out what they all have in common. But please remember, we are not qualified to prescribe an optimal diet for you, so please talk to your doctor before beginning a new diet or exercise routine.

First, the gateway fast. It’s called 16:8 and it entails a 16-hour period of fasting and an 8-hour window for eating every 24 hours. For example, if you finish dinner at 6pm, you won’t eat until 10am the following day. It’s considered a fairly effortless fasting method that simply means an early dinner and/or delayed breakfast.

The 20:4 diet is similar to the 16:8, but slightly more extreme. On the 20:4 diet, you fast for 20 full hours and eat one meal or two small meals during a 4-hour eating window. For example, you might set your eating window to 2pm-6pm every day but consume no solids for the rest of the day or night.

Another popular type of intermittent fasting is the 5:2. In this program, you eat normally for five days each week and fast for two days. Those two days are not a full fast, however; most advocates of the diet recommend consuming 500-600 calories on those fasting days.

24-hour fasts are a step up in terms of intensity. This method entails full 24-hour fasts once or twice per week. Practicing the 24-hour fast approach means if you finish dinner at 6pm one day, you won’t eat solids until 6pm the following day. Experts stress that it’s important not to overeat during your first meal after a 24-hour fasting period.

There are plenty more intermittent fasting plans out there, but these are a few of the most popular. While their structure varies, each form of intermittent fasting has one thing in common: fluid intake.

What do you drink when you’re on an intermittent fasting diet? It’s a common question. Experts say that beverages with low calories are the best choice, but you should also be aware of your nutritional intake. Unless you’re planning the meals you have during your eating window with incredible precision, you might end up missing out on essential nutrients. Recommended intakes of micronutrients are particularly difficult to meet as we tend to focus on macronutrients in our daily diet.

Based on the information offered by experts, water, coffee, tea and a superfood/multivitamin supplement will help you optimise the benefits of your intermittent fasting. Activated Nutrients Daily Superfood for Men and Daily Superfood for Women is low calorie with less than 30 calories per serve and carefully formulated to meet the body’s micro and macro-nutritional needs with over 50 raw, wholefood ingredients.

Again, please talk to your doctor before beginning an intermittent fasting diet. When you’ve worked out a responsible plan, stock up on Activated Nutrients Daily Superfood and get started!