Episode Details

Intermittent Fasting: are the health benefits real? Have the benefits of Intermittent Fasting been hyped up beyond the current science? Let's take an objective look at the research behind the health benefits of Intermittent Fasting.

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Intermittent fasting: are the benefits real or marketing hype?
According to headlines, intermittent fasting helps you burn fat and improve blood pressure, gut health, even brain function. Only one problem: it’s a study in mice

So what do we know about the human health benefits of intermittent fasting? It can help with weight loss. After fasting, most people eat more than normal, but not enough to compensate for the fasting period, so overall there’s a calorie deficit

Ok so is intermittent fasting better than any other method of calorie reduction?

In most studies, it’s equally effective for weight loss and the usual benefits that come with it, like better glucose levels and blood lipids

So for people looking to lose some extra fat, intermittent fasting may be a viable option.

Intermittent fasting says nothing about quality, which is our #1 issue.

Intermittent fasting is similar to many diets in the sense that there’s nothing inherently wrong with it as long as we don’t lose track of the main issue.

Fasting is effective for weight loss. We could keep fasting on and off to keep the weight off but long-term benefits are less clear.

We may feel less guilty binging after fasting.

Ok what about other benefits beyond weight loss? if I’m already at a healthy weight, does intermittent fasting help me at all?

Conference on intermittent fasting: Intermittent fasting causes weight loss, lower blood pressure, lower glucose, etc.

But are the benefits due to fasting specifically? Will someone on a healthy diet still see a benefit of intermittent fasting?

Majority of intermittent fasting studies look at overweight subjects with metabolic issues. Doesn’t tell us much about health benefits of intermittent fasting in healthy people.

I don't rule out additional health benefits of intermittent fasting beyond just calories and body fat. But overall, studies show similar benefits for intermittent fasting and calorie control. To me this suggests nothing magical about fasting

References:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0303720715300800
https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0939-4753(18)30100-5
https://journals.lww.com/jbisrir/fulltext/2018/02000/Intermittent_fasting_interventions_for_treatment.16.aspx
https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/8/6/354
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4122067/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29778565/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC156352/
https://www.nejm.org/doi/10.1056/NEJMra1905136

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