There is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all approach to health for everybody. But science and scientific studies can give us a sign that things like diets may not be as good for us as they initially appear—and intermittent fasting is the latest eating style to take a hit. (If you missed it, the ketogenic diet is also under fire.)
Intermittent fasting is the practice of restricted eating and comes with certain rules, which could include fasting in the morning or choosing to consume food only during certain hours of the day.
A recent study that followed 20,000 US adults for anywhere between 7 and 18 years found a startling statistic related to people who practice the 16:8 eating rule, which involves fasting for 16 hours every day: Those who limited their eating hours to a time frame of just eight hours a day were more likely to die of cardiovascular disease than those who spaced out their meals across 12 to 16 hours a day. And they weren’t just more likely—they faced a 91% higher risk of death. The study also found that those who spaced their meals across more than 16 hours of the day had a lower risk of dying from cancer among people with cancer.
“Overall, this study suggests that time-restricted eating may have short-term benefits but long-term adverse effects,” according to Christopher D. Gardner, PhD, FAHA. Dr. Gardner noted there are potential other details that need to be further assessed, like “the nutrient quality of the diets typical of the different subsets of participants,” and that overall this should be a starting point to further study intermittent fasting.
