Fasting Can Improve Overall Health By Causing Circadian Clocks In the Liver and Skeletal Muscle To Rewire Their Metabolism, Study Finds (sciencedaily.com)

An anonymous reader quotes a report from ScienceDaily: In a University of California, Irvine-led study, researchers found evidence that fasting affects circadian clocks in the liver and skeletal muscle, causing them to rewire their metabolism, which can ultimately lead to improved health and protection against aging-associated diseases. The study was published recently in Cell Reports. The research was conducted using mice, which were subjected to 24-hour periods of fasting. While fasting, researchers noted the mice exhibited a reduction in oxygen consumption (VO2), respiratory exchange ratio (RER), and energy expenditure, all of which were completely abolished by refeeding, which parallels results observed in humans.

"The reorganization of gene regulation by fasting could prime the genome to a more permissive state to anticipate upcoming food intake and thereby drive a new rhythmic cycle of gene expression. In other words, fasting is able to essentially reprogram a variety of cellular responses. Therefore, optimal fasting in a timed manner would be strategic to positively affect cellular functions and ultimately benefiting health and protecting against aging-associated diseases." This study opens new avenues of investigation that could ultimately lead to the development of nutritional strategies to improve health in humans.

Comments

Don't like the science? Wait a few years

[doubledown00]

The newest diet fad is "intermittent fasting". 20 years ago it was "skipping breakfast" and was bad for you.

"1,500 years ago, everybody knew that the Earth was the center of the universe. 500 years ago, everybody knew that the Earth was flat. And 15 minutes ago, you knew that humans were alone on this planet. Imagine what you'll know tomorrow."

I have noticed

[Beeftopia]

I have noticed that dropping my calories way down for a day leads to dramatically improved sleep. FWIW, YMMV, etc.

Fasting worked wonders for my health.

[Cobratek]

This was worth logging in for.

I was overweight and staring down 50, so I did some research and decided to try it.

I did a 7 day water fast followed by a mostly keto style diet, but really just sticking to food that's been on the planet for longer than 100 years, no processed chemical foods. I lost maybe 10 pounds during that week but the weight just kept falling off.  Down from 40's to 34's and even 32's after about 9 months of sticking to real food, cut back(not out) on sugar and bread.  My blood panels showed no problems with cholesterol etc after eating bacon and eggs for breakfast for months.  homemade soups etc for dinner.

Fasting is part of a natural cycle, your body uses the time when digestion is shut down to heal itself.

Don't believe me, prove me wrong.

Re:Don't like the science? Wait a few years

[Anonymous Coward]

In the VERY old days, periods of fasting were unavoidable. So, naturally, humans built some myths around it, as they did around basically everything. They sanctify the mundane as a psychological mechanism for coping with the existential emptiness of our existence.

The old religions simply inherited those myths.

It's really not surprising that they would, nor that our bodies would have some baked-in responses to this recurring survival need.

Re: Don't like the science? Wait a few years

[Anonymous Coward]

Skipping breakfast is impossible unless you stop eating until you starve to death.

Re:Don't like the science? Wait a few years

[jma05]

The fasting traditions in religion didn't make health claims.
Fasting causes acidosis, which leads to mild euphoria.
People also fast to promote the odds of transcendental experiences.
It was an act of discipline.

But no religion had the liver, let alone circadian clocks in mind.
I wouldn't say religion *knew* fasting. It used it for an entirely different purpose.