Should we be relooking at intermittent fasting as a good health practice considering it might affect our heart? A study last month showed that 20,000 adults, who had an eating window of only eight hours and fasted for the remaining 16, had a 91 per cent higher risk of death from cardiovascular disease in the long-term. This contradicts earlier reports certifying its benefits.
American Heart Association Epidemiology and Prevention|Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health Scientific Sessions 2024 abstracts as follows…
Research Highlights:
- A study of over 20,000 adults found that those who followed an 8-hour time-restricted eating schedule, a type of intermittent fasting, had a 91% higher risk of death from cardiovascular disease.
- People with heart disease or cancer also had an increased risk of cardiovascular death.
- Compared with a standard schedule of eating across 12-16 hours per day, limiting food intake to less than 8 hours per day was not associated with living longer.
The analysis found:
- People who followed a pattern of eating all of their food across less than 8 hours per day had a 91% higher risk of death due to cardiovascular disease.
- The increased risk of cardiovascular death was also seen in people living with heart disease or cancer.
- Among people with existing cardiovascular disease, an eating duration of no less than 8 but less than 10 hours per day was also associated with a 66% higher risk of death from heart disease or stroke.
- Time-restricted eating did not reduce the overall risk of death from any cause.
- An eating duration of more than 16 hours per day was associated with a lower risk of cancer mortality among people with cancer.
