The Dangers of Fasting Debunked by Scientific Research

Recent scientific data has emerged, refuting the harm of fasting and demonstrating the benefits of fasting for health and longevity.

This is not about extreme forms of fasting, which can lead to degeneration and death. Usually, prolonged fasting refers to abstaining from food for 48-120 hours.

Only recently conducted studies shed light on the role of fasting for adaptive cellular responses of the body.

These processes are extremely complex for the unprepared reader, so we will try to convey the information in the most accessible form. Those who require in-depth knowledge on this issue can refer to the full texts of the studies through the links provided at the end of this article.

The results of a large study conducted by Valter Longo and Mark P. Mattson, titled “Fasting — Molecular Mechanisms and Clinical Applications,” refute the harm of fasting and show the enormous potential of using fasting for longevity and health improvement, as well as for slowing down aging processes.

Temporary abstinence from food reduces oxidative damage and inflammation, optimizes energy metabolism, and enhances cellular protection.

In humans, intermittent or periodic fasting serves as a protection against diabetes, cancer, heart disease, and neurodegeneration, promotes weight normalization, and helps with hypertension, asthma, and rheumatoid arthritis.

Studies in humans show that various forms of fasting can provide an effective weight loss strategy, slow down the aging process, and optimize health.

Thus, fasting has the potential to slow aging and can be beneficial for the prevention and treatment of diseases with minimal side effects.

Fasting through ketogenesis (the synthesis of ketone bodies, not to be confused with ketoacidosis) contributes to altering metabolism, lipolysis (the process of breaking down fats), and autophagy (self-cleaning from intracellular debris).

The effects of fasting on aging and diseases are viewed as responses to the evolutionary adaptation of mammals to periods of food scarcity. During fasting, cellular and molecular mechanisms responsible for protective effects are activated, allowing survival under conditions of complete or partial energy deprivation, avoiding age-dependent damage.

The mechanism of fasting is that it provokes adaptive cellular stress responses, which lead to increased ability to cope with severe stress and neutralize painful processes.

Fasting can have a positive effect on the prevention and treatment of cancer. As experiments show, multiple cycles of periodic fasting can be as effective as chemotherapy in treating certain types of cancer in mice.

Fasting can protect against cancer by reducing cellular DNA damage, as well as by apoptosis (self-destruction) of precancerous cells.

The idea that cancer can be treated with a week-long fast, which became popular several decades ago, may only be partially true, at least for some types of cancer, and may be ineffective for other types of cancer.

The effectiveness of prolonged fasting in cancer treatment needs to be tested in carefully planned clinical trials, which should study side effects, including the weakening of the immune system and increased susceptibility to certain infections.

Nevertheless, animal studies from various laboratories indicate that combining fasting with chemotherapy cycles significantly enhances the effectiveness of cancer treatment.

The study notes the beneficial effects of various forms of fasting on hypertension.

Research shows that there is significant potential for health and longevity, which periodic fasting in adult life can provide. Abstinence from food is important for maintaining optimal health and reducing the risk of many chronic diseases, especially those associated with overweight and a sedentary lifestyle.

Research documents refute the harm of fasting and confirm the positive effects of fasting on health indicators, including normalization of blood glucose levels, increased insulin sensitivity, normalization of blood pressure, reduction of body fat, reduction of atherogenic lipids (bad cholesterol), and inflammation.

However, fasting is not recommended for children and the elderly, as well as people with low body weight and patients with diabetes receiving insulin or insulin-like medications.

Extreme dietary interventions in old age may continue to protect against age-related diseases, but they can have a devastating effect on the immune system and the ability to respond to certain infectious diseases, wounds, and other problems.

According to fasting studies, fasting longer than 24 hours is recommended to be conducted under medical supervision and preferably in a clinic. For obesity management, 12-24 hour fasts are recommended for one or several days each week or month, combined with regular physical exercise.

Clinical and epidemiological data confirm the ability of fasting to slow down aging processes and protect against age-dependent diseases. The main factors involved in aging, which are aggravated by a gluttonous lifestyle, are slowed down due to energy restriction in the human body. These are:

• oxidative damage to proteins, DNA, and lipids;
• inflammation;
• accumulation of dysfunctional proteins and organelles;
• increased blood sugar and insulin.

Additional effects of fasting, which can be considered as potential “anti-aging” strategies, are:

• stimulation of autophagy (self-consumption of intracellular debris);
• inhibition of the mTOR pathway (preventing autophagy);
• ketogenesis (synthesis of ketone bodies).

Thus, periodic fasting cycles do not cause harm. On the contrary, they provide a more viable strategy for health and longevity than constant calorie restriction, which is dangerous due to the possibility of chronic malnutrition and has potentially adverse effects associated with excessive lowering of body mass index.

Links to studies refuting the harm of fasting:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3946160/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4102383/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3913690/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3208565/