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Fasting improves overall health in people with metabolic syndrome
By joannewashburn // 2021-03-19
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Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of symptoms that may put you at risk of developing diabetes and heart disease. These symptoms include obesity and high levels of blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol. More often than not, these symptoms are the result of poor food choices and lack of exercise. This is why those with metabolic syndrome are usually advised to make certain lifestyle changes if they wish to avoid diabetes or heart disease in the future. However, eating healthily and exercising regularly is easier said than done, even for perfectly healthy adults. If you have metabolic syndrome, however, don't fret. There's one thing you can do to avoid an early grave: fast. Fasting, or time-restricted eating (TRE), is a dietary strategy that focuses on when you eat, not what you eat. It limits your daily food intake to a short period of time. In doing so, TRE may help you learn to eat less food and improve your symptoms in the process.

Fasting improves metabolic syndrome

Research indicates that fasting can help improve symptoms of metabolic syndrome. In fact, a recent study that appeared in the journal Cell Metabolism showed that people with metabolic syndrome had lower levels of blood pressure, cholesterol and fasting blood sugar, as well as less fat, after three months of fasting. For their study, the researchers followed 19 participants with metabolic syndrome. They were told they can eat their usual diet. However, they need to fit all meals within a 10-hour window. They will then fast for the rest of the day or until the next window starts. The researchers let them figure out their own 10-hour window. Participants logged their meal and sleep times in a smartphone application. Researchers measured their levels of glucose with a flash glucose monitoring device. Participants who were taking medications like statins or blood pressure drugs were allowed to remain on their medication throughout the treatment period. The results of the experiment showed that as participants started to adhere to their eating window, they began to feel better with more energy and better sleep quality. This pushed them to follow the eating window. Moreover, almost all of the participants ate breakfast later, around two hours after waking up. They ate dinner earlier as well, around three hours before sleeping. These trends were apparent even though the researchers allowed the participants to plan their own 10-hour windows and made no recommendations whatsoever. Each participant also lost an average of 3.3 kilograms (kg). In addition, they ended the study with significantly lower levels of blood pressure, cholesterol and fasting blood sugar. Plus, they ended up eating nine percent fewer calories per day even though they were neither put on a special diet nor told they had to eat less. Overall, these improvements lower the risk of metabolic syndrome progressing into heart disease and diabetes. The participants also reported that the eating plan was easier to follow than sticking to an exercise routine and following a diet that limited calorie intake. Over two-thirds of them continued fasting a year after the study.

Other reported benefits of fasting

Fasting can do so much more for your health than improve symptoms of metabolic syndrome. Below are some of the other touted health benefits of fasting:
  • Changes the function of cells, genes and hormones – When you're not scarfing down food, many things can happen inside your body. Blood levels of insulin drop, stimulating fat burning. Blood levels of your growth hormone increase as well and cells repair themselves.
  • Reduces insulin resistance – Insulin resistance can very quickly lead to Type 2 diabetes if you aren't careful. Both animal and human studies show that intermittent fasting can reduce insulin resistance.
  • Combats inflammation – Inflammation caused by free radicals can damage your cells and DNA. It is even believed to contribute to aging and to trigger the onset of cancer. Research indicates that fasting may enhance your body's resistance to inflammation.
  • May help prevent cancer – Fasting has beneficial effects on metabolism, which could help reduce your risk of developing cancer.
  • Boosts brain health – Fasting is also good for your brain. For starters, it may stimulate the growth of new brain cells. Fasting also raises levels of a brain hormone called brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). Low levels of this hormone are seen in people with diabetes, depression and Alzheimer's.
  • Increases your longevity – Fasting may help you live a longer life. A study on rats showed that those that fasted every other day lived 83 percent longer than rats that didn't fast.
Fasting is a dietary strategy that focuses on when you eat, not what you eat. It can confer several benefits, such as weight loss, better heart health and a lower risk of serious conditions like diabetes and cancer. Give it a go if you'd like to improve your overall health. Sources: MedicalNewsToday.com Healthline.com 1 Healthline.com 2 Diabetes.co.uk
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