Over the past decade, intermittent fasting has emerged as one of the most prevalent weight loss methods.
Now, a new study from Intermountain Health in Salt Lake City shows that intermittent fasting, especially when done over a long period of time, can be good for metabolic and heart health.
Furthermore, it could potentially provide an additional layer of protection against heart-related complications of COVID-19 in individuals with prior cardiac treatment.
Regular fasting, according to Benjamin Horne, PhD, who serves as the director of cardiovascular and genetic epidemiology at Intermountain Health, can lead to improvements in overall health. Additionally, their research indicates that it may also contribute to improved outcomes for COVID-19 patients who underwent cardiac catheterization.
“Fasting won’t necessarily stop a cardiac event from happening, but it may prevent someone from developing heart failure after.”
In the study, researchers from Intermountain Health looked at patients who signed up for the voluntary INSPIRE registry and were also getting a cardiac catheterization between February 2013 and March 2020.
Between March 6, 2020, and April 8, 2022, 464 individuals were diagnosed with COVID-19; 135 of these patients reported regularly fasting for an average of 42.7 years.
Researchers found that COVID-19-positive patients who fasted regularly were less likely to be hospitalized, have complications, or die from heart failure than COVID-19-positive patients who did not fast.
The study’s findings were presented today at the American College of Cardiology/World Heart Federation national meeting.
“These results show that long-term, low-frequency fasting can help prevent heart failure, even in patients who have both COVID-19 and heart problems already”
Dr. Horne adds.
While a substantial percentage of Intermountain Health’s patients fast frequently for religious reasons, cardiologists and vascular surgeons have had the unique opportunity to conduct in-depth research on this group of long-term fasting patients.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which accounts for over 62 percent of Utah’s population, encourages its followers to fast on the first Sunday of each month by skipping two meals.
Dr. Horne emphasized that research subjects are not patients who are fasting as a trend in eating habits. The smallest fasting duration among participants was seven years, while the longest was 82.
While discussing the correlation between intermittent fasting and improved COVID-19 outcomes in individuals with pre-existing heart conditions, Dr. Horne mentioned that further investigation is necessary to comprehend the underlying reasons. However, he suggests that the positive effects are likely attributed to a variety of ways that fasting impacts the body.
Fasting, for example, decreases inflammation, which is important since hyperinflammation is linked to poor COVID-19 results. Moreover, after 12 to 14 hours of fasting, the body changes from utilizing blood glucose to ketones, which may enhance cardiac function.
Intermittent fasting also encourages autophagy, which the author described as “the body’s recycling system that helps your body destroy and recycle damaged and infected cells.”
This is another possible advantage.
Dr. Horne emphasized that anybody thinking about beginning a new fasting practice should speak with their physician first, particularly if they are pregnant, old, or suffer from illnesses like diabetes, heart disease, or renal disease.
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