Intermittent Fasting: What Does the Evidence Say?
Intermittent fasting was one of 2019’s most-searched diets, according to Google Trends, and while it might be tempting to write this off as another unscientific diet fad, there’s some evidence to suggest that intermittent fasting might actually live up to the hype.
Cheat sheets: Evidence-based medicine 101
How exactly does ‘intermittent fasting’ work?
A person who is on an intermittent fasting diet will limit the timeframe during which they eat. For instance, a person might eat only during a four-, six-, or eight-hour period each day, according to Andrew Freeman, director of cardiovascular prevention and wellness at National Jewish Health.
According to Mark Mattson, neuroscientist at the National Institute on Aging and Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, the idea is to get the body to switch from using glucose stored in the liver for energy to using the body’s fat supplies. He explained, “It takes 10 to 12 hours to use up the calories in the liver before a metabolic shift occurs to using stored fat.”
Excerpted from Advisory Board
