⚖️ Intermittent fasting outperforms Mediterranean diet for weight loss

If you’re trying to lose weight and wondering which diet might work best, a recent study compared five popular approaches:

• Mediterranean Diet (MedDiet) as the control group

• Ketogenic Diet (KD), very low in carbohydrates

• Early Time-Restricted Eating (eTRE): eating only in the early part of the day

• Late Time-Restricted Eating (lTRE): eating only in the later part of the day

• Modified Alternate-Day Fasting (mADF): alternating between eating and fasting days

160 adults with obesity followed one of these diets for 3 months, and all diets were calorie-restricted.

The study found that:

• Ketogenic diet led to the most weight loss: about 3.8 kg more than the Mediterranean Diet.

• Alternate-Day Fasting came next with about 3.1 kg more.

• Late Time-Restricted Eating also helped: about 2.3 kg more.

• Early Time-Restricted Eating didn’t show a significant difference from the Mediterranean Diet.

🥊 Summary

For effective short-term weight loss, the Ketogenic Diet, Alternate-Day Fasting, or Late Time-Restricted Eating may work better than the Mediterranean Diet (as long as calories are controlled).

🍽️ Intermittent fasting and gut health

Obesity can harm the gut by increasing oxidative stress.

This means the body produces more damaging molecules called ROS (reactive oxygen species), which can weaken the protective lining of your colon and lead to digestive issues.

In a recent study, researchers fed mice either a healthy diet or a high-fat/high-sugar diet for 12 weeks.

Then, for 4 weeks, some of the mice switched to intermittent fasting (IF), while others stayed on the unhealthy diet. Some mice also received antibiotics.

Here’s what they found:

• Mice that tried intermittent fasting had lower levels of oxidative stress and better-functioning mitochondria (the energy centres of cells) in their colons.

• Their gut lining looked healthier and stronger.

• These benefits were linked to changes in gut bacteria and metabolism.

However, when antibiotics were added, the positive effects of fasting disappeared, showing that gut bacteria play a key role in how fasting helps the gut.

🥊 Summary

Intermittent fasting may protect your gut by reducing stress and improving mitochondrial efficiency, but it relies on a healthy balance of gut bacteria to work.

🍩 Calorie restriction enhances sweet taste sensitivity

Anyone who practice fasting know how much taste perception can change.

Finally, a study has looked into the underlying physiology of how calorie-restricted diets affect taste in mice.

Researchers compared mice on a normal diet versus those on a calorie-restricted diet (CR) or on intermittent fasting (IF), alternating between 24 hours of fasting and 24 hours of eating.

After two weeks, the mice on CR and IF showed some fascinating changes:

• They had more taste buds at the tip of their tongues (up to 35% more in the calorie restriction group)

• Their taste cells showed stronger signals for sweet flavours.

• They were less bothered by bitter tastes, like caffeine.

In short, restrictive diets like intermittent fasting and calorie restriction may enhance sweet taste sensitivity and reduce bitterness aversion, which could influence food choices after the diet ends.

🥊 Summary

Restrictive diets can remodel taste perception, potentially influencing food choices and making it harder to tame a sweet tooth.