Role of Intermittent Fasting on Improving Health and Reducing Diseases

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the causative pathogen of deadly Coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) pandemic, which emerged as a major threat to public health across the world. Although there is no clear gender or socioeconomic discrimination in the incidence of COVID-19, individuals who are older adults and/or with comorbidities and compromised immunity have a relatively higher risk of contracting this disease. Since no specific drug has yet been discovered, strengthening immunity along with maintaining a healthy living is the best way to survive this disease. As a healthy practice, calorie restriction in the form of intermittent fasting in several clinical settings has been reported to promote several health benefits, including priming of the immune response. This dietary practice also activates autophagy, a cell surveillance system that boosts up immunity. With these prevailing significance in priming host defense, intermittent fasting could be a potential strategy amid this outbreak to fighting off SARS-CoV-2 infection. Currently, no review so far available proposing intermittent fasting as an encouraging strategy in the prevention of COVID-19. A comprehensive review has therefore been planned to highlight the beneficial role of fasting in immunity and autophagy, that underlie the possible defense against SARS-CoV-2 infection. The COVID-19 pathogenesis and its impact on host immune response have also been briefly outlined. This review aimed at revisiting the immunomodulatory potential of intermittent fasting that may constitute a promising preventive strategy against COVID-19.

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Physical Health—Te Taha Tinana

10.1093/oso/9780192845184.003.0009 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 111-120

Author(s):

David Beaumont

Keyword(s):

Physical Health ◽

Mediterranean Diet ◽

Western Medicine ◽

Heart Attack ◽

Intermittent Fasting ◽

Health And Wellbeing ◽

Lifestyle Choices ◽

Nutrition And Diet ◽

The Relationship

The Māori model of health considers physical health as the cornerstone of Western medicine. Maslow’s understanding of homeostasis. Seligman’s PERMA model and vitality. The relationship between vitality and ageing, and the author’s experience after a heart attack: ‘You look like an old man.’ Telomeres, stress, and ageing—‘you are only as old as you feel’. Professor Elizabeth Blackburn (and her PhD student Carol Greider)’s Nobel Prize-winning research on telomerase. The concept of healthspan. Lifestyle choices and optimum health and wellbeing. Epigenetics and Dr David Sinclair’s book, Lifespan: Why We Age – and Why We Don’t Have To. Sir Harry Burns on the role of the environment and Glasgow effect. Tertiary prevention and the author’s experience. The science of nutrition and diet. The work of Professor Grant Schofield, author of What the Fat? and What the Fast?, who promotes a healthy fat, Mediterranean diet, with low carbohydrates and intermittent fasting. The science of sleep and its role in obesity.

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Longevity: epigenetic and biomolecular aspects

BioMolecular Concepts ◽

10.1515/bmc-2014-0038 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 6 (2) ◽

pp. 105-117 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Giusi Taormina ◽

Mario G. Mirisola

Keyword(s):

Simple Model ◽

Molecular Mechanisms ◽

Model Organisms ◽

Intermittent Fasting ◽

Epigenetic Mechanisms ◽

Long Term Effects ◽

Dietary Interventions ◽

Aging Theories

AbstractMany aging theories and their related molecular mechanisms have been proposed. Simple model organisms such as yeasts, worms, fruit flies and others have massively contributed to their clarification, and many genes and pathways have been associated with longevity regulation. Among them, insulin/IGF-1 plays a key and evolutionary conserved role. Interestingly, dietary interventions can modulate this pathway. Calorie restriction (CR), intermittent fasting, and protein and amino acid restriction prolong the lifespan of mammals by IGF-1 regulation. However, some recent findings support the hypothesis that the long-term effects of diet also involve epigenetic mechanisms. In this review, we describe the best characterized aging pathways and highlight the role of epigenetics in diet-mediated longevity.

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The beneficial effects of intermittent fasting: an update on mechanism, and the role of circadian rhythm and gut microbiota

HepatoBiliary Surgery and Nutrition ◽

10.21037/hbsn-20-317 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 9 (5) ◽

pp. 597-602

Author(s):

Dandan Hu ◽

Zhibo Xie ◽

Yuqian Ye ◽

Suhad Bahijri ◽

Minshan Chen

Keyword(s):

Circadian Rhythm ◽

Gut Microbiota ◽

Intermittent Fasting ◽

Beneficial Effects

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Neuroprotective role of intermittent fasting in senescence-accelerated mice P8 (SAMP8)

Experimental Gerontology ◽

10.1016/j.exger.2010.04.010 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 45 (9) ◽

pp. 702-710 ◽

Cited By ~ 27

Author(s):

M. Tajes ◽

J. Gutierrez-Cuesta ◽

J. Folch ◽

D. Ortuño-Sahagun ◽

E. Verdaguer ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Intermittent Fasting ◽

Senescence Accelerated Mice

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Beyond the Paradigm of Weight Loss in Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: From Pathophysiology to Novel Dietary Approaches

Nutrients ◽

10.3390/nu13061977 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (6) ◽

pp. 1977

Author(s):

Angelo Armandi ◽

Jörn M. Schattenberg

Keyword(s):

Weight Loss ◽

Liver Disease ◽

Fatty Liver ◽

Fatty Liver Disease ◽

Intermittent Fasting ◽

Long Term Effects ◽

Alcoholic Fatty Liver ◽

Nutritional Studies ◽

Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

Current treatment recommendations for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) rely heavily on lifestyle interventions. The Mediterranean diet and physical activity, aiming at weight loss, have shown good results in achieving an improvement of this liver disease. However, concerns related to compliance and food accessibility limit the feasibility of this approach, and data on the long-term effects on liver-related outcomes are lacking. Insulin resistance is a central aspect in the pathophysiology of NAFLD; therefore, interventions aiming at the improvement of insulin sensitivity may be preferable. In this literature review, we provide a comprehensive summary of the available evidence on nutritional approaches in the management of NAFLD, involving low-calorie diets, isocaloric diets, and the novel schemes of intermittent fasting. In addition, we explore the harmful role of single nutrients on liver-specific key metabolic pathways, the role of gene susceptibility and microbiota, and behavioral aspects that may impact liver disease and are often underreported in clinical setting. At present, the high variability in terms of study populations and liver-specific outcomes within nutritional studies limits the generalizability of the results and highlights the urgent need of a tailored and standardized approach, as seen in regulatory trials in Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH).

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