A new study published in the New England Journal of Medicine and led by professor Mark Mattson provides evidence that intermittent fasting could be part of a healthy lifestyle and may even help you live longer. There are two ways to adopt intermittent fasting, says Mattson. You could either restrict your all meals in a 6 to 8 hour period daily or follow the 5:2 pattern where people only eat one moderate-sized meal on two days each week. When people are fasting, they are slowly burning the stored glucose and fats. This process is called "metabolic switching", Mattson explained. The study shares that intermittent fasting may help control blood sugar and blood pressure levels and improve brain health and memory.