Those interested in fasting, to boost their health or lose a little belly fat, are not starved for choice. As the trend has grown in popularity, so too have the number of ways in which we can do it. There’s the 16:8 , the 5:2 , the fast 800, alternate-day fasting, fast "mimicking" and the eat-stop-eat 24-hour fast. But not all types of fasts are equal. Fasting is very popular but choose with care.Credit:Shutterstock Humans and animals evolved in an environment where food wasn’t always available; we had to adapt and thrive in situations where nutrients were limited. This has led to the belief that periods of fasting may be part of our “ideal state”, an idea bolstered by research findings that caloric restriction improves our ability to fight inflammatory, metabolic and auto-immune diseases, as well as our waistlines. One new study, published in Cell Metabolism , found when […]