Background Research
Fasting is a term that is used to describe an individual who is reducing the number of meals, usually within a period of time. It has been used for thousands of years by many different cultures and religions not only for the purpose of abstaining from food, but also because it was believed that it showed commitment and dedication to various deities. Fasting was also used politically to protest. While the idea of fasting is not a new term, Intermittent Fasting, is. Intermittent fasting is not a diet, however, a dieting pattern that can be used with caloric restriction to achieve fat loss. There are a number of ways intermittent fasting can be done. The two most popular are Time Restricted Fasting (TRF) and Alternate Day Fasting (ADF). TRF involves a period of fasting, usually twelve to sixteen hours, followed by an eight-hour eating window.2 ADF involves a twenty-four hour fast followed by a twenty four hour non fast. The most common ADF is the 5:2 diets in which an individual fasts two days a week and only consume around 500 calories on those two days, the other five days are normal eating days.2 Within the last couple of years, intermittent fasting has received a great deal of attention by media, and
According to a study done in 2014, forty of the forty-four caloric restriction studies showed that caloric restriction has an anti-cancer effect4. This is done by starving the growth of glucose4 which, in turn, would kill the cell. However, this study mentions that this is possible with only caloric restriction. Intermittent fasting without caloric restriction showed no benefit, and more studies would have to be done to confirm any anti-cancer effects. Also, this study was completely done with animal models, mainly rats and mice. This is because a small number human studies have been done compared to animal studies, and what human studies have been done has shown little