Fasting for 24 hours between meals could stop serious illness, scientists say
Your chance of catching lifelong debilitating health conditions could be lowered significantly if you regularly leave a 24 hour gap between meals, scientists have said.
The finding have come from researchers in Cambridge, with the fasting seen as evidence of preventing conditions that can really harm you.
It's something Prime Minister Rishi Sunak reportedly does, with the PM starting every week by not eating for a period of 36 hours.
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Sharon Osbourne has also claimed she's gone 'at least three days without eating', while Dana White says he regularly goes two days on only water, electrolytes and broth.
By fasting for 24 hours between your meals, researchers says harmful inflammation in the body could be reduced.
Fasting can boost how much of a key fatty acid your body makes, suggesting that routine fasting sessions could boost your health - and might reduce the risk of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease.
If you can bear the thought of going that long without a single bite to eat, that is.
Professor Clare Bryant from the Department of Medicine at the University of Cambridge said: "We're very interested in trying to understand the causes of chronic inflammation in the context of many human diseases, and in particular the role of the inflammasome."
An inflammasome? It's a type of protein structure that assembles when a cell is damaged or infected with microbes, and one inflammasome in particular plays a key role in some nasty diseases.
Prof Bryant continued: "What's become apparent over recent years is that one inflammasome in particular—the NLRP3 inflammasome—is very important in a number of major diseases such as obesity and atherosclerosis, but also in diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease, many of the diseases of older age people, particularly in the Western world."
The good news is that a 24-hour fast increases the levels of arachidonic acid, which in turn limits the harmful NLRP3 inflammasome.
The researchers said: "It's too early to say whether fasting protects against diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease, as the effects of arachidonic acid are only short-lived.
"But our work adds to a growing amount of scientific literature that points to the health benefits of calorie restriction."
The research from Cambridge studied a group of 21 individuals who were given a 500-calorie meal before fasting for 24 hours and eating the same amount of calories once again. Rather them than me.
Published in Cell Reports, the research indicates that the levels of arachidonic acid increased before dropping again after the next meal.
As the acid levels went up, activity related to harmful inflammation decreased.
There is one meal you definitely should be eating though.
One expert has recently shared the dangerous impact that can happen if you skip breakfast.
Nutrition therapist Justin Nault (@theclovisculture) who runs nutrition brand Clovis, responded to a fan on TikTok asking why it’s bad to skip eating in the morning ‘if you’re not hungry’.
He says that this is actually a ‘really important signal from your body’.
Justin says that not being hungry in the morning could mean there’s ‘metabolic adaptation in the wrong direction’.
He said: “There’s a lot of talk online about fasting and intermittent fasting and how it makes your hunger go away.
“That’s not a good thing – hunger is one of our most basic primal survival instincts.
“So if you’re not hungry first thing in the morning, that’s actually a sure sign that you should start eating when you first wake up.”
Clovis recommends getting in 30 grams of protein within 30 minutes of getting up.
Advice issued by the NHS for ‘healthy eating’ also includes: “Do not skip breakfast.”
Topics: Health, UK News, Education, Food And Drink
Tom Earnshaw