Fasting – the ultimate diet?

@article{Johnstone2007FastingT,
  title={Fasting – the ultimate diet?},
  author={A. M. Johnstone},
  journal={Obesity Reviews},
  year={2007},
  volume={8},
  url={https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:675246}
}
This review asks the following three questions, pertinent to any weight‐loss therapy, how effective is the regime in achieving weight loss, what impact does it have on psychology?

Traditional and Medical Applications of Fasting

It is concluded that the manipulation of dietary intake, in the form of calorie restriction, intermittent fasting, dietary restriction with the exclusion of some nutrients, prolonged fasting, and so forth, is anthropologically engraved in human culture possibly because of its positive health effects.

Spiritual fasting and health

Intermittent fasting involves periods of fasting and calorie controlled diets planned with a motive to lose weight and improve upon metabolism however, spiritual fasting has psychological impact along with the metabolic improvements in the body.

Fasting for weight loss: an effective strategy or latest dieting trend?

Whether fasting is the latest ‘fad diet’ as portrayed in popular media andWhether it is a safe and effective approach or whether it is an idiosyncratic diet trend that promotes short-term weight loss, with no concern for long- term weight maintenance is examined.

Prolonged Fasting as a Method of Mood Enhancement in Chronic Pain Syndromes: A Review of Clinical Evidence and Mechanisms

    A. Michalsen
    Medicine, Psychology
  • 2010
Fasting treatments may be useful as an adjunctive therapeutic approach in chronic pain patients and the mood-enhancing and pain-relieving effect of therapeutic fasting should be further evaluated in randomized clinical trials.

intermittent fasting vs continuous caloric restriction for weight and body composition changes in humans

The IF dietary approach has achieved significant weight loss and body composition improvements, whereas the CR approach has not produced any significant changes in weight or body composition.

Fasting diets: what are the impacts on eating behaviors, sleep, mood, and well-being?

A comprehensive critical review exploring the effects of fasting on eating behaviors, sleep, and mood was conducted to conduct a comprehensive critical review of the various fasting regimens.

Effects of intermittent fasting on body composition and clinical health markers in humans.

This review examines studies conducted on intermittent fasting programs to determine if they are effective at improving body composition and clinical health markers associated with disease and the potential synergistic effects of combining intermittent fasting with exercise.

Effects of a 48-h fast on heart rate variability and cortisol levels in healthy female subjects

An acute (48 h) total fast induced parasympathetic withdrawal with simultaneous sympathetic activation in healthy young female volunteers, and changes appear to reflect stress.

Physical Activity, Stress, and Obesity

The basic epidemiology of obesity and related conditions is examined to help aid the illustration of the magnitude of the problem and the current literature regarding the relationship between stress and obesity is examined, with a keen focus on the potential moderation of the relationship by physical activity.
...

The limit of human adaptation to starvation

During the height of the 1992–93 famine in Somalia, data were collected from inpatients at the Concern Worldwide Adult Therapeutic Centre in Baidoa, indicating that a body mass index (BMI) of less than 10 kg m−2 can be compatible with life, so long as specialized care is provided.

Effect of an acute fast on energy compensation and feeding behaviour in lean men and women

The data suggest that a 36 h fast, which generated a negative energy balance of ∼12 MJ, did not induce a powerful, unconditioned stimulus to compensate on the subsequent day.

Introduction: the challenge of adult chronic energy deficiency.

Three challenges remain before confirming the use of BMI as the key to specifying a state of CED is confirmed: is it valid?

Effect of starvation on body composition in obesity.

In men with obesity, starvation causes moderate loss in lean body mass and a substantial loss in fat, and in women there is also largely a loss of fat, but apparently moreLean body mass is lost than in the men.

Hunger disease.

Differences between lean and obese subjects in macronutrient fuel selection during starvation are adaptive because they optimize survival in both groups of subjects and clinically relevant disturbances in appetite sensations are common subjects receiving long-term enteral and parenteral nutrition.

PROLONGED STARVATION AS TREATMENT FOR SEVERE OBESITY.

Prolonged starvation is not advised for obese patients with a history of ischemic cardiovascular or cerebral disease, with history of gout, or with hepatic diseahypo.

Appetite Changes Under Free-living Conditions During Ramadan Fasting

During the fasting month of Ramadan, Muslims abstain from food and drink from sunrise until sunset. This change of eating pattern provides an opportunity to investigate factors controlling hunger and

Metabolic balance of obese subjects during fasting.

The total starvation diet as an adjunct to the treatment of obesity has been introduced by Bloom 2 and used extensively by Duncan and coworkers and the presumed success of this approach stems at least in part from this work.

Very low calorie diets: their efficacy, safety, and future.

The desirability of including carbohydrate in the diet, the choice of protein sources (formula versus animal protein), and the anorectic value of ketosis are discussed, as are patient selection and the clinical course of the diet.
...