When fasting is mentioned, the first thing that often comes to mind is “the month of Ramadan,” but in reality fasting linguistically means “constipation,” so we find that there are multiple types of fasting, some of which follow religious rules, and some of which may be considered part of a health regimen or treatment protocol.
The narratives mention that the Virgin Mary vowed to fast without speaking, which makes it clear that the meaning of fasting is not limited to abstaining from food and drink only.
But what does science say today about dietary fasting of its various types? Are all forms of fasting equally beneficial, or are there controls that enhance its benefits and reduce its risks?
Recent studies indicate that fasting has a potential positive effect in reducing chronic inflammation, which explains the increasing scientific interest in it.
Do I suffer from chronic inflammation?
To know the answer to this question, you must begin by learning the definition of chronic inflammation. It is simply a process that accelerates your access to biological aging. It is a response from the immune system that is triggered when the body is repeatedly exposed to bacterial or viral infections or when cells are exposed to injuries such as bruises and wounds, and also as a result of internal factors such as obesity, stress, and immune diseases.
When cells are exposed to damage, they send alarm signals. White blood cells intervene and secrete substances called cytokines to fight inflammation. The problem arises when this activity continues for a long time; Chronic high blood sugar and the accumulation of visceral fat keep the immune system in a constant state of alert.
Over time, this causes damage to cell components, especially mitochondria, which are responsible for energy production, and leads to the accumulation of damaged proteins inside cells, and also weakens the natural self-cleaning mechanism known as “autophagy.”
When this mechanism is disrupted, the cells’ cleaning system is disrupted, and waste accumulates inside them, which increases inflammation, paving the way for heart disease, diabetes, immune disorders, and others.
How does fasting repair what is ruined by inflammation?
Fasting is a specific abstinence, at a specific time, and with a specific structure, and assuming that fasting was conducted in a proper manner as explained by scientists, by reducing the calories consumed by individuals, as a study published in the journal Cell in early 2024 by a research group from the University of Cambridge says that the link between fasting and a decrease in inflammation is certain, but understanding how this happens is what scientists are trying to reach.
Intermittent fasting
A systematic review of more than 80 human studies published by The Journal of Nutrition showed that intermittent fasting protocols that allow an 8-hour eating window followed by a 16-hour fast can enhance insulin sensitivity and improve lipid profiles and blood pressure, although most trials are short-term and require longer studies to precisely understand the inflammatory effects.
Fasting one meal a day
This is what the Queen’s College, University of Cambridge, study published in January 2024 focused on, in which a group of 21 volunteers ate one meal containing 500 calories, then stopped eating only for 24 hours.
Researchers noticed high levels of a type of fat known as arachidonic acid, which plays important roles in the body, such as storing energy and transmitting signals between cells. The researchers noted that it also reduces the activity of an inflammatory compound known as NLRP-3 inflamammasome.
Water fasting
It depends on complete abstinence from food for a period ranging from 24 hours to up to 10 days. In a study published in the journal Clinical and Translational Medicine, researchers conducted an experiment in which they subjected 48 healthy adults to water fasting for 5 consecutive days, while monitoring important vital and immune indicators.
The researchers observed a decrease in blood pressure, body weight, changes in immune cells, and decreased inflammatory markers in some participants. However, they also noticed that the indicators returned to their previous state after gradual refeeding, and that a percentage of muscle mass was lost.
Dry fasting
It is what Muslims practice as part of their religious rituals, and it is also the least subject to scientific studies. One of these few studies was published by the scientific journal Elsevier. The research examined developments in measurements of vital indicators for 14 infected men and women who underwent dry fasting during the period from sunrise to sunset for 29 days during Ramadan.
The sample this time had metabolic syndrome, a group of conditions that occur together such as high blood pressure, high blood sugar, excess body fat around the waist, and high triglyceride levels, which increases the risk of heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes.
The study showed protein changes in white blood cells indicating a decrease in inflammatory signals associated with blood vessels and an increase in some proteins associated with cell protection.
In another study published in 2021, it included a group of volunteers from the Baha’i sect, who followed a fast similar to Islamic dry fasting for several hours during the day. The sample included 34 healthy participants. The study observed that there were no significant negative effects on hydration among the healthy participants. An improvement was also observed in the performance of fat metabolism, and the effect on inflammation was not monitored.
Media focus and few studies
Despite the promising initial results, and the testimonies of doctors such as Dr. Pradeep Jamnadas, a consultant cardiologist and director of the cardiac catheterization laboratory at Orlando Health Hospital in the United States, about the effect of various types of fasting on giving the body an opportunity to switch from “storage mode” to “repair mode,” where insulin levels decrease and the activity of inflammatory pathways declines, research in this field is still limited and needs more experiments on larger samples.
Dr. Mark Mattson, head of the Neuroscience Laboratory at the National Institute on Aging (NIA) of the National Institutes of Health in the United States, and one of the most prominent researchers who have studied the relationship between fasting, metabolism, and brain health, believes that fasting may activate cellular stress resistance pathways and reduce some inflammatory indicators, but he stresses that most of the evidence regarding the “autophagy” cleaning system and its protective effect came from animal models or short-term studies on healthy humans.
Dr. Valter Longo, director of the Longevity Institute at the University of Southern California, links the benefits of fasting to what he calls “organized therapeutic fasting,” which is done under the supervision of a doctor and as part of a treatment protocol or health regimen, and not as a general practice suitable for everyone.
The disagreement in the proposal here is not about the usefulness of fasting, but about the level of generalization. While Jamnadas tends to present fasting as an essential tool for treating the roots of diseases related to metabolism and inflammation, academic researchers advise the importance of emphasizing that fasting represents a contributing factor within a broader system that includes food quality, physical activity, sleep, and genetic factors.
But as is clear, everyone agrees that there are promising biological signals around fasting, but we need more research to include fasting as part of public health recommendations.