fasting

Posted on Diabetes

Important step towards fasting-based therapies

Liver section of a mouse with liver cells in green and red.


Liver section of a mouse with liver cells in green and red CREDIT Helmholtz Munich / Anne Loft

Previous studies have shown how fasting can influence the immune system to improve different chronic inflammatory conditions, but little is known about how immune responses might determine a healthy metabolism. Since the liver is a central hub and regulator of metabolism, a group of researchers focused on understanding how liver cells and immune cells found in the liver communicate with each other in conditions of fasting. The study was a joint effort of Helmholtz Munich, Ulm University, the Technical University of Munich (TUM), the German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD), the Heidelberg University Hospital, and the University of Southern Denmark.

Immune activity is necessary for metabolic response to fasting
The researchers scanned the DNA of liver cells and immune cells, examining which parts of their DNA were active and which messenger-molecules were being released as a result. Their findings showed that these cells were communicating with one-another and highlighted the role of a molecule that is expressed in almost all the cells in our bodies, namely the glucocorticoid receptor. “We discovered that in the immune cells, this receptor in particular allowed the crosstalk between the cell types during fasting. By deleting the receptor only in the immune cells, we saw a breakdown of fasting signals in the liver cells. This means that the immune cells are able to directly influence the effect of fasting on our metabolism,” says Anne Loft from Helmholtz Munich.

Giorgio Caratti and Jan Tuckermann from the Ulm University add: “In fact, this is the first time we have seen this process under ‘healthy’ conditions. We knew that immune responses could influence our metabolism in an unhealthy setting, but this was new. It proves that a low level of immune activity, or inflammation, is necessary for a balanced metabolic response to fasting.”

Future work
“Voluntary fasting has been shown to be beneficial for the prevention of a number of human metabolic diseases, including type 2 diabetes and obesity. The increase in people suffering from not only these metabolic diseases is staggering, showing no signs of slowing down. Our findings serve to understand the molecular mechanisms behind these diseases and may ultimately lead to the development of effective fasting-based therapies,” says Stephan Herzig who led study at Helmholtz Munich.

Posted on Diabetes, Rheumatoid arthritis

Low-frequency intermittent fasting prompts anti-inflammatory response

Fasting


Intermittent fasting may not only be a hot dieting trend, but it also has broader health benefits, including helping to fight inflammation, according to a new study from researchers at the Intermountain Healthcare Heart Institute in Salt Lake City. CREDIT Intermountain Healthcare

Intermittent fasting may not only be a hot dieting trend, but it also has broader health benefits, including helping to fight inflammation, according to a new study from researchers at the Intermountain Healthcare Heart Institute in Salt Lake City.

Previous research has shown that intermittent fasting, an eating pattern that cycles between periods of fasting and eating, may improve health markers not related to weight. Now, the new Intermountain research shows that intermittent fasting raises the levels of galectin-3, a protein tied to inflammatory response.

“Inflammation is associated with higher risk of developing multiple chronic diseases, including diabetes and heart disease. We’re encouraged to see evidence that intermittent fasting is prompting the body to fight inflammation and lowering those risks,” said Benjamin Horne, PhD, principal investigator of the study and director of cardiovascular and genetic epidemiology at the Intermountain Healthcare Heart Institute.

Findings of the study will be presented on Saturday, November, 13, at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2021, which are being held virtually this year.

These results are part of Intermountain’s WONDERFUL Trial studying intermittent fasting, which found that intermittent fasting causes declines in the metabolic syndrome score (MSS) and insulin resistance.  

This specific study examined 67 patients aged 21 to 70 who all had at least one metabolic syndrome feature or type 2 diabetes. Participants also weren’t taking anti-diabetic or statin medication and had elevated LDL cholesterol levels.

Of the 67 patients studied, 36 were prescribed an intermittent fasting schedule: twice a week water-only 24-hour fasting for four weeks, then once a week water-only 24 hour-fasting for 22 weeks. Fasts could not be done on consecutive days. The remaining 31 participants made no changes to their diet or lifestyle.

After 26 weeks, researchers then measured participants’ galectin-3, and found that it was higher in the intermittent fasting group. They also found lower rates of HOMA-IR (insulin resistance) and MSS (metabolic syndrome), which researchers believe may be similar to the reported effects of SGLT-2 inhibitors, a class of drugs used to lower high glucose levels in type 2 diabetes patients.

“In finding higher levels of galectin-3 in patients who fasted, these results provide an interesting mechanism potentially involved in helping reduce the risk of heart failure and diabetes,” said Dr. Horne, who added that a few members of the trial team completed the same regime before the study started to make sure that it was doable and not overly taxing to participants.

“Unlike some IF diet plans that are incredibly restrictive and promise magic weight loss, this isn’t a drastic form of fasting. The best routine is one that patients can stick to over the long term, and this study shows that even occasional fasting can have positive health effects,” he added.

Members of the Intermountain Healthcare research team include: Horne, Joseph B. Muhlestein, MD; Heidi T. May; Viet T. Le; Tami L. Bair; Kirk U. Knowlton, MD; and Jeffrey L. Anderson, MD.

###

Posted on A to Z of Medical Conditions

Why fasting bolsters brain power: Mark Mattson

How Intermittent Fasting Boosts Brain Power | Mark Mattson - YouTube


Mark Mattson is the current Chief of the Laboratory of Neurosciences at the National Institute on Aging. He is also a professor of Neuroscience at The Johns Hopkins University. Mattson is one of the foremost researchers in the area of cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s Disease, Parkinson’s Disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Ce face postul intermitent creierului și nu numai | Ileana Andrei
Posted on Diet

Intermittent fasting can help manage metabolic disease

Can fasting improve MS symptoms?
?

Eating your daily calories within a consistent window of 8-10 hours is a powerful strategy to prevent and manage chronic diseases such as diabetes and heart disease, according to a new manuscript published in the Endocrine Society’s journal, Endocrine Reviews.

Time-restricted eating is a type of intermittent fasting that limits your food intake to a certain number of hours each day. Intermittent fasting is one of the most popular diet trends, and people are using it to lose weight, improve their health and simplify their lifestyles.

“People who are trying to lose weight and live a healthier lifestyle should pay more attention to when they eat as well as what they eat. Time-restricted eating is an easy-to-follow and effective dietary strategy that requires less mental math than counting calories,” said Satchidananda Panda, Ph.D., of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, Calif. “Intermittent fasting can improve sleep and a person’s quality of life as well as reduce the risk of obesity, diabetes and heart disease.”

In the manuscript, the researchers explore the science behind time-restricted eating, recent clinical studies and the scope for future research to better understand its health benefits. Recent research has revealed that genes, hormones and metabolism rise and fall at different times of the 24-hour day. Aligning our daily habit of when we eat with the body’s internal clock can optimize health and reduce the risk or disease burden of chronic conditions like diabetes, heart disease and liver disease.

“Eating at random times breaks the synchrony of our internal program and make us prone to diseases,” said Panda. “Intermittent fasting is a lifestyle that anyone can adopt. It can help eliminate health disparities and lets everyone live a healthy and fulfilling life.”

Other authors of the study include: Emily Manoogian of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies; Lisa Chow of the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, Minn.; Pam Taub of the University of California, San Diego, in La Jolla, Calif.; and Blandine Laferrère of the Columbia University Irving Medical Center in New York, N.Y.

The study received funding from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), the National Institute on Aging, the National Cancer Institute, the Larry l. Hillblom Foundation, the Wu Tsai Human Performance Alliance, the U.S. Department of Defense and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.