Intermittent Fasting and Gut Microbiota
Divya R*
Associate professor, Department of Physiology, Dhanalakshmi Srinivasan Medical college and Hospital, Perambalur, Tamilnadu, India.
*Corresponding Author: Divya R, Associate professor, Department of Physiology, Dhanalakshmi Srinivasan Medical college and Hospital, Perambalur, Tamilnadu, India.
Email: divyaashok47@yahoo.in.
Editorial
Fasting is an age-old practice done by avoidance of intake of solid or liquid edibles for a certain period of time. This has been practiced for a number of reasons such as dieting, religious ways and also in medical field for lab investigations such as measurement of blood glucose and lipid markers, pre- and post-surgical indications.
Research has shown that the fasting is related with improvement in the physiological indicators related to health such as metabolic markers, body’s insulin sensitivity, inflammation, blood pressure, atherogenesis inducing lipid levels, body fat and metabolic pathways to create energy for the body. During fasting the body undergoes various metabolic and physiological adaptations [1].
When the fasting is carried out in regular periods with regular intermittent calorie abstention is referred to as the Intermittent Fasting (IF). It is described in various terms such as, time-restricted feeding, alternate-day fasting, reduced meal frequency. IF consists of many variations such as a daily 16 hours fasting, alternate days 24-hour fasting, or one meal a day OMAD, 2 days fast per week on alternate days [2].
Recent study by Huanan et al; have shown that IF has an effect on the composition of the gut microbiota. IF alters the makeup of gut microbiota, and other metabolome thereby producing Blood pressure BP-lowering effects in rats [3].
Conclusion
Animal Research suggests Intermittent Fasting has been beneficial in a variety of physiological and pathological manifestations. Further research in human subjects is warranted to establish conclusive results.
References
- Sanvictores T, Casale J, Huecker MR. Physiology, Fasting. 2020 Aug 23. In: Stat Pearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): Stat Pearls Publishing. 2021 Jan. PMID: 30521298.
- Welton S, Minty R, O'Driscoll T, et al. Intermittent fasting and weight loss: Systematic review. Can Fam Physician. 2020; 66(2):117-125.
- Huanan S, Bojun Z, Taylor A, et al. Restructuring the Gut Microbiota by Intermittent Fasting Lowers Blood Pressure. Circulation Research. 2021; 128:1240-1254.
