Routine Periodic Fasting Lowers Disease Risk
Here is more evidence for modest benefits derived from common forms of minimal intermittent fasting, though as is often the case one may suspect that other associations with lifestyle choices cloud the picture: "Previously we discovered that routine periodic fasting was associated with a lower prevalence of coronary artery disease (CAD). Other studies have shown that fasting increases longevity in animals. A hypothesis-generating analysis suggested that fasting may also associate with diabetes. This study prospectively tested whether routine periodic fasting is associated with diabetes mellitus (DM). Patients (n = 200) undergoing coronary angiography were surveyed for routine fasting behavior before their procedure. ... Meta-analyses were performed by evaluation of these patients and 448 patients from a previous study. DM was present in 10.3% of patients who fasted routinely and 22.0% of those who do not fast. CAD was found in 63.2% of fasting and 75.0% of nonfasting patients, and in nondiabetics this CAD association was similar. Meta-analysis showed modest differences for fasters versus nonfasters in glucose concentrations (108 ± 36 vs 115 ± 46 mg/dl) and BMI (27.9 ± 5.3 vs 29.0 ± 5.8 kg/m(2)). In conclusion, prospective hypothesis testing showed that routine periodic fasting was associated with a lower prevalence of DM in patients undergoing coronary angiography. A reported fasting association with a lower CAD risk was also validated and fasting associations with lower glucose and BMI were found."
I would have thought that finding a group of regular fasters with CAD would be quite difficult, this leads me to believe that their definition of fasting varies significantly from mine. And/or that those in the group have a strong genetic predisposition for CAD.