Intermittent Fasting and Metabolic Health

Abstract

Given the ongoing strain that the obesity epidemic has placed on public health outcomes, new and effective approaches to weight control are needed. One approach to improving weight and metabolic outcomes is intermittent fasting, which consists of multiple different timing schedules for temporary food avoidance, including alternate-day fasting, other similar full-day fasting patterns, and time-restricted feeding (where the day’s food is consumed over a 6-h period, allowing for 18 h of fasting). These feeding schedules have favorable metabolic effects by intermittently inducing the metabolism of fatty acids to ketones. The regimens overall lead to a decrease in weight and have been linked to improvements in dyslipidemia and blood pressure. While more research is needed on longer-term outcomes and this approach should be avoided in particular health conditions, intermittent fasting should be considered as an option for individuals who have a pattern of unhealthy weight gain using standard eating patterns.

Dietary Interventions in Cancer Treatment and Response: A Comprehensive Review

“…In contrast to the CR, intermittent fasting (IF), or a time-restricted diet (TRD), is a dietary intervention that restricts the duration of the feeding time, and this is followed by periods of prolonged fasting [ 21 ]. These periods of fasting can vary from more than 24 h periods (often referred to as short-term starvation or STS) to periods of only 12 or more hours [ 60 ].…”

“…Intermittent fasting (IF), or as it is often referred to in the scientific community, the time-restricted diet (TRD), is a form of dietary intervention which sets limits on the amount of time an individual is allowed to intake calories, as opposed to the content or number of calories that they consume. This has been hypothesized to improve caloric expenditure and perhaps importantly, encourage the body’s use of stored fatty acids [ 21 ]. Unfortunately, the exact number of hours that is optimal remains controversial, but studies have examined the fasts lasting from as little as 12 h to as many as 24 h. A variant of IF is “short-term starvation” (STS), which can require the individuals to fast over several days.…”

“…Many studies on IF and STS have been encouraging. On a daily regimen of fasting for 18 h, the induction of fatty acid metabolism to ketones have been linked to improvements in dyslipidemia and blood pressure [ 21 ]. Preliminary studies that have been performed on animal models have shown promise in the use of IF to improve the treatment outcomes of cancers in transgenic and transplant mouse models of neuroblastoma, fibrosarcoma, glioma, melanoma, breast, and ovarian cancers [ 19 ].…”

Scientific Evidences of Calorie Restriction and Intermittent Fasting for Neuroprotection in Traumatic Brain Injury Animal Models: A Review of the Literature

“…Since ancient times, worldwide religions have advocated for food restriction (FR) due to its physical and psychological benefits [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]. However, the health benefits owing to FR have only in recent years been supported by scientific evidence.…”

“…There are various time-scheduled IF methods, the following three are the most common approaches: periodic fasting (PE), time-restricted feeding (TRF) and alternate-day fasting (ADF) [ 16 ]. The IF ultimately triggers a process called “the metabolic switch”, which shifts the metabolism from glycogenolysis to the mobilization of fat via fatty acid oxidation and ketogenesis, resulting in related biochemical pathway changes [ 1 , 19 , 20 ]. It is widely accepted that these changes under IF positively contributes to human health in multiple areas [ 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 ].…”