Research
Adherence
Religious fasting practices, such as Ramadan, Greek Orthodox fasting, and the Daniel Fast, have mixed effects on health biomarkers, including cardiovascular, glucoregulatory, and oxidative stress markers.
Religious fasting practices vary widely in their health effects. Some may improve certain biomarkers, while others may have no effect or even negative effects. It is important to be mindful of dietary choices during non-fasting periods.
ModerateQualifiesMEDIUM confidence
The collective work highlights both the positive and negative effects of Ramadan fasting on overall health... Ramadan fasting has elicited mixed results in relation to cardiovascular health... similarly mixed results are available regarding Ramadan fasting and the ability to improve glucoregulatory health
Why this rating
Observational studies with mixed results and potential confounders.
Source
Impact of caloric and dietary restriction regimens on markers of health and longevity in humans and animals: a summary of available findings
John F. Trepanowski et al. · Nutrition Journal · 2011
DOI 10.1186/1475-2891-10-107
narrative_reviewCited 203×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- Caloric restriction (CR) of 20-40% below ad libitum intake, while maintaining adequate nutrient intake, improves cardiovascular and glucoregulatory biomarkers and extends lifespan in animal models, with mixed but generally favorable effects on human health markers.Good
- Protein restriction, specifically methionine restriction, increases maximum lifespan in rodents by approximately 20%, potentially accounting for half of the life-extending effects of caloric restriction.Good
- Alternate-day fasting (ADF), involving alternating days of ad libitum intake and partial/complete restriction, extends lifespan in animals and improves cardiovascular and glucoregulatory biomarkers, with mixed results in humans.Moderate
Related findings · Adherence
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