Is intermittent fasting (IF) just the latest fad or wonder diet? Let’s unpack the good and the bad. I have been hearing of wonder stories around me, a colleague that dropped 26 Kilograms from skipping breakfast, and wow, did she look good! Another friend who mentioned her hormone issues finally stabilised after trying IF, and the dress sizes just dropped without her trying too hard. All it took was skipping breakfast, and eating what she wanted between 12:00 and 18:00. Sounds too good to be true right?
Personally, I tried this approach many, many times, and although it worked, I just felt terrible, suffered with constipation and was irritable at work with my colleagues, patients and family, and just had no energy to get through my day. I got migraines and severe sugar slumps, and had to work really hard at not binging during my eating window. In addition, I had also heard stories for example a patient who proudly stated she was fasting until 16:00 daily and surviving on a light salad with lettuce, cucumber and tomato only and another was starving herself until two and then surviving on fruit and sugary snacks for the afternoon, thereby triggering blood sugar spikes and crashes. Another colleague diagnosed with diabetes type 2 shockingly stated she had been fasting for 2 days and was surviving on coffee. Surely the world had gone mad? Sure, fasting does come with its benefits, such as resetting our satiety hormone leptin, improving insulin sensitivity, reducing blood pressure, cholesterol and obviously weight loss ¹, but at what cost if done irresponsibly and for too long?
The risk with fasting is that micronutrient deficiencies such as Vitamins B, C, magnesium, iron and zinc can arise, which are vital for energy production and metabolism along with a myriad of other functions, possibly leading to secondary problems like depression, memory loss, cognitive decline, lack of energy, irritability, insomnia, headache etc ² ³. Fasting, if done incorrectly, can have detrimental effects on our hormones and can even trigger loss of menstruation ⁴. If applied correctly though, IF has been shown to improve gut microbe health and diversity, which also contributed to further potential weight loss and improved host metabolism ⁵. In addition, it can trigger autophagy, boost the mitochondria, our battery organelle found in our cells and be anti-aging in nature ⁴.
So, in summary, as with anything in life, what works for one person may not work for another, and IF is not suitable for everyone, especially those suffering with low blood sugar or diabetes type 2 or stomach ulcers, however if implemented correctly, i.e. making sure you are eating enough nutrient dense foods and fibre in your eating window, it could have some amazing benefits. Keep in mind that milder overnight fasts are also easily achievable for example by having dinner at 18:00 and breakfast at 08:00. This equates to a 14 hour fast. if you want to know more, why don’t you schedule a call with us?
¹ Vasim I, Majeed CN, DeBoer MD. Intermittent Fasting and Metabolic Health. Nutrients. 2022; 14(3):631.
² Kiani AK, Dhuli K, Donato K, Aquilanti B, Velluti V, Matera G, Iaconelli A, Connelly ST, Bellinato F, Gisondi P, Bertelli M. Main nutritional deficiencies. J Prev Med Hyg. 2022; 63.
³ Tardy AL, Pouteau E, Marquez D, Yilmaz C, Scholey A. Vitamins and Minerals for Energy, Fatigue and Cognition: A Narrative Review of the Biochemical and Clinical Evidence. Nutrients. 2020 Jan 16; 12(1):228.
⁴ Hofer SJ, Carmona-Gutierrez D, Mueller MI et al. The ups and downs of caloric restriction and fasting: from molecular effects to clinical application. EMBO Mol Med. 2022; 14(1).
⁵ Hu X, Xia K, Dai M. et al. Intermittent fasting modulates the intestinal microbiota and improves obesity and host energy metabolism. NPI Biofilms Microbiomes. 2023; 9(19).
