The Study:   Impact of intermittent fasting on health and disease processes          

The Facts:

a. It should be noted that most of the studies in this field have been performed on rats and mice but there have been some human studies.

a. The overconsumption of food leads to metabolic morbidities.

b. Human beings evolved in a time when food was not abundant.

c. Because of this humans have evolved to be able to function “when in a food-deprived/fasted state.”

d. Variations on the theme of intermittent fasting (IF) have the subject go for 16-48 hours “with little or no food intake.”

e. This is followed by a feeding period of time and the cycle is repeated.

f. Note: The authors used “the term periodic fasting (PF) to refer to IF with periods of fasting or fasting mimicking diets lasting from 2 to as many as 21 or more days.” 

g. Subjects who only consume food during an 8 hour daily feeding window have demonstrated both weight loss and “reductions in risk factors for cardiovascular disease.”

h. The authors state that IF causes “adaptive cellular stress response signaling pathways that enhance mitochondrial health, DNA repair and autophagy.” 

i. “PF also promotes stem cell-based regeneration as well as long-lasting metabolic effects.”

j. In humans most of the related studies have been on overweight or obese individuals and directed at gaining information on weight reduction and various related metabolic parameters.

k. In general, the observed weight losses have been similar between those using standard calorie restricted diets and those studies employing various time lengths and patterns of IF.

l. The authors concluded that in mice and rats, various forms of fasting had many benefits which included loss of body fat, lowering of blood pressure “and resistance to diabetes.”

m. Human studies “…suggest that IF can protect against the metabolic syndrome and associated disorders including diabetes and cardiovascular disease.”

n. “Recent small trials of IF in patients with cancer (Safdie et al., 2009) or multiple sclerosis (Choi et al., 2016) have generated promising results that provide a strong rationale for moving forward with larger clinical trials in patients with a range of chronic age- and obesity-related disorders.”

 Take Home:

There is a great need for more studies in this area but there have been some which seem to show promising results.  There is a lot to this article, I recommend you read the full text and make your own conclusions.

Reviewer's Comments:

As a person who has tried a number of diets, I agree with the literature that long term adherence to dieting is typically poor. I’ve been doing IF (most days eating during a window of 6 hours or less) coupled with walking and lifting weights. Now I’m not expecting a return to the type of shape I was generally in when I played rugby for Palmer but I am hopeful the stairs will become a bit easier.

Reviewer:  Roger Coleman DC

Editor’s Comments:

Forgive me for offering some anecdotal evidence here, but for whatever it’s worth, I too am “experimenting” with Intermittent Fasting. My current regimen generally consists of a single, very low carb meal daily as I attempt to get my weight and blood lipids back into some sort of healthy range.  I have been on this program for roughly ten weeks. My total weight loss is 28 lbs as of this writing and both my lipid profiles and blood pressure are improving from my previous levels. Perhaps most interestingly, I am almost never experiencing any significant hunger.

Editor: Mark R. Payne DC

Reference: Mattson MP, Longo VD, Harvie M. Impact of intermittent fasting on health and disease processes. Ageing Res Rev. 2017 Oct;39:46-58. doi: 10.1016/j.arr.2016.10.005. Epub 2016 Oct 31.

Link to Abstract: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27810402

Link to Article:  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5411330/pdf/nihms831290.pdf