Is Intermittent Fasting Good For Gut Health?
In a new study recently presented at the annual meeting of the American Physiology Summit in Long Beach, CA, researchers from the Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine at Midwestern University in Downers Grove, IL, reported that intermittent fasting may also help protect the gastrointestinal system — mainly the small intestine — as it ages.
Researchers used a mouse model that they had genetically modified to accelerate aging. One group of mice had food available at all times, while the other group only had access to food during alternating 24-hour cycles.
After 8 months, scientists found that the mice on the fasting plan gained less weight and had structural changes in their small intestines associated with better glucose control and decreased inflammation.
“Our study suggests that intermittent fasting is a beneficial dietary practice to control weight gain, improve blood glucose levels, and promote positive intestinal effects by reducing inflammation and oxidative stress while altering intestinal structure,” Spencer Vroegop, a second-year student at the Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine at Midwestern University and first author of this study, told Medical News Today.
Researchers used a mouse model that they had genetically modified to accelerate aging. One group of mice had food available at all times, while the other group only had access to food during alternating 24-hour cycles.
After 8 months, scientists found that the mice on the fasting plan gained less weight and had structural changes in their small intestines associated with better glucose control and decreased inflammation.
“Our study suggests that intermittent fasting is a beneficial dietary practice to control weight gain, improve blood glucose levels, and promote positive intestinal effects by reducing inflammation and oxidative stress while altering intestinal structure,” Spencer Vroegop, a second-year student at the Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine at Midwestern University and first author of this study, told Medical News Today.
What is Intermittent Fasting?
Intermittent fasting is a timed schedule of eating at certain periods of time and then withholding food for an extended duration, a period known as fasting, when a person abstains from eating.
Several different methods of intermittent fasting are determined by how many hours or days the fasting lasts for, how many hours or days a person can eat, and how many calories they can consume.
Some of the more popular patterns of intermittent fasting include time-restrictive eating, where the fast lasts 12, 14, or 16 hours, and the eating period stretches over the remaining hours of the day, or the 5:2 method, where a person consumes only 500 calories for 2 days of the week and then eats normally for the remaining 5 days.
About 12% of American adults follow intermittent fasting as their diet or eating pattern of choice, according to the International Food Information Council’s 2023 Food and Health Survey, making it currently one of the most popular diets.
In addition to weight loss, recent studies show that intermittent fasting may offer other health benefits, such as protection against type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer, as well as against gastrointestinal issues, such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and ulcerative colitis.
Several different methods of intermittent fasting are determined by how many hours or days the fasting lasts for, how many hours or days a person can eat, and how many calories they can consume.
Some of the more popular patterns of intermittent fasting include time-restrictive eating, where the fast lasts 12, 14, or 16 hours, and the eating period stretches over the remaining hours of the day, or the 5:2 method, where a person consumes only 500 calories for 2 days of the week and then eats normally for the remaining 5 days.
About 12% of American adults follow intermittent fasting as their diet or eating pattern of choice, according to the International Food Information Council’s 2023 Food and Health Survey, making it currently one of the most popular diets.
In addition to weight loss, recent studies show that intermittent fasting may offer other health benefits, such as protection against type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer, as well as against gastrointestinal issues, such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and ulcerative colitis.
Leave a Reply