For people looking for weight loss, there's a slew of diet plans available they can choose from. Of late, Intermittent fasting has become a sort of a rage with its promising results. It is a kind of diet that alternates periods of eating with periods of fasting. It also involves taking long food breaks that can make the body burn fat to produce energy. Apart from weight loss, another apparent benefit of intermittent fasting has come to the fore. A recent study claims that Intermittent fasting could increase the lifespan of people undergoing cardiac catheterisation. Cardiac catheterisation is a process used for diagnosis and treatment of some cardiovascular issues. The researchers of the study believe that intermittent fasting could yield positive health outcomes for cardiac catheterisation patients – they could live longer and are less likely to be diagnosed with heart failure.
The results of the study were presented at the 2019 American Heart Association Scientific Sessions in Philadelphia. Principal investigator Benjamin Horne, PhD, director of cardiovascular and genetic epidemiology at the Intermountain Healthcare Heart Institute said, "It's another example of how we're finding that regularly fasting can lead to better health outcomes and longer lives."
(Also Read: Meal Timing Strategies May Help You Lose Weight: Intermittent Fasting Diet Tips)
Intermittent fasting could prove beneficial for heart health
For the study, the team interviewed 2,001 Intermountain patients undergoing cardiac catheterisation. They asked the patients questions on their lifestyle, and if they followed intermittent fasting or not. The survey went on from 2013 to 2015. Follow-up questions were asked after 4.5 years and the team discovered that people who routinely followed intermittent fasting showed a greater survival rate as compared to those patients who did not.
"While many rapid weight loss fasting diets exist today, the different purposes of fasting in those diets and in this study should not be confused with the act of fasting. All proposed biological mechanisms of health benefits from fasting arise from effects that occur during the fasting period or are consequences of fasting," said Dr. Horne.
The study took into consideration many factors like demographics, socioeconomic factors, cardiac risk factors, comorbid diagnoses, medications and treatments, and other lifestyle behaviours like smoking and alcohol consumption. The findings suggest that that people who fast regularly are also known to get involved in other healthy behaviours.