Fasting can help you lose weight, but you might gain it back quickly


Date:
June 29, 2023
Source:
University of Illinois Chicago
Summary:
Water fasts -- where people consume nothing but water for several
days - - might help you lose weight, but it's unclear how long
you'll keep it off, according to new research. And the other
metabolic benefits of water fasts, such as lower blood pressure and
improved cholesterol, seem to disappear soon after the fast ends,
the researchers found.


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FULL STORY ========================================================================== Water fasts -- where people consume nothing but water for several days --
might help you lose weight, but it's unclear how long you'll keep it off, according to research from the University of Illinois Chicago. And the
other metabolic benefits of water fasts, such as lower blood pressure
and improved cholesterol, seem to disappear soon after the fast ends,
the researchers found.

However, there do not appear to be any serious adverse effects for those
who do a water fast or a similar kind of fast where people consume a
very small number of calories a day, said Krista Varady, professor of kinesiology and nutrition, who led the research, which is published in Nutrition Reviews.

"My overall conclusion is that I guess you could try it, but it just
seems like a lot of work, and all those metabolic benefits disappear,"
Varady said. She stressed, however, that no one should undertake one of
these fasts for more than five days without medical supervision.

Varady, an expert on intermittent fasting, said she wanted to study water fasting because she suddenly started getting contacted by journalists
last fall who wanted to hear what she thought about it. She figured if
she was going to comment, she should investigate the existing research.

The new paper is a literature review of eight studies on water fasting or Buchinger fasting, a medically supervised fast that is popular in Europe
where people consume only a tiny amount of juice and soup a day. Varady's
team looked at the results from each of those papers to see what story
they cumulatively tell about the fasts' impact on weight loss, as well
as a number of other metabolic factors.

Fasting did seem to spur noticeable short-term weight loss, the
researchers found. People who fasted for five days lost about 4% to 6%
of their weight; those who fasted for seven to 10 days lost about 2%
to 10%, and those who fasted for 15 to 20 days lost 7% to 10%.

Only a few of the studies in the review tracked whether participants
gained back the weight they had lost once the fast ended. In one of
those, people gained back all they had lost in a five-day water fast
within three months. In two other studies, only a small amount of the
lost weight returned, but those studies encouraged participants to
restrict their calorie intake after the fasts ended.

In contrast, it was clear that the metabolic benefits of the fasts
disappeared soon after the fasts ended. Improvements to blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar levels were short-lived, returning to baseline levels quickly after participants started eating again.

Some of the studies included participants with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes,
who suffered no ill effects from the fasting, though they were monitored closely and had their insulin doses adjusted while fasting.

The most common side effects of these prolonged fasts were similar
to those from intermittent fasting, Varady said, such as headaches,
insomnia and hunger.

There were no serious negative effects in the studies, such as metabolic acidosis or death.

She did note that the participants in these prolonged fasts lost about
two- thirds of their weight in lean mass and one-third in fat mass. This
is the opposite of what happens most of the time during weight loss, where
more fat is lost than muscle. It makes sense that these extreme fasts
would have this result, she said, because "your body needs a constant
intake of protein. If it doesn't have that, then it draws from muscles." Varady's research into intermittent fasting has looked at how well the
regime works for weight loss, as well as at specific questions, such as
whether intermittent fasting affects fertility -- she found it does not.

Varady said she would encourage someone hoping to lose weight to try intermittent fasting instead of a water fast, "because there's a lot
more data to show it can help with weight management," she said.

The other UIC researchers in the study are Sofia Cienfuegos, Shuhao Lin, Vasiliki Pavlou and Kelsey Gabel, as well as Mark Ezpeleta, a former
UIC student.

* RELATED_TOPICS
o Health_&_Medicine
# Diet_and_Weight_Loss # Fitness # Obesity #
Diseases_and_Conditions
o Mind_&_Brain
# Dieting_and_Weight_Control # Obstructive_Sleep_Apnea #
Nutrition_Research # Perception
* RELATED_TERMS
o Cholesterol o Blood_pressure o Swimming o Cholera o
Hypercholesterolemia o Water_fluoridation o Water_purification
o Dehydration

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by
University_of_Illinois_Chicago. Original written by Emily Stone. Note:
Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Mark Ezpeleta, Sofia Cienfuegos, Shuhao Lin, Vasiliki Pavlou, Kelsey
Gabel, Krista A Varady. Efficacy and safety of prolonged water
fasting: a narrative review of human trials. Nutrition Reviews,
2023; DOI: 10.1093/ nutrit/nuad081 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/06/230629125656.htm

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