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Like personalized medicine, precision nutrition calls for the provision of the right nutrients to the right person at the right time based on their unique characteristics. Intermittent fasting, time-restricted eating and fasting-mimicking diets have been shown to improve cardiometabolic health and are used as adjuvant therapy in cancer. They are also gaining popularity as weight loss programs.
In an article in Frontiers, Associate Professor Ghada Soliman examined the current protocols in intermittent fasting and time-restricted diets.
Research suggests that the weight loss associated with intermittent fasting is due to a reduced energy intake as a result of the time restriction. Although the supervised time-restricted eating clinical trials document the dietary caloric intake, many studies focused on the timing of meals without a complete characterization of the dietary intake, caloric density, or macronutrient composition. Dr. Soliman says it is possible that caloric-restriction diets and time-restriction protocols could be used together to improve metabolic health outcomes. To accomplish this, future studies should evaluate the benefits of intermittent fasting and time-restricted eating on metabolic health and weight-loss maintenance.
“It is crucial to analyze the diet composition, dietary pattern, and caloric density as related to circadian rhythm and timing of meals,” Dr. Soliman says. “It is possible that intermittent fasting and time-restricted eating may contribute to precision nutrition strategies to achieve optimal health. But more research is needed to evaluate their effects on the underlying diet-related diseases and health outcomes and to watch for any side effects.”
