walking you through intermittent fasting – what it is, what the research says and my take on it as a registered dietitian
Intermittent Fasting is a trendy topic right now. Numerous books have been published on it and every day it seems like a new celebrity or prominent influencer comes out singing its praises.
But before you hop on the bandwagon, it’s important to understand what exactly intermittent fasting is and what the research says. Below, I explore all of these questions and provide my take on the trend.
What Is Intermittent Fasting?
Intermittent Fasting is pretty much exactly what it sounds like: the abstinence from food and/or drink for a certain period of time.
There are many different forms of fasting in today’s world. Some programs recommend eating healthfully when you do eat, others say you can eat whatever you want. Some programs feature 24 hour periods free from food while others only recommend 3 days per month or simply extending your overnight fast.
The “5:2 diet” is one intermittent fasting diet that you may have heard of as it has gained popularity recently. In this diet, individuals eat normally (restriction-free, for the most part) for 5 days of the week, and on 2 non-consecutive days, consume only 500 (for women) or 600 (for men) calories per day.
The Research:
While there are many media outlets that have reported remarkable findings associated with intermittent fasting, it’s not as straight-forward as they would have you believe.
First, in many ways, the research on the topic is not clear cut. Like I explained above, there are many different definitions for “fasting” and you’ll find the same variations in the literature. This in and of itself makes it hard to come out with a definitive finding.
Second, it’s worth noting that in the body of research that exists, a large number of the studies are on rats and mice which, while they may give a good indication, are not always able to be directly translated to humans.
That said, there have been studies in humans that look to test the efficacy of fasting which have shown favorable results (increased loss of abdominal fat, improved insulin resistance, reductions in cholesterols and blood pressure) among specific populations (namely ‘obese’ men and women, and ‘obese’ women at-risk for breast cancer) during the trial periods.
The American Heart Association (AHA) published a scientific statement after reviewing the research on meal timing and frequency concluding that while evidence exists to show that both alternate-day fasting and periodic fasting may be effective for short-term weight loss, there isn’t enough evidence to understand its long term effectiveness. It also found that a weight loss of 6% or more may be required for fasting to be effective for lowering blood pressure.
Bottom Line: Modified fasting regimens appear to offer weight loss and may even improve metabolic health in certain populations. That said, there is still a lot of research needed in order to determine populations for whom intermittent fasting is optimal, ideal fasting regimen (including length of fasting interval, number of fasting days per week and amount of calorie restriction needed on fasting days) and ideal intake for non-fast days in order to see an impact. There is also very little insight into long-term effects on health with these regimens.
My Take:
It’s easy to see the appeal of diets like this. Unlike other diets where you’re counting macros, calories, grams of carbohydrates or ketones daily, this type of diet frees you from that for all but 2 days per week. It seems like a cinch compared to everything else! But remember, there are still 2 whole days of your week where you have to go back to obsessively counting calories, fighting off natural hunger cues and staving off cravings.
As with any diet, when there are days that you are restricted, it often sets you up for wanting more on the days you’re ‘allowed’ to eat. The logic being “I really wanted XYZ while I was fasting, so I’m going to add that to my non-fasting day on top of everything else I eat.” Just think, if you simply listened to your body and internal cues during your fasting days, rather than restricting, you’d likely be taking in the same amount of calories for the week anyway.
Fasting days can also set you up for an unhealthy obsession with the foods you’re not ‘allowed’ to eat. The more fasting days you experience, the more your cravings will intensify as your body works to get the fuel it needs and expects. This preoccupation with food and food thoughts as a result of restriction can have long-lasting and harmful psychological and emotional effects.
Since our brain relies on the fuel we take in to function, it’s possible that you may experience a good degree of mental fog during fasting days which can be especially difficult if a fasting day takes place during a day you’re at work or in class.
Fasting days can also have a negative impact on your physical wellness. You may experience headaches, dizziness as well as a drop in blood sugar levels.
Finally, it’s possible that fasting days may lead to social isolation – it’s very hard to stick to eating 500 calories a day (which equates to about 4 or 5 pieces of bread for the entire day) when everyone around you is enjoying tacos with extra guac and margaritas.
Bottom Line: Programs that require you to fast for hours or days, move you away from intuitive eating. This not only harms your ability to listen to and trust in your internal hunger cues, but also threatens your peaceful relationship with food. While individuals may see short-term weight loss, it’s likely not a physically and mentally sustainable approach long-term (as with most restrictive diets). Finally, while there has been a link found between intermittent fasting and weight loss, there is very little in the literature to date that speaks to long-term potential for maintaining weight loss or that its better for than simply eating a healthful diet. At this point, a great deal more research needs to be done on the topic before recommending IF as an approach for better health and it is not something I currently recommend as a weight loss tool (you can read more about my take on Intentional Weight Loss here).
If you’re interested in my take on other popular diets, see my Thoughts on Popular Diets post.
please note: these posts are my opinion only and I recognize and believe in everyone having autonomy over their decisions. at the end of the day, what you do with your body is your choice and yours alone.
References:
- Today’s Dietitian: Fasting Regimens for Weight Loss By Densie Webb, PhD, RD
- Mattson MP, Longo VD, Harvie M. Impact of intermittent fasting on health and disease processes. Ageing Res Rev. 2017;39:46-58.
- Harvie M, Wright C, Pegington M, et al. The effect of intermittent energy and carbohydrate restriction v. daily energy restriction on weight loss and metabolic disease risk markers in overweight women. Br J Nutr. 2013;110(8):1534-1547.
- Varady KA, Bhutani S, Church EC, Klempel MC. Short-term modified alternate-day fasting: a novel dietary strategy forweight loss and cardioprotection in obese adults. Am J Clin Nutr. 2009;90(5):1138-1143.
- St-Onge MP, Ard J, Baskin ML, et al. Meal timing and frequency: implications for cardiovascular disease prevention: a scientific statement from the American Heart Association. Circulation. 2017;135(9):e96-e121.
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