Intermittent Fasting: Fad or Science-Based Diet?

The diet regime of intermittent fasting recently caught my attention when listening to an episode of This American Life. And then a close friend told me he’s planning to switch from a low-carbohydrate diet to some form of intermittent fasting.

I got to wondering, though: Are the health-benefit claims from intermittent fasting backed up by scientific evidence?

Research studies have shown that reducing your daily caloric intake by 20 to 40 percent is an effective way to lose weight and improve cardiovascular and metabolic health. However, it’s very difficult to eat less every day for a long time. So people are looking for more manageable ways to improve their health, and many are turning to intermittent fasting — short periods of eating little to no energy-containing food and drink.

Excerpted from scopeblog.stanford.edu

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