Intermittent fasting may worsen diabetes type II
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The topic of intermittent fasting is a very controversial one and something that generates heated debates in medical circles, given that it mimics the metabolic effects of low-carb diets. The study below, which tracked the blood profile of people during Ramadan fasting (fasting for 10-12 hours – from sunrise to sundown), found that the end of the fasting period, the patients has significantly higher blood glucose, triglycerides and cholesterol levels in the group of patients already diagnosed with diabetes type II (DM). All three of those are key biomarkers are also used as reliable risk factors for future DM exacerbation, as well as development of other conditions such as cardiovascular disease (CVD). While the parameters returned to baseline after the fasting period concluded, the rise in those biomarkers is still concerning and point to intermittent fasting being not safe for people with already established metabolic conditions. Also, given that those biomarkers are used to also diagnose DM, it is not known whether repeated periods of month-long intermittent fasting (in this case Ramadan fasting) won’t eventually lead to health exacerbation even in healthy people and development of DM.
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0192590
“…In the overall population, there was no significant change in absolute aspirin reaction unit (ARU) values and in metabolic parameters. In DM patients (n = 127), ARU change from Pre-R values was+19.7 (p = 0.01) and +14.4 (p = 0.02) respectively at R and Post-R. During Ramadan, glycaemia, triglycerides, and cholesterol levels increased significantly and returned to Pre-R values thereafter. These changes were not observed in non-DM patients.”