Research
Hormonal
Intermittent fasting improves cardiometabolic risk factors, including insulin resistance, dyslipidemia, and inflammation, by triggering the metabolic switch.
Fasting can help fix metabolic issues like high blood sugar and bad cholesterol. By not eating for 12+ hours, your body switches to burning fat, which reduces inflammation and improves how your body handles insulin.
GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
IF regimens have been shown to improve cardiometabolic risk factors (such as insulin resistance, dyslipidemia, and inflammation cytokines) (13), decrease visceral fat mass (6), and produce similar levels of weight loss as CR regimens (8).
Why this rating
The paper cites multiple human clinical trials and animal studies showing consistent improvements in these markers.
Source
Flipping the Metabolic Switch: Understanding and Applying the Health Benefits of Fasting
Stephen D. Anton et al. · Obesity · 2017
DOI 10.1002/oby.22065
narrative_reviewCited 751×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- Intermittent fasting regimens that induce the metabolic switch (shifting from glucose to fatty acid/ketone oxidation) preserve lean muscle mass more effectively than continuous caloric restriction.Moderate
- Intermittent fasting enhances cognitive function and protects against neurodegenerative diseases by increasing BDNF and ketone levels.Moderate
Related findings · Hormonal
- Initial treatment for type 2 diabetes should be a combination of metformin and either an SGLT-2 inhibitor or a GLP-1 receptor agonist to achieve cardiorenal protection, rather than monotherapy or older agents like sulfonylureas.Strong
- For patients with specific monogenic obesity syndromes (leptin deficiency, POMC/PCSK1/LEPR mutations), targeted pharmacotherapy (recombinant leptin or setmelanotide) is highly effective and should be prioritized, unlike in polygenic obesity.Strong
- Continued weekly administration of 2.4 mg subcutaneous semaglutide prevents weight regain and promotes further weight loss in adults with overweight or obesity, whereas switching to placebo results in significant weight regain.Strong
This is one finding among thousands. Every one is graded and traced to its source, so you can see what the evidence actually supports. Browse the research →