Intermittent fasting could raise your risk of a heart attack or type 2 diabetes. READ MORE: Fasting for 16+hours per day raises risk of dying of heart problemsFrom the Kardashians to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, it seems almost everyone has tried fasting.Some opt for a 24-hour fasts, whilst others cram all their daily meals into a tight six-hour window in a bid to reap an array of claimed health benefits.
The logic, experts say, is sound: The less food you eat the more your body will be forced to burn its fat reserves.Weight loss benefits might only kick in if you forgo food for 72 hours, according to researchers writing in the journal Nature Metabolism earlier this month. Intermittent fasting diets fall generally into two categories - time-restricted feeding, which narrows eating times to 6-8 hours per day, also known as the 16:8 diet, and 5:2 intermittent fasting.Followers of the eating plan fast for 16 hours a day, and eat whatever they want in the remaining eight hours - typically between 10am and 6pm.
It can also result in digestive problems over the long-term, as well as hunger, fatigue and weakness. People who kept a regular time window for eating noticed greater benefits to those who changed up what times they ate at throughout the day. However, he urges people to speak to a healthcare professional before jumping on the fasting bandwagon, especially if they have diabetes already.
In fact, those who only eat during eight hours of the day are at almost twice the risk of heart attack and stroke later in life, a study found. READ MORE: Fasting for 16 or more hours per day RAISES risk of dying from heart problems by almost double, 20-year analysis finds This study suggests that to get the full benefits of fasting, someone may need to go without food for 72 hours - instead relying on only water