Does Intermittent Fasting Cut Muscle Along With Fat?
Alternate-day fasting promises quick fat loss, but does it secretly steal your hard-earned muscle too? A new study in Nutrients tested four weeks of this popular intermittent fasting style on young Asian men, revealing it trims weight and fat effectively-yet also shrinks muscle mass, even with added protein shakes.
Alternate-day fasting (ADF) flips between full eating days and “fasting” days with just one small 400-600 calorie meal around noon, typically making up 16-20 hours without big eats. Worldwide, 44% of adults are overweight and 16% obese, with Singapore close behind at 41% and 14%-sparking huge interest in ADF for slashing body fat, BMI, cholesterol, blood pressure, and triglycerides while boosting metabolic health.
Researchers ran two trials on non-smoking Asian males aged 21-35 with BMI over 23 kg/m’, excluding those on meds or with fasting risks.
Excerpted from Medical Dialogues
