Hello
Its been about 3 years since I started practicing different forms of intermittent fasting, usually a 19/5 or 16/8, skipping the breakfast and lunch, almost everyday.
I can confirm all the benefits if its done with some precautions regarding hydration and electrolytes.
In fact I might be a victim of an electrolytes imbalance due to my lifestyle and diet and I will explain it, but that is not the main aspect and I will explain it.
The problem is that within the past year I started to have ectopic beats or premature ventricular contractions (PVC) more often than I had before. It feels like a sudden extra beat, a jump or a flutter inside your chest. I didnt even know what they were because I had only a few every other month or so.
This has radically changed within the last year when I started to have them more frequently almost daily, untill I realized what they are and what might cause them. If you Google for that, the first things that come our as a cause are : s**tress, alcohol and coffeine**. I dont drink so I am left with the frst two.
And this is when things starting to have a logic.
Everyday I used to drink coffee within the fasting hours because it doesnt break the fast and because I like it but then I read that not only it can affect the absorbtion of magnesium and some other nutrients but It is definitely a cause for hyper alertness and agitation.
**But this is not all. On top of coffee I have now realized that fasting itself can be a source of mental and physical stress.**
I mean this is not necessarily a bad stress if the organism can cope with it but I can confirm that fasting does make me hyper active and hyper aware. This can be good but not if its too much and not if you are already prone to stress or in a hyper busy environment. In fact working on a computer and being hyper alert is not something great. My ectopic beats come only when I am sitting or resting.
In fact I am quite active and I walk alot and sometimes run. I rarely have these extra beats while being active, they mostly happen when I rest.
It feels like if you have too much energy and some of that gets skipped through the heart rhytm but instead of faster heartbeat it throws some of those extra beats that dont belong there.
I did noticed that when I am not fasting, things seem to improve. The same when I am in a more relaxed positive state. But this is the thing. I feel that it puts me in a hyper alert state which transform into some kind of stress and It feels much difficult to relax while fasting.
**In fact I think it actually increases cortisol and adrenaline levels too**
Did anyone of you have or had similar symptoms? Should I follow a more relaxed fasting scheme like not everyday or enlarge the eating window?
I did start to take electrolytes but it doesnt feel enough. It feels more like a mental and hormonal issue.
Answer
Not medical advice but my first though as a nurse who spent a few years on a cardiac floor would be electrolyte imbalances while fasting. See if you can ask your doctor for a BMP or CMP blood test and get it drawn while you are in the fasting state. Otherwise you are just guessing, and it seems like the mostly likely candidate here is electrolyte imbalance. As a general thought in cardiology, a doctor would probably tell you that PVCs are generally benign unless you start having strings of them at the same time which requires medical attention.
Again, you are just guessing until you have the actual testing done and maybe speak to your own doctor.