Intermittent fasting is becoming more widely discussed, with research still emerging. This week, Dr. Jason Fung, a nephrologist and expert on intermittent fasting, shares his tips on who should fast and how to do it.
Intermittent fasting (IF) isn’t a new way to eat, but researchers and experts say it’s an area that has potential.
It is important to know that research on intermittent fasting “is still in its infancy,” said Amy Kirkham, an assistant professor in the University of Toronto’s clinical cardiovascular health department. She has also led several studies on time-restricted eating, a form of IF.
Intermittent fasting is generally defined as the cycle of eating and then fasting.
The length of fasting can vary, depending on the person or approach.
“The idea is not deprivation or to go into excess, but to balance the feeding and the fasting because both are very essential for us,” Dr. Jason Fung, a nephrologist and author of several books on IF, told CBC’s The Dose guest host Dr. Peter Lin.
Anar Allidina, a registered dietitian based in Richmond Hill, Ont., says that intermittent fasting is “like a reset” for our bodies. The break from eating prompts our bodies to cleanse itself and get rid of more old cells, she adds.
Fung and others say there is some promising research showing the health benefits of IF, like improved cardiovascular health.
Research has shown that many of the health benefits of fasting are usually seen between the 14 to 16-hour mark, says Allidina.
“Studies have shown that during this time that you’re fasting, [it] can have really important markers in your metabolic health, for example with cholesterol, with blood sugars and inflammation. So it can really help with lowering those levels,” she said.
But before you even consider fasting, Allidina and Fung emphasized that it isn’t for everyone.
So if you’re interested, here’s what experts say you should know about intermittent fasting.
Is it safe?
For most people, it is absolutely safe to pause eating for periods of time, says Allidina.
“Giving your body that break is absolutely OK and it’s actually good for you,” she said.
Those who shouldn’t try intermittent fasting are:
Anyone with a history of an eating disorder.
Anyone who is underweight or malnourished.
Pregnant women.
Women who are breastfeeding.
Children.
Allidina and Fung recommend speaking with your health-care provider before trying intermittent fasting.
Is there only one way to intermittently fast?
There are several different approaches to intermittent fasting.
Time-restricted eating (TRE) is a common way as it limits when you eat your meals and snacks to a specific time period.
Experts say there aren’t hard and fast rules with intermittent fasting and that it can be adapted to your work or social schedule. (Mediteraneo/Adobe Stock)
Fung says the most common fasting strategy is 16 hours of fasting and eating within an eight-hour time period.
“So you might eat for example from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. or you might do it early, say 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. There’s various ways to do it, but that’s one of the more popular schedules,” he said.
Another approach is the 5:2 method, where you eat normally for five days and then restrict calories two days a week to about 500 calories a day for women and 600 calories for men.
Alternate day fasting, or ADF, is when someone consumes food during an eight-hour period and then doesn’t eat the next day, which translates to roughly 36 hours of fasting.
Fung adds there is flexibility with intermittent fasting.
“There’s pluses and minuses of all of those strategies. So it’s not like one is right and one is wrong. It’s finding what really works for you,” he said.
Are there health benefits?
Yes, but it depends on the length of the fast and fasting type.
Anecdotally, Fung and Allidina have heard from people who tried intermittent fasting that they feel more alert and energized, and less tired.
Research on other health benefits is varied.
University of Illinois researchers who published a review of clinical trials found that the three major types of intermittent fasting — TRE, the 5:2 diet and ADF — can cause “mild to moderate weight loss” in those who were overweight and obese.
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They said that mild to moderate weight loss was a change of about one to eight per cent from baseline. But, they said ADF and the 5:2 diet are “the only fasting approaches that produce clinically significant weight loss,” according to their review published in the peer-reviewed Annual Review of Nutrition journal in 2021.
They went on to say that these regimens “may also improve” some aspects of cardiometabolic health such as blood pressure.
Korean researchers who published their systemic review and meta-analysis in the peer-reviewed Nutrients journal in 2020 found that time-restricted eating can help some shed some pounds and have better cardiovascular health.
Fung says people may lose weight while fasting because the body uses two different types of energy: sugar and fat.
When the body runs out of glucose (the main type of sugar in the blood), it’ll turn to fat stores, a process known as metabolic switching.
Yet, there is research — including a study published a week ago in the Journal of the American Heart Association — that suggests intermittent fasting approaches may not be better for weight loss than restricting calories.
A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine last year showed that among 139 obese participants, time-restricted eating with calories restricted was “not more beneficial” than daily calorie restriction.
Other researchers who led a randomized clinical trial and published results in 2020 found that time-restricted eating did not show significantly different weight loss nor cardiometabolic benefits compared to the controlled group.
Kirkham says more studies on intermittent fasting are needed.
“We certainly do need more research to really fully understand all the different parameters and its potential health effects and certainly its safety within specific populations,” said Kirkham, who was recently awarded funding by Diabetes Canada to research which intermittent fasting period best impacts blood-sugar control.
More research is needed on intermittent fasting approaches, especially on the long-term effects, according to several researchers who have published studies.
If I want to try it out, how can I start?
Before anyone starts intermittent fasting, Allidina suggests people ensure their diet is full of essential nutrients.
“Once that’s done, then you can bring in the intermittent fasting slowly, starting with the 12-hour fasting and increasing it up to 14 to 15 to see how you feel with that,” she said.
Before you start intermittent fasting, registered dietitian Dr. Anar Allidina recommends making sure your diet is made up of healthy foods and essential nutrients. (Kirk Pennell/CBC)
She adds that fasting doesn’t need to happen every single day in the beginning, as it will take time to build it into your schedule.
There are also free apps that can help people keep track of their intermittent fasting, Kirkham says.
Most people cope with the eating schedule change after that first week, she adds. When starting out, it’s important to remember that minor symptoms like headaches, feeling hungry or irritability are common.
“It may be a bit of a shock to the system initially, but I think if you try it for two weeks … and if you don’t feel better then maybe you have your answer,” said Kirkham.
“Like any health intervention, it’s not a one-size-fits-all.”
HALIFAX – The Nova Scotia government says it could be months before it reveals how many people are on the wait-list for a family doctor.
The head of the province’s health authority told reporters Wednesday that the government won’t release updated data until the 160,000 people who were on the wait-list in June are contacted to verify whether they still need primary care.
Karen Oldfield said Nova Scotia Health is working on validating the primary care wait-list data before posting new numbers, and that work may take a matter of months. The most recent public wait-list figures are from June 1, when 160,234 people, or about 16 per cent of the population, were on it.
“It’s going to take time to make 160,000 calls,” Oldfield said. “We are not talking weeks, we are talking months.”
The interim CEO and president of Nova Scotia Health said people on the list are being asked where they live, whether they still need a family doctor, and to give an update on their health.
A spokesperson with the province’s Health Department says the government and its health authority are “working hard” to turn the wait-list registry into a useful tool, adding that the data will be shared once it is validated.
Nova Scotia’s NDP are calling on Premier Tim Houston to immediately release statistics on how many people are looking for a family doctor. On Tuesday, the NDP introduced a bill that would require the health minister to make the number public every month.
“It is unacceptable for the list to be more than three months out of date,” NDP Leader Claudia Chender said Tuesday.
Chender said releasing this data regularly is vital so Nova Scotians can track the government’s progress on its main 2021 campaign promise: fixing health care.
The number of people in need of a family doctor has more than doubled between the 2021 summer election campaign and June 2024. Since September 2021 about 300 doctors have been added to the provincial health system, the Health Department said.
“We’ll know if Tim Houston is keeping his 2021 election promise to fix health care when Nova Scotians are attached to primary care,” Chender said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – Newfoundland and Labrador‘s chief medical officer is monitoring the rise of whooping cough infections across the province as cases of the highly contagious disease continue to grow across Canada.
Dr. Janice Fitzgerald says that so far this year, the province has recorded 230 confirmed cases of the vaccine-preventable respiratory tract infection, also known as pertussis.
Late last month, Quebec reported more than 11,000 cases during the same time period, while Ontario counted 470 cases, well above the five-year average of 98. In Quebec, the majority of patients are between the ages of 10 and 14.
Meanwhile, New Brunswick has declared a whooping cough outbreak across the province. A total of 141 cases were reported by last month, exceeding the five-year average of 34.
The disease can lead to severe complications among vulnerable populations including infants, who are at the highest risk of suffering from complications like pneumonia and seizures. Symptoms may start with a runny nose, mild fever and cough, then progress to severe coughing accompanied by a distinctive “whooping” sound during inhalation.
“The public, especially pregnant people and those in close contact with infants, are encouraged to be aware of symptoms related to pertussis and to ensure vaccinations are up to date,” Newfoundland and Labrador’s Health Department said in a statement.
Whooping cough can be treated with antibiotics, but vaccination is the most effective way to control the spread of the disease. As a result, the province has expanded immunization efforts this school year. While booster doses are already offered in Grade 9, the vaccine is now being offered to Grade 8 students as well.
Public health officials say whooping cough is a cyclical disease that increases every two to five or six years.
Meanwhile, New Brunswick’s acting chief medical officer of health expects the current case count to get worse before tapering off.
A rise in whooping cough cases has also been reported in the United States and elsewhere. The Pan American Health Organization issued an alert in July encouraging countries to ramp up their surveillance and vaccination coverage.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 10, 2024.
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