Can Intermittent Fasting Help You Live Longer?

It’s hard to believe that when we eat might matter almost as much as what we eat. When people began talking about intermittent fasting over a decade ago, the idea was met with a fair amount of skepticism. Then the studies came in. Athletes were getting stronger. Dieters were losing weight – with fewer cravings or calorie-cramming relapses. 

Also known as time-restricted eating, intermittent fasting’s advocates mostly adhere to the 16:8 fasting schedule. On this program, eating is restricted to just one-third of the day. Whether fasting for weight loss or fasting for fitness, more than one out of ten adult Americans are on some form of time-restricted eating. 

Of course, when a new approach to weight loss or exercise is successful, it also garners controversy. In 2024, researchers presented preliminary findings to an American Heart Association conference. They claimed their study of over 20,000 adults found that those following the 16:8 intermittent fasting schedule had a 91% higher risk of death from cardiovascular disease while fasters with heart disease or cancer also had an increased risk of cardiovascular death.

Of course, the research was preliminary and not peer reviewed. It received immediate pushback from both advocates and members of the scientific community. So is intermittent fasting a risky bet or will it add years to your life? And how has one company taken center stage for their own ambitious agenda – developing products and technology that may one day make death itself obsolete. 

A Short History of Intermittent Fasting 

Like ultra-processed food and hermetically sealed office buildings, eating three meals a day is a modern invention. Indeed, the idea that breakfast is the “most important meal of the day” was developed by a lobbyist trying to sell bacon. Our early morning cereal habits were crafted in part by the companies hawking corn flakes and granola. In ancient times, fasting was what people did when they couldn’t catch dinner. Even after the advent of agriculture, two meals a day was the norm. 

Fasting for spiritual and religious practices remains common in the 21st century and is practiced around the world. Interestingly, researchers studying the practice noted that “… the Western diet and lifestyle, characterized by unhealthy diet and sedentariness, has engendered many, so-called diseases of civilization, including obesity-associated metabolic syndrome, coronary heart disease, hypertension, stroke, type 2 diabetes, chronic liver disease, autoimmune disease, epithelial cell cancers, and osteoporosis…life expectancy is expected, for the first time, to fall…” 

Yet despite the pressures of modernism, in 2010 83% of the world’s population self-identified as religious. That percentage is expected to hit 87% by 2050. “Religious fasting, or faith-based fasting, is predominantly practiced to satisfy prescribed religious requirements…” notes the study. “[It] could help to improve individual health as well as the community, and planet.”

Scientists have long studied the effects of calorie restriction on longevity, with one pointing out that, “Currently there are studies ongoing involving 30% calorie restriction in non-human primates (rhesus monkeys) and data so far from these studies look promising, in that they have supported the life- and health-extending properties of this dietary regime.” The challenge, of course, is one that anyone who has tried fasting for weight loss encounters. Cutting out one-third of a day’s calories usually means reduced energy and constant cravings. 

Although the idea of time-restricted eating has been around for decades, Intermittent fasting’s widespread popularity dates to 2012 and a BBC documentary called Eat, Fast, and Live Longer. During the program, journalist Michael Mosley ate his usual diet for five days a week. Then for two days, he greatly restricted his caloric intake. The results were impressive.

In just over one month, he’d lost more than 14 pounds. His cholesterol and blood-sugar levels also improved significantly. Although most advocates now opt for a different intermittent fasting schedule, the technique itself has become very popular.

Diets of all shapes and sizes are a significant part of American’s lives. According to a recent Food and Health Survey by the International Food Information Council, half of all Americans have followed a particular eating pattern or diet in the past year. While high-protein and mindful eating led the pack, some 12% of respondents mentioned following an intermittent fasting schedule for at least part of the year.

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Scientific Evidence for Intermittent Fasting’s Effectiveness

Although some fast for longer periods, fasting 16:8 has become the go-to method. It is by far the simplest fast. That’s because most people naturally crave nourishment near the end of a hard day and are less interested in food upon waking. Blood sugar is often more manageable as well. 

During the fast, people can consume coffee with artificial sweeteners, water, and other calorie-free beverages along with sugar-free gum. Some also recommend taking a branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) supplement prior to any physical activity. Fasting diet advocates usually exercise before eating. Most discover that they are fine working out on an empty stomach. The first meal is usually the largest, with an emphasis on lean protein like eggs or fiber like whole grain cereal or oatmeal. 

It’s important to note that the 16:8 fasting method doesn’t require elimination of a meal. It’s just that many people find two meals during the eating period sufficient. Reducing the number of meals being consumed usually reduces daily calorie intake – even if people weren’t necessarily fasting for weight loss. 

One big reason intermittent fasting for weight loss is so successful is because the food we eat (particularly simple carbohydrates like white pastas, bread, and rice) is broken down into sugar for energy. This sugar is usually stored as fat; sugar needs insulin in order to enter our cells. However, intermittent fasting can lower insulin levels which allows fat cells to release all that stored sugar as energy — in other words during the fasting phase fat is being burned off.  

As the popularity of intermittent fasting grew throughout the 2010s, numerous studies examined its efficacy. One study of men who strength train concluded that, “Our results suggest that an intermittent fasting program in which all calories are consumed in an eight hour window each day, in conjunction with resistance training, could improve some health-related biomarkers, decrease fat mass, and maintain muscle mass in resistance-trained males.” Another study linked intermittent fasting (along with caloric restriction) to lengthened lifespan, improved blood sugar levels, and a healthier brain.  

One small Alabama study of obese men with prediabetes showed that the group that ate from seven a.m. to three p.m. not only enjoyed lower insulin levels and improved insulin sensitivity compared to the group that was not on an intermittent fasting schedule but they also had lowered blood pressure and even decreased appetite. 

Yet despite all this good news, there have been naysayers in the media including articles in popular magazines like The Atlantic dismissing intermittent fasting. Then came the bombshell dropped at the American Heart Association conference. Does intermittent fasting actually increase the risk of premature death?

Not necessarily. As Stanford University professor of medicine Christopher Gardner, PhD, told WebMD, news outlets reacting with alarm ignored some pretty important details. Like the fact that “people in the study group who consumed all their food in a daily window of eight hours or fewer had a higher percentage of men, African Americans, and smokers, and they had a higher BMI than those who ate over longer time spans – any of which could’ve raised the group’s heart disease risk. Also, investigators lacked data on shift work, stress, and other variables…” 

Worse, much of the data came before intermittent fasting’s boost of popularity throughout the 2010s. That means many of the study’s participants were “meal skippers” not people using a standard intermittent fasting schedule. Most damning to veteran researchers, the study inferred correlation to causation. In other words, just because someone who practiced intermittent fasting died young, it doesn’t automatically mean the eating method killed them. 

The big question remains. Does intermittent fasting extend healthy lifespans? Numerous studies assert that it does. One examination of mice noted not only that restricting when they ate offered health benefits for multiple  internal organs but that it also profoundly affected gene expression. For one thing, it resulted in a decrease of the genes involved in inflammatory signaling. This could indicate that a fasting diet may reduce the risk of life-shortening cancer and other inflammation-related conditions. 

Whether using intermittent fasting or not, it’s important to realize that long-term health is already at your fingertips. That’s because Kyla not only offers insights through at-home testing but through their app as well. This allows you to conveniently monitor your data while visualizing your progress through graphs. The app helps you easily keep track of any lifestyle changes while providing actionable goals. Every day you can monitor your progress with a detailed trend chart that lets you track your nutrition and physical activity while benefiting from personalized recommendations, and medication reminders.

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While current research is focused on using technology to prevent or delay aging and treat or cure age-related diseases, one day technology will be able to prevent people from even developing them. In fact, technology will be able to extend a person’s life by more than a year for every year they are alive. This is known as longevity escape velocity. It could be right around the corner. The person with an indefinite lifespan may already be alive. It could even be you. 

Sources:

1. “Eight-hour time-restricted eating linked to a 91% higher risk of cardiovascular death,” The American Heart Association Epidemiology and Prevention/ Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health Scientific Sessions 2024. March 19, 2024. https://newsroom.heart.org/news/8-hour-time-restricted-eating-linked-to-a-91-higher-risk-of-cardiovascular-death
2. Oksman, Olga. “How lobbyists made breakfast ‘the most important meal of the day.’” The Guardian. November 28, 2016. https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/nov/28/breakfast-health-america-kellog-food-lifestyle
3. Trabelsi, Khaled et al. “Religious fasting and its impacts on individual, public, and planetary health: Fasting as a “religious health asset” for a healthier, more equitable, and sustainable society.” Frontiers in Nutrition. November 24, 2022. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9729557
4. Martin, Bronwen et al. “Caloric restriction and intermittent fasting: two potential diets for successful brain aging.” Ageing research reviews. August 8, 2006. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2622429/
5. Tayag, Yasmin. “The Fad Diet to End All Fad Diets,” The Atlantic. May 13, 2024. https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2024/05/intermittent-fasting-diet-popularity/678365/
6. Bankston, John. “The Skinny About Intermittent Fasting,’ Doctorpedia. January 8, 2023. https://www.doctorpedia.com/channels/the-skinny-about-intermittent-fasting/
7. “2023 Food and Health Survey,”International Food Information Council (IFIC).May 23, 2023. https://foodinsight.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/IFIC-2023-Food-Health-Report.pdf
8. “Intermittent fasting: The positive news continues,” Harvard Health. February 28, 2021. https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/intermittent-fasting-surprising-update-2018062914156
9. Stinson, Adrienne. “Health benefits of BCAAs,” Medical News Today. June 23, 2023. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/324605
10. Moro, Tatiana et al. “Effects of eight weeks of time-restricted feeding (16/8) on basal metabolism, maximal strength, body composition, inflammation, and cardiovascular risk factors in resistance-trained males.” Journal of translational medicine. October 13, 2016. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27737674/
11. Sutton, Elizabeth F., et al. “Early Time-Restricted Feeding Improves Insulin Sensitivity, Blood Pressure, and Oxidative Stress Even without Weight Loss in Men with Prediabetes, Cell Metabolism, June 2018. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1550413118302535
12. McLaughlin, Elliot. “Is Intermittent Fasting Bad For Your Heart? What to Know,” WebMD. March 22, 2024. https://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/features/is-intermittent-fasting-bad-for-heart-health
13. Deota, Shaunak, et al. “Diurnal transcriptome landscape of a multi-tissue response to time-restricted feeding in mammals, Cell. January 3, 2023. https://www.cell.com/cell-metabolism/fulltext/S1550-4131(22)00543-5

Haseltine, William A.. “Can Intermittent Fasting Help You Live Longer?” Forbes. February 10, 2023. https://www.forbes.com/sites/williamhaseltine/2023/02/10/can-intermittent-fasting-help-you-live-longer/