Inside the brain acetylcholine functions as a neuromodulator âa chemical that alters the way other brain structures process information rather than a chemical used to transmit information from point to point. The brain contains a number of cholinergic areas, each with distinct functions.4) Acetylcholine binds to postsynaptic receptors. (5) This binding causes ion channels to open and allows sodium ions to flow into the muscle cell. (6) The flow of sodium ions across the membrane into the muscle cell generates an action potential which induces muscle contraction.
After that, I fast until the next day at 12pm. That breaks out to about 16 hours of fasting and 8 hours of eating each day. I do this almost every day. (My guess would be that I do intermittent fasting 350 out of 365 days per year.)
Generally, one day per week and/or three days per month and/or 1-2 weeks per year are used for this purpose. A diet utilizing one day per week fasting is becoming popular with the ebook Eat Stop Eat, by Brad Pilon. This is a diet plan for losing weight, where Pilon suggests a schedule of fasting 1-2 days per week. Again, only one day per week is recommended for fasting.