New Research Shows How Fasting Prevents Obesity & Its Related Conditions
Fasting may help fight against obesity. New research extends the existing evidence that fasting may be helpful in the fight against obesity and its related conditions.
The practice enriched with certain proteins may help fight against diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and liver disease.
In the new study, the researchers used the Islamic spiritual practice of Ramadan as they wanted to study the impact of fasting from dawn to dusk.
Dr. Ayse Leyla Mindikoglu, who is an associate professor of medicine and surgery at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, TX, and her colleagues found that fasting in Ramadan for 30 days increased particular proteins’ levels that can lead to raise insulin resistance as well as prevent the adverse effects of a fats- and sugar-rich diet.
The researchers presented their findings during the Digestive Disease Week, a conference that took place recently in San Diego, California.
Dr. Mindikoglu and her colleagues studied 14 people who were healthy at baseline and who fasted for 15 hours each day from dawn to sunset as part of Ramadan.
While fasting, the participants did not consume any food or drink. Before the start of the fast, the researchers took blood samples from the participants. They also tested the participants’ blood after four weeks of fasting and one week after fasting ended.
The blood samples according to the researchers revealed higher levels of proteins called Tropomyosin 1, 3, and 4. The researchers said:
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“TPM is best known for its role in the regulation of contraction in skeletal muscle and the heart. It is also helps to maintain the health of cells that are important to insulin resistance and repairing them, if they sustain damage.”
The study’s lead author, Mindikoglu, added:
”Feeding and fasting can significantly impact how the body makes and uses proteins that are critical to decreasing insulin resistance and maintaining a healthy body weight.
Therefore, the timing of and duration between meals could be important factors to consider for people struggling with obesity-related conditions.
We are in the process of expanding our research to include individuals with metabolic syndrome and to determine whether the results are consistent with those of the healthy individuals.
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Based on our initial research, we believe that dawn-to-sunset fasting may provide a cost-effective intervention for those struggling with obesity-related conditions.”
Source: Medical News Today