Posted on 11/22/2021 7:49:25 PM PST by ConservativeMind
Intermittent fasting may not only be a hot dieting trend, but it also has broader health benefits, including helping to fight inflammation, according to a new study.
Previous research has shown that intermittent fasting, an eating pattern that cycles between periods of fasting and eating, may improve health markers not related to weight. Now, the new research shows that intermittent fasting raises the levels of galectin-3, a protein tied to inflammatory response.
"Inflammation is associated with higher risk of developing multiple chronic diseases, including diabetes and heart disease. We're encouraged to see evidence that intermittent fasting is prompting the body to fight inflammation and lowering those risks," said Benjamin Horne, Ph.D.
These results found that intermittent fasting causes declines in the metabolic syndrome score (MSS) and insulin resistance.
After 26 weeks, researchers then measured participants' galectin-3, and found that it was higher in the intermittent fasting group. They also found lower rates of HOMA-IR (insulin resistance) and MSS (metabolic syndrome), which researchers believe may be similar to the reported effects of SGLT-2 inhibitors, a class of drugs used to lower high glucose levels in type 2 diabetes patients.
"In finding higher levels of galectin-3 in patients who fasted, these results provide an interesting mechanism potentially involved in helping reduce the risk of heart failure and diabetes," said Dr. Horne, who added that a few members of the trial team completed the same regime before the study started to make sure that it was doable and not overly taxing to participants.
"Unlike some IF diet plans that are incredibly restrictive and promise magic weight loss, this isn't a drastic form of fasting. The best routine is one that patients can stick to over the long term, and this study shows that even occasional fasting can have positive health effects," he added.
(Excerpt) Read more at medicalxpress.com ...
I do this every day. 16 hrs fast. Eat around 1 or 2pm firzst meals.
Works for me.
I skip breakfast every day and try to push lunch back as much as possible.
I’ve dropped a lot of weight doing that.
If you really want to lose weight drop to one meal a day.
My doc wants me to skip supper instead of breakfast. Says your body treats carbs differently in the morning than in the evening. But I don’t want to mess with what is working. And, I think either I’d end up eating at night, or stay awake hungry. Morning works for me.
I do that every day; Break Fast...breakfast.
Easier said than done. Hat tip to those who do this on a routine basis.
Same here. I have been eating from 10am to 6pm for over three years. I dropped 20 lbs, saw my acid reflux problem disappear, varicose veins in my legs are much improved, blood work is much better, and I am off my cholesterol medication. Intermittent fasting is an easy method to improve your overall health.
Interesting article. Thanks for posting.
I do OMAD at least 5 times a week, combined with a Keto Diet, really makes it easy to do. I generally eat between 3 and 4 PM my meal, so it’s pretty much all digested by the time I go to bed. And I never wake up hungry the next day, so for me, it’s a snap to make it to 3 PM.
Basically skip breakfast, have a late lunch. That gets you to 16-8.
Also generally I try to exercise before I break my fast, so I will go to the gym for my “lunch hour”, then eat an hour or two after it. If I’m hungry around noon, I find the exercise is a good way to suppress the hunger for a few hours.
Every day
I do it
If I eat carbs or sugars in the morning before 11 then I get dizzy, cold sweats, clammy, etc. nearly passed out once or twice in my late teens early 20s. It’s not a diabetic issue according to the docs but just the way my body processes things in the morning most likely reactive hypoglycemia where I make too much insulin as a result of shocking my system after not eating for a while.
Result for me has been I just have my coffee and no food till lunch which is normally around 11 cause my belly’s growling by that point.
Still I could lose a few pounds these days so maybe I’ll look at skipping either lunch or supper and making it just the one late afternoon meal.
Best thing I ever did. I’m pretty much 18-6 almost every day.
I do a 5-7 day water fast once or twice a year too.
My A1C was 6.6, and the doctor said he would put me on medicine if it didn’t come down. We started IF for less snacking, better health and weight loss. My A1C came down: 6.6; 6.2; 5.9; 5.5; and most recently 5.2. I have lost 40 pounds, and stopped 5 medications. We believe it is a good pattern for eating.
Thank your doctor for working with you on your eating plan.
.
I find that once you’ve gone over to a fat burning metabolism (carnivore/keto), you don’t get the hunger cravings. Your body eats stored body fat so can stay somewhat happy with that.
I’ve been doing the 16/8 for the last 6 weeks. Dropped a few pounds and feel much better. Really improved my appetite too.
Isn’t 16/8 high frequency intermittent fasting. The article is about low frequency intermittent fasting. I don’t know if that means a 5:2 diet or something like a 3 day fast every 2 weeks kind of thing. But low frequency would imply not daily or maybe not even weekly.
The article specifies a once-per-week water-only fasting.
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