In a study on mice, researchers found that rodents who fasted for 24-hours before eating had a ‘profound’ risk of pre-cancerous tumors forming in their gut.
This may be because the ‘refeeding’ stage causes cells in the intestines to become overactive, increasing the risk of cancer-causing mutations occurring.
Dr Omer Yilmaz, a biologist at MIT who led the study, cautioned that it was not carried out in humans — so could not be directly compared to people.
Dr Yilmaz said: 'I want to emphasize that this was all done in mice, using very well-defined cancer mutations. In humans it’s going to be a much more complex state.
‘But it does lead us to the following notion: Fasting is very healthy, but if you’re unlucky and you’re refeeding after a fasting, and you get exposed to a mutagen, like a charred steak or something, you might actually be increasing your chances of developing a lesion that can go on to give rise to cancer.’
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Mark Wahlberg’s ‘toned-down’ exercise regime: Actor reveals he now sleeps in… until 3.30AM and fasts for 18 hours a day
There has been a health halo around intermittent fasting since it was popularized in the 2010s. More than one in ten Americans follow the eating regimen.
The diet sees a person limit their caloric intake to either certain hours of the day or days of the week — to lose weight and control eating habits.
Popular iterations include the 14:10 plan — where a person only eats within a 10-hour window — and the 5:2 — where someone eats five days a week and fasts for two.
Among celebrities who swore by the diet was Jennifer Aniston, who revealed in 2019 that she only consumes water in the mornings — saving her first meal until midday.
Mark Wahlberg is also a fan of the diet, limiting himself to eating from only 12 to 6pm every day.
Well, we’ve known this study is complete bullshit for a decade now, so it’s hard to trust their conclusion here.
Also, IF isn’t fasting for entire days at a time. That’s just called “fasting.”
Are they saying that NOT constantly having food in your gut greatly increases cancer rates? Because colon cancer would’ve completely ravaged our ancestors in that case.
Like Onikage said, 24 hour fasting doesn’t sound intermittent. At least it doesn’t fall how I would define it. My normal is going from 8pm until 1pm without eating
Here’s an evaluation of the claims made in the article:
Claim: Fasting could cause cancer based on a mouse study - Truth Score: 5/10
Mouse studies can provide valuable insights, but they don’t always translate directly to humans. The claim is speculative and should be viewed with caution.
Claim: 24-hour fasting increases risk of pre-cancerous tumors in mice - Truth Score: 6/10
This is specific to the study mentioned and suggests a possible risk, but further research in humans is necessary.
Claim: Refeeding stage causes overactive intestinal cells leading to mutations - Truth Score: 7/10
There is some evidence that rapid refeeding after fasting can cause cellular stress, but the direct link to cancer in humans remains unproven.
Claim: Avoiding certain foods like charred red meat during fasting can reduce cancer risk - Truth Score: 8/10
Red meat and processed meats have been linked to increased cancer risk, so this is consistent with current dietary advice.
Overall Risk Score for Intermittent Fasting: 3.5/10
Intermittent fasting generally has low to moderate risk based on current human studies, but the risks highlighted in the article are not strongly supported by evidence in humans. Caution is advised, especially for individuals with preexisting conditions or those following extreme fasting protocols.
I guess what saved all us poors from being absolutely ravaged with cancer after our unintentional “fasts” was… * checks notes *…not being able to afford “charred red meat”.
Fasting and atkins are best diets for people that’s the main stream attacks them all the time.
Read the book “the lies I taught in medical school”. It’s worse than merchants of doubt when it comes to what doctors and pharm people know and realize what’s bad for you but push it anyway
They could literally do that study now in humans, as there are many people who follow an IF feeding schedule. Just find these people and compare their rate of colon cancer to that of the general population.
Coming from the same medical industry that INSISTS fat loss is more than just calories in v calories out.
Blatant fucking liars.
Give me any fatass in the country. I’ll put them under lock and key and restrict their caloric intake to 1400/day only between the hours of 9am and 7pm.
They’ll shed the fat. And they’ll not get fucking colon cancer lol.
I typically eat twice a day with 12-to-16 hours between my last meal and the first meal of the next day…and always do some kind of exercise before the first meal, usually dance, yoga/tai-chi, or a walk…not sure if this is considered “intermittent fasting” but it’s how my body likes to manage itself
