Fasting-mimicking diet and markers/risk factors for aging, diabetes, cancer, and cardiovascular disease

Researchers tested a fasting-mimicking diet, a low-calorie plan designed to create some effects of fasting without completely avoiding food. About 100 generally healthy adults followed the plan for five days each month, for three months, or kept eating normally. The diet group had modest improvements in weight, body fat, blood sugar, cholesterol, blood pressure, and IGF-1, a hormone linked to growth and aging. Improvements were strongest among people who already had higher health risks. The study also included mice, but those results do not directly apply to humans.

What this means for you: This suggests short, repeated fasting-like diets may improve some short-term health markers, but it does not show longer life or prevention of cancer, diabetes, or heart disease. Do not buy a fasting-mimicking product expecting proven longevity benefits, especially since the study was small and short.