At a time like this, fasting is one thing that is in almost everyone's mouth and so you are either compelled to, or mandated to (if you live with guidance that will ensure you do it), or as a person concerned about their health, you decide to participate so you can also enjoy the health benefit but then, how would you take a headline like this; "Meal Skipping and Shorter Meal Intervals Are Associated with Increased Risk of All-Cause and Cardiovascular Disease Mortality among US Adults" in an article. The article was by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, and Published by Elsevier Inc. This article and some other headlines, did one of my friends showed me regarding intermittent fasting. Maybe I should do a quick picture roll.
These headlines caused a soft argument between myself and this friend of mine. I decided to do my own research on the article and why it is being published in 2022 and still making headlines even in 2023. When I began to check, I realized that the article used data from 1999-2014, and this wasn't really practical but rather survey data. When I read through the article, it wasn't talking about intermittent fasting, so I was wondering where the headlines got those because the study was focused on skipping meals.
The number of participants would have been a very good reason to accept that the article was right, but then the results were gotten from questionnaires (food frequency questionnaires) and surveys. You know surveys on when and what a person ate over a long period of time can be inconsistent. I can accept that this is trying to show an association between meal skipping and life-shorten. Meal Skippers aren't people who perform intermittent fasting, they are people who decide to skip a particular food time for any reason.
While doing further research, I saw articles that discussed the benefit of having the body in a fasted state and indicating the benefits of intermittent fasting with the title Research on intermittent fasting shows health benefits and another article by Wahyu Sukma Samudera of Airlangga University titled The Benefits of Fasting to Improve Health Conditions and to Prevent Cardiovascular Disease. The article by Wahyu reviewed 15 journal article were researched was done within 2013 and 2019 with samples being taken, and the result of the research showing the benefit of fasting on both people with cardiovascular health issues and those without. It is important to know that intermittent fasting is time-based and not diet based. It has to do with restricting your eating window and following them properly.
What do you think about intermittent fasting, do you agree with the article that says meal skipping shorten your life, or the article that discuss the benefits of intermittent fasting.
Reference
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3680567/
https://www.nia.nih.gov/news/research-intermittent-fasting-shows-health-benefits
https://www.nia.nih.gov/news/research-intermittent-fasting-shows-health-benefits