A glance at intermittent fasting

As much as it seems to be the newest trend in weight loss, fasting is an ancient religious and medical practice. It's been around even before the 5th century B.C., when Hippocrates advised medical fasting. What might be new and not yet fully understood is the practice of intermittent fasting.

In its September/October 2019 issue, the Food & Nutrition Magazine explores the topic in an article written by Taylor Wolfram, MS, RDN, LDN. According to Wolfram, animal studies conducted in the 20th century support metabolic improvement through intermittent fasting. Some studies suggest that restricted food for a long time reduces insulin levels and gut permeability, which decreases inflammation.

An article published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal in 2013 anticipated that intermittent fasting would become the next big weight-loss fad. In 2018, the Food and Health Survey from the International Food Information Council Foundation had 10% of its respondents reporting intermittent fasting practices.

In a 2016 position paper on adult weight management, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND) doesn't address any type of fasting. But a systematic review conducted in 2013 and 2014 and published on AND's Evidence Analysis Library concluded that skipping breakfast is associated with higher BMI and increased risk of obesity.

Current systematic reviews and meta-analyses on intermittent fasting in humans concluded that most studies have short intervention periods and few participants, which resulted in mixed findings.

Considering the evidence currently available, intermittent fasting doesn't seem to offer higher metabolic or short-term weight control advantages versus traditional caloric restriction. Additionally, it has some side effects: hunger, cold, irritability, low energy, distraction, and lower work performance.

Also, intermittent fasting could be risky for women of childbearing age, pregnant, breastfeeding, menopausal, patients with diabetes, athletes, and people suffering from eating disorders.

Interested in reading more about intermittent fasting? Here's where:

https://foodandnutrition.org/from-the-magazine/investigating-intermittent-fasting/