Is Intermittent Fasting As Healthy As Celebs Claim?

Intermittent fasting is one of the dietary trends that many celebrities have been recommending for some time now for its range of short-term benefits revealed in recent studies.

However, a new study has linked the diet to some concerns that may outweigh its long-term benefits. Science Alert mentionted.

A form of this popular dietary intervention, known as time-restricted feeding (TRE), is a popular dietary intervention where subjects restrict food intake to eight hours or less per day and fast for 16 hours or more.

While some people use TRE under medical supervision to address health issues, many undertake to accelerate weight loss without medical advice.

Celebrities such as Jennifer Aniston, Hugh Jackman, and Kourtney Kardashian, among others, promote this diet as a way to control their physique.

Research from a group in China shows that TRE can lead to serious long-term effects, including cardiovascular disease and premature death.

“We found that people who followed eight hours of TRE had higher cardiovascular mortality, both in the general population and in people with underlying cancer and cardiovascular disease,” says epidemiologist Victor Zhong, from Shanghai Jiao Tong University.

Research on cardiovascular benefits is limited to studies conducted over a period of less than a year, according to Zhong.

He suggests that focusing on what people eat may be “more important” than when they eat, as there are numerous dietary choices that can reduce the risk of cardiovascular death.

The study found that TRE did not reduce the risk of premature death. In addition, it revealed that consuming 16 or more hours during the day for cancer patients was associated with a reduction in cancer-related mortality.

“Although the study found an association between an eight-hour eating window and cardiovascular death, this does not mean that time-restricted eating caused cardiovascular death,” Zhong explains.

The team also found that people who adhered to the TRE had lower muscle mass, which is a potential risk factor for cardiovascular mortality, but Zhong says further research is needed to fully understand these findings.