Seven Days of Fasting: How Your Body Transforms Inside and Out
A recent study highlights that significant health benefits and molecular adaptations from fasting are detectable after three days.
Recent findings show that prolonged fasting triggers significant and systematic changes across multiple organs in the body. These results highlight potential health benefits that extend beyond weight loss, but they also reveal that these impactful changes only begin to occur after three full days without food.
A recent study published in Nature Metabolism sheds light on how the body responds to extended periods without food, offering valuable insights into the processes occurring during prolonged fasting.
Researchers from Queen Mary University of London's Precision Healthcare University Research Institute (PHURI) and the Norwegian School of Sports Sciences explored the potential health benefits of fasting, focusing on its underlying molecular mechanisms. Their findings lay the groundwork for future research that could lead to therapeutic treatments, particularly for individuals who may benefit from fasting but are unable to participate in extended fasting or follow fasting-mimicking diets like ketogenic plans.
For thousands of years, humans have adapted to survive without food for extended durations. Today, fasting is widely practiced for both medical and cultural reasons, with goals ranging from improved health to weight loss. Historically, fasting has also been used to manage conditions such as epilepsy and rheumatoid arthritis, demonstrating its diverse applications across time and societies.
During fasting, the body changes its source and type of energy, switching from consumed calories to using its own fat stores. However, beyond this change in fuel sources, little is known about how the body responds to prolonged periods without food and any health impacts – beneficial or adverse – this may have. New techniques allowing researchers to measure thousands of proteins circulating in our blood provide the opportunity to systematically study molecular adaptions to fasting in humans in great detail.
Researchers followed 12 healthy volunteers taking part in a seven-day water-only fast. The volunteers were monitored closely on a daily basis to record changes in the levels of around 3,000 proteins in their blood before, during, and after the fast. By identifying which proteins are involved in the body's response, the researchers could then predict potential health outcomes of prolonged fasting by integrating genetic information from large-scale studies.
As expected, the researchers observed the body switching energy sources – from glucose to fat stored in the body – within the first two or three days of fasting. The volunteers lost an average of 5.7 kg of both fat mass and lean mass. After three days of eating after fasting, the weight stayed off – the loss of lean was almost completely reversed, but the fat mass stayed off.
For the first time, the researchers observed the body undergoing distinct changes in protein levels after about three days of fasting – indicating a whole-body response to complete calorie restriction. Overall, one in three of the proteins measured changed significantly during fasting across all major organs. These changes were consistent across the volunteers, but there were signatures distinctive to fasting that went beyond weight loss, such as changes in proteins that make up the supportive structure for neurons in the brain.
Claudia Langenberg, Director of Queen Mary's Precision Health University Research Institute (PHURI), said:
'For the first time, we're able to see what's happening on a molecular level across the body when we fast. Fasting, when done safely, is an effective weight loss intervention. Popular diets that incorporate fasting – such as intermittent fasting – claim to have health benefits beyond weight loss. Our results provide evidence for the health benefits of fasting beyond weight loss, but these were only visible after three days of total caloric restriction – later than we previously thought.'
Maik Pietzner, Health Data Chair of PHURI and co-lead of the Computational Medicine Group at Berlin Institute of Health at Charité, said:
'Our findings have provided a basis for some age-old knowledge as to why fasting is used for certain conditions. While fasting may be beneficial for treating some conditions, often times, fasting won't be an option to patients suffering from ill health. We hope that these findings can provide information about why fasting is beneficial in certain cases, which can then be used to develop treatments that patients are able to do.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Gulf Insider
9 hours ago
- Gulf Insider
Scientists Reveal Your Morning Coffee Flips An Ancient Longevity Switch
Caffeine appears to do more than perk you up—it activates AMPK, a key cellular fuel sensor that helps cells cope with stress and energy shortages. This could explain why coffee is linked to better health and longer life. A new study from the Cellular Ageing and Senescence laboratory at Queen Mary University of London's Cenfre for Molecular Cell Biology, reveals how caffeine — the world's most popular neuroactive compound — might do more than just wake you up. The study in the journal Microbial Cell shows how caffeine could play a role in slowing down the ageing process at a cellular level. Caffeine has long been linked to potential health benefits, including reduced risk of age-related diseases. But how it works inside our cells, and what exactly are its connections with nutrient and stress responsive gene and protein networks has remained a mystery — until now. In new research published by scientists studying fission yeast — a single-celled organism surprisingly similar to human cells — researchers found that caffeine affects ageing by tapping into an ancient cellular energy system. A few years ago, the same research team found that caffeine helps cells live longer by acting on a growth regulator called TOR (Target of Rapamycin). TOR is a biological switch that tells cells when to grow, based on how much food and energy is available. This switch has been controlling energy and stress responses in living things for over 500 million years. But in their latest study, the scientists made a surprising discovery: caffeine doesn't act on this growth switch directly. Instead, it works by activating another important system called AMPK, a cellular fuel gauge that is evolutionarily conserved in yeast and humans. 'When your cells are low on energy, AMPK kicks in to help them cope,' explains Dr Charalampos (Babis) Rallis, Reader in Genetics, Genomics and Fundamental Cell Biology at Queen Mary University of London, the study's senior author. 'And our results show that caffeine helps flip that switch.' Interestingly, AMPK is also the target of metformin, a common diabetes drug that's being studied for its potential to extend human lifespan together with rapamycin. Using their yeast model, the researchers showed that caffeine's effect on AMPK influences how cells grow, repair their DNA, and respond to stress — all of which are tied to ageing and disease. 'These findings help explain why caffeine might be beneficial for health and longevity,' said Dr John-Patrick Alao the postdoctoral research scientist leading this study. 'And they open up exciting possibilities for future research into how we might trigger these effects more directly — with diet, lifestyle, or new medicines.' So, the next time you reach for your coffee, you might be doing more than just boosting your focus — you could also be giving your cells a helping hand.
Gulf Insider
24-03-2025
- Gulf Insider
Sugar Stores In The Body May Fuel Common Lung Cancer Progression: Study
A recent study from researchers at the University of Kentucky has identified glycogen, a stored form of glucose, as a significant factor in the progression of lung adenocarcinoma, a particularly aggressive form of lung cancer. The findings, recently published in Nature Metabolism, suggest that heightened levels of glycogen are linked with increased lung adenocarcinoma tumor aggressiveness and poorer survival rates. Researchers tested the effects of glycogen in mice and humans. Researchers increased glycogen levels in mice through dietary changes and gene modification. This dual approach allowed them to examine the effects of glycogen from different angles. The mice were fed different types of diets to see how they affected their bodies. The diets included water (as a control), high-fructose corn syrup (a type of sugar), corn oil (a fat), and a mix of high-fructose corn syrup and corn oil. While both corn oil and high-fructose corn syrup increased glycogen levels in the lungs, after two weeks, the mice receiving the mixed diet (high-fructose corn syrup + corn oil) had much higher glycogen levels and longer glycogen chains in their lungs. Both of which was linked to more aggressive lung tumors when the mice were induced to have lung adenocarcinoma. These findings indicated that 'higher glycogen promotes increased tumour progression,' the researchers wrote. In parallel with the dietary models, the team also used genetic mouse models predisposed to accumulate glycogen in the lungs. By disabling the enzyme responsible for glycogen production, they found that tumors grew much smaller and were less aggressive. This suggests that targeting glycogen production could be a potential strategy for treating lung adenocarcinoma. 'This integrated approach allows the discovery and validation of key metabolic drivers' necessary for improving treatments for lung adenocarcinoma, the researchers wrote. Through these experiments, they were able to demonstrate that disrupting glycogen production resulted in reduced tumor growth in these mice. The study also involved a comprehensive cohort of 276 patients with lung adenocarcinoma, where spatial analysis revealed significant glycogen accumulation, particularly in tumor regions compared to surrounding healthy tissue and in other types of lung cancer. The findings suggest that heightened levels of glycogen are linked with increased tumor aggressiveness and poorer survival rates among patients. 'These findings raise the possibilities of metabolic vulnerabilities associated with diet that should be intriguing avenues for future research, such as studying the impact of dietary patterns on lung cancer survival in human populations,' the study authors wrote. People should be aware that regularly taking foods with a high glycemic index such as sugary drinks, white bread, processed snacks, and candies can do them more harm than just increasing blood sugar, food scientist Ken Tobby told The Epoch Times. Click here to read more…
Gulf Insider
09-01-2025
- Gulf Insider
Seven Days of Fasting: How Your Body Transforms Inside and Out
A recent study highlights that significant health benefits and molecular adaptations from fasting are detectable after three days. Recent findings show that prolonged fasting triggers significant and systematic changes across multiple organs in the body. These results highlight potential health benefits that extend beyond weight loss, but they also reveal that these impactful changes only begin to occur after three full days without food. A recent study published in Nature Metabolism sheds light on how the body responds to extended periods without food, offering valuable insights into the processes occurring during prolonged fasting. Researchers from Queen Mary University of London's Precision Healthcare University Research Institute (PHURI) and the Norwegian School of Sports Sciences explored the potential health benefits of fasting, focusing on its underlying molecular mechanisms. Their findings lay the groundwork for future research that could lead to therapeutic treatments, particularly for individuals who may benefit from fasting but are unable to participate in extended fasting or follow fasting-mimicking diets like ketogenic plans. For thousands of years, humans have adapted to survive without food for extended durations. Today, fasting is widely practiced for both medical and cultural reasons, with goals ranging from improved health to weight loss. Historically, fasting has also been used to manage conditions such as epilepsy and rheumatoid arthritis, demonstrating its diverse applications across time and societies. During fasting, the body changes its source and type of energy, switching from consumed calories to using its own fat stores. However, beyond this change in fuel sources, little is known about how the body responds to prolonged periods without food and any health impacts – beneficial or adverse – this may have. New techniques allowing researchers to measure thousands of proteins circulating in our blood provide the opportunity to systematically study molecular adaptions to fasting in humans in great detail. Researchers followed 12 healthy volunteers taking part in a seven-day water-only fast. The volunteers were monitored closely on a daily basis to record changes in the levels of around 3,000 proteins in their blood before, during, and after the fast. By identifying which proteins are involved in the body's response, the researchers could then predict potential health outcomes of prolonged fasting by integrating genetic information from large-scale studies. As expected, the researchers observed the body switching energy sources – from glucose to fat stored in the body – within the first two or three days of fasting. The volunteers lost an average of 5.7 kg of both fat mass and lean mass. After three days of eating after fasting, the weight stayed off – the loss of lean was almost completely reversed, but the fat mass stayed off. For the first time, the researchers observed the body undergoing distinct changes in protein levels after about three days of fasting – indicating a whole-body response to complete calorie restriction. Overall, one in three of the proteins measured changed significantly during fasting across all major organs. These changes were consistent across the volunteers, but there were signatures distinctive to fasting that went beyond weight loss, such as changes in proteins that make up the supportive structure for neurons in the brain. Claudia Langenberg, Director of Queen Mary's Precision Health University Research Institute (PHURI), said: 'For the first time, we're able to see what's happening on a molecular level across the body when we fast. Fasting, when done safely, is an effective weight loss intervention. Popular diets that incorporate fasting – such as intermittent fasting – claim to have health benefits beyond weight loss. Our results provide evidence for the health benefits of fasting beyond weight loss, but these were only visible after three days of total caloric restriction – later than we previously thought.' Maik Pietzner, Health Data Chair of PHURI and co-lead of the Computational Medicine Group at Berlin Institute of Health at Charité, said: 'Our findings have provided a basis for some age-old knowledge as to why fasting is used for certain conditions. While fasting may be beneficial for treating some conditions, often times, fasting won't be an option to patients suffering from ill health. We hope that these findings can provide information about why fasting is beneficial in certain cases, which can then be used to develop treatments that patients are able to do.'
