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Abstract

An increasing number of animal studies have shown altered markers for health in subjects exposed to intermittent fasting, i.e. regularly and repeatedly abstaining from eating during 12-36 hours per period. It has been hypothesized that the reported beneficial health effects from caloric restriction on excess body weight, cardiovascular risk factors, glucose metabolism, tumor physiology, neurodegenerative pathology and life span can be mimicked by alternating periods of short term fasting with periods of refeeding, without deliberately altering the total caloric intake. Therefore, a systematic review of available intervention studies on intermittent fasting and animal and human health was performed. In rodents, intermittent fasting exhibits beneficial effects including decreased body weight, improved cardiovascular health and glucose regulation, enhanced neuronal health, decreased cancer risk and increased life span – some of the effects independent of the effects attributed to calorie restriction alone. The human studies performed to date are generally of low-quality design. Beneficial effects such as weight loss, reduced risk for cardiovascular disease and improved insulin sensitivity have been observed, but conflicting data exists. The potential health promoting effects of intermittent fasting in humans and applicability to modern lifestyle are discussed. - See more at: http://www.lift-heavy.com/intermittent-fasting/#sthash.HPQDE...