A study suggests that people who fast regularly are less likely to experience serious complications from COVID-19.
Intermittent fasting has previously shown many health benefits, including a reduced risk of diabetes and heart disease.
The findings of the week, published in BMJ Nutrition, Prevention and Health, showed that COVID patients who regularly practiced water-only fasting had a lower risk of being hospitalized or dying due to the virus.
“Intermittent fasting has already shown to reduce inflammation and improve heart health. In this study, we are finding additional benefits to fight infection with COVID-19 in patients who have been fasting for decades,” Benjamin Horn, director of cardiovascular and genetic epidemiology at Intermountain Healthcare in the US.
In the study, researchers identified 205 patients who tested positive for the virus between March 2020 and February 2021 – before vaccines were widely available.
Of these, 73 said they fasted regularly, at least once a month. Researchers found that those who fasted regularly had lower rates of hospitalization or mortality due to coronavirus.
“Intermittent fasting was not associated with whether someone tested positive for COVID-19, but it was associated with less severity when patients tested positive for it,” Horn said.
While Horn said more research is needed to understand why intermittent fasting is associated with better COVID outcomes, he said it is most likely due to the many ways it affects the body.
For example, fasting reduces inflammation, especially since hyperinflammation is associated with poorer COVID-19 outcomes. In addition, after 12 to 14 hours of fasting, the body uses glucose in the blood to turn it into ketones, including linoleic acid.
“SARS-CoV-2 has a pocket on its surface into which linoleic acid fits—and may make the virus less able to attach to other cells,” he said.
Another potential benefit is that intermittent fasting promotes autophagy, which is “the body’s recycling system that helps your body destroy and recycle damaged and infected cells,” Horn said.
Horn stresses that these results are for people who have been fasting intermittently for decades — not weeks — and anyone who wants to consider the practice should consult with their doctors first, especially if: They are elderly, pregnant, or have conditions such as diabetes, heart. , or kidney disease.
The researchers also emphasized that intermittent fasting should not be seen as a substitute for vaccination against COVID-19.
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