This page talks about the current research on fasting in all its forms. It is not meant to offer any medical advice.
Personally, we prefer to eat every day for a period of 6-8 hours (time-restricted feeding), as this doesn't require any changes in your eating pattern, once you have become used to it. The results are very good in terms of weight control, athletic performance, brain function, bowel movement and stomach comfort.
But again, this doesn't mean that you should do the same. We are just providing information about research that has been done by experts in the field.
TOP EXPERTS IN THE FIELD OF (INTERMITTENT) FASTING
It should be noted that these researchers are focused on the effects of intermittent fasting on longevity, brain function and weight control. They are NOT specialised in the difference between a 100% plant-based whole foods diet and other diets.
- Dr. Valter Longo - researcher and director at the USC Longevity Institute
- Dr. Satchin Panda - researcher at the SALK Institute
- Dr. Mark P. Mattson - researcher at John Hopkins University School of Medicine
ARTICLES, INTERVIEWS AND STUDIES
- Seven ways of (intermittent) fasting: brief explanation about each type of fasting
- Intermittent fasting: live 'fast', live longer? - article from the John Hopkins Medicine newsroom
- Effects of Intermitten Fasting on Health, Aging and Disease - article in NEJM
- Fasting-related videos: list of videos on Nutritionfacts.org
- Article about fasting at Business Insider: pros and cons, what it can and cannot do, etc.
- Fasting-mimicking diet: interview with Dr. Valter Longo, one of the world's top experts on fasting
- Fasting-mimicking diet: 2nd interview with Dr. Valter Longo
- Time-restricted feeding and its effects: interview with Dr. Satchin Panda
- Practical implementation of time-restricted feeding: 2nd interview with Dr. Satchin Panda
- Results of the Adventist Health Study 2: fasting daily for up to 18 hours is the best strategy
- Benefits of supervised water fasting: Dr. Alan Goldhamer is known for this programme
DEBUNKING BAD MEDICAL SCIENCE WRITING
The Dangers of Intermittent Fasting - this article looks genuine, because the website (MDLinx) and the feel of it looks like it was done by serious medical people. However, the author majored in English literature and is now paid to write whatever the employer needs written.
More importantly, the article itself starts with information about genuine studies, but then goes on to say that there might be dangers to intermittent fasting, using methods that are critiziced in the first part of the article, or just writing stuff that is either not backed up in any way, or is not relevant to what is being claimed.
Let's take a look at this paragraph: According to early results from some clinical trials, certain types of fasting can benefit glucose control and blood pressure-lowering efforts, as well as reduce inflammation. But, because fasting causes weight loss, researchers have yet to tease out whether these benefits are due to fasting itself or to weight loss." --- This doesn't make any sense. The weight loss is a direct result of the fasting, and you can therefore not separate them. It's like saying: "His leg was cut off, he then lost a lot of blood, and he died; but we don't know whether he died from having his leg cut off or from the loss of blood."
