The evidence just keeps growing in favor of intermittent fasting and not just for weight loss.

Studies and clinical trials have shown the eating regimen has broad-spectrum benefits for health problems including obesity, diabetes, heart disease, cancer and neurologic disorders, researchers wrote in a new review of research in humans and animals.

The paper was published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine.

The powerful health effects appear to come from the body flipping a metabolic switch during fasting or shifting away from using sugar as its main source of energy and instead converting fat for fuel when a persons stomach is empty.

But most people still eat all throughout the day and miss out on the health benefits, said lead author Mark Mattson, adjunct professor of neuroscience at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

The evidence is accumulating that this metabolic switch triggers a lot of signaling pathways in cells and various organs that improve their stress resistance and resilience, Mattson, who has been practicing intermittent fasting for 30 years, told TODAY.

If you eat three meals a day plus snacks spaced out you may never have that metabolic switch occurring.

Many patients ask their doctors about intermittent fasting, but the physicians themselves are often not up on the science, which has rapidly progressed, he added. Medical schools still arent teaching future doctors about the benefits, but Mattson is hopeful that will change with time.

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When a person depletes his or her sugar energy stores during fasting, fats are released from fat cells and converted to ketone bodies by the liver.

Ketone bodies arent just an energy source, but also have a potent signaling function. The body responds by activating certain pathways that boost beneficial processes like autophagy, a mechanism that helps to regenerate cells. These pathways are untapped or suppressed in people who overeat and are sedentary, the review noted.

When a person switches between a fed and fasted state, it stimulates responses that boost mental and physical performance, plus disease resistance, the authors wrote.

Were adapted through millions of years of evolution to respond to reduced food availability in ways that one, enable us to get food, but two, increase our ability to resist various types of environmental stress, Mattson said.

Studies in humans show intermittent-fasting helps reduce obesity, insulin resistance, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and inflammation. It can improve verbal memory, executive function and global cognition in adults with mild cognitive impairment.

No studies have yet determined whether intermittent fasting affects cancer recurrence in humans, but research in animals has shown it reduces the number of spontaneous tumors during aging.

The weight-loss factor is also a major draw: Intermittent fasting can help people slim down without having to count calories, so psychologically it seems a little easier, Mattson said.

There are three most-widely studied types of intermittent fasting:

A lot of people who try to switch to intermittent fasting dont realize it takes a while to adapt, Mattson noted. They may experience hunger and irritability at first, but those side effects usually disappear within a month.

Ease into it, the review advised. For daily time-restricted feeding, start with an eating window of 12 hours, then gradually reduce it to ten, eight or even six hours over several months.

For the 5:2 plan, start by eating about 1,000 calories one day a week for the first month, then try it for two days a week for the second month. Limit those two fasting days to 750 calories each for the third month and, ultimately, 500 calories for the fourth month.

Always check with your doctor and a nutritionist before starting an intermittent fasting regimen.

Companies are now working on a wrist device that would let people monitor their ketones and know in real time whether the metabolic switch has occurred, Mattson said. Once people try intermittent fasting, many see a host of benefits and never go back to three meals a day just like him.

A lot of people I know have tried it and like it and have stuck with it, he noted.

A. Pawlowski is a TODAY contributing editor focusing on health news and features. Previously, she was a writer, producer and editor at CNN.

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Is intermittent fasting good for you? Regimen boosts weight loss, disease resistance - TODAY

For all those people who cant make it through their day without multiple cups of coffee, a new study suggests that the extra caffeine could help with weight loss.

The study from University of Illinois scientists analyzed the impact of caffeine on rats.

Over the course of four weeks, rats were given caffeine extracted from mate tea, synthetic caffeine or coffee. The rats ate a diet that contained of 40% fat, 45% carbohydrate and 15% protein and had caffeine equivalent to four cups of coffee.

According to the findings, the rats gained 16% less weight and accumulated 22% less body fat than decaffeinated alternatives.

The authors of the study wrote that the findings suggests that caffeine may offset some of the negative effects of an obesogenic diet by reducing the storage of lipids in fat cells and limiting weight gain and the production of triglycerides.

Considering the findings, mate tea and caffeine can be considered anti-obesity agents, said Elvira Gonzalez de Mejia, a co-author of the study and director of the division of nutritional sciences at the University of Illinois. The results of this research could be scaled to humans to understand the roles of mate tea and caffeine as potential strategies to prevent overweight and obesity, as well as the subsequent metabolic disorders associated with these conditions.

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Four cups of coffee a day may help weight loss, according to study from University of Illinois scientists - MassLive.com

GRAND RAPIDS, MI - A local doctor has gained weight intentionally in order to inspire others to lose weight in the new year.

Jeff Cremonte, a doctor of physical therapy, started the Facebook group Drop with Doc. This is the online community where Cremonte and others will go on a weight loss journey starting Jan. 1.

Cremonte, a normally active and healthy person, wanted to show people the process of losing weight and all the components that go into weight loss and improving ones lifestyle overall.

He said many patients who want, or need, to lose weight get the diet and exercise lecture from their doctor, who is typically a very healthy, active person that isnt going through a similar lifestyle change.

I decided I wanted to do something to address that dissonance between the average health care provider and the patient, Cremonte said.

I think sometimes as a healthcare professional, we can kind of be up on a pedestal and its hard to get the patient to directly buy in.

While hes fit and healthy now, Cremonte was overweight as a child and young adult and went through his own weight loss journey when he went to college and started studying health and medicine.

Cremonte, of Grand Rapids, has a bachelors of clinical exercise science from Grand Valley State University and a doctorate degree in physical therapy from Duke University.

A lot of other providers who are maybe currently really fit or maybe have never struggled with weight loss or gain, they dont really understand the real-life difficulties that people that are actually overweight have to go through, Cremonte said.

Over the past three months, Cremonte has changed up his diet and exercise habits significantly and has now gained approximately 22 pounds. Before, he was eating nutritious, low calorie foods and working out four to five times a week.

Now, hes eating more calorie-dense foods on an unregulated schedule and works out two to three times a week. He said hes had to force himself to eat more than usual and consistently feels uncomfortable.

The 26-year-old doctor stands at 5 feet 10 inches and currently weights 187 pounds, up from his former weight of 165 pounds.

I just feel fatigued all the time, my joints hurt more, I get out of breath quicker, a lot of stomach discomfort, my feet hurt, Cremonte said. What I did was definitely unhealthy. I was so confident in what Drop with Doc has to offer people that I was willing to put my body on the line.

Those who join the Facebook group will start to see Cremontes posts beginning Jan. 1. He said the first phase of the program will be setting a behavioral goal.

We cant always control how much weight falls off our body, Cremonte said.

We can control our habits, our behaviors, our actions that will eventually get us the results that we want. So, for example, right now Im eating terribly, Im not exercising and so for my goals over the next couple months I want to start going to the gym more.

Over the course of the next several months, the Facebook group members will be educated on advertising schemes, meal tracking, goal setting, nutrition and more.

They will also have access to Cremonte, who provides individualized, preventative healthcare through his business, Leap Health. The online program runs through Memorial Day, May 27.

Cremonte wants to lose a pound a week or one and a half pounds every two weeks until he loses the 22 pounds. He said that measurement is a healthy way to lose weight over time, but he tries to not have his clients focus on numbers as much as habits over time.

My body, right now, is addicted to this kind of unhealthy lifestyle, Cremonte said. Our bodies have this defense mechanism where it wants to maintain the current, so its going to be a lot of work.

Many people are already in this state and thats exactly the reason why Cremonte chose to intentionally change his lifestyle, so he could go through the ups and downs alongside his clients. Because of it all being online, the Facebook group will allow Cremonte to reach an even wider audience.

More than 70 people had joined the Facebook group as of Friday, Dec. 20.

What a productive use of time, Cremonte said. Now I can help hundreds of thousands of people all at the same time. What an incredible use of technology.

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Doctor intentionally gains 22 lbs to lose it with weight loss group - mlive.com

by: Nancy Dell, Registered Dietitian

CHICOPEE, Mass. (WWLP) You would think the more exercise you do, the more calories you burn, and the more weight you would lose. But this may not be the case.

Studies show, couch potatoes need to move to lose weight. However, if you are already very active, increasing your exercise may not increase the calories you burn all day.

Researchers from City University of New York followed over 300 people for a week. They measured how much activity they did and how many calories they burned for the day. They found that people who did little activity saw some increase in the calories they burned all day when they increased their exercise.

However, people who were already really active did not burn more calories for the day when they increased their exercise. Somehow the body adapts when you do too much exercise so you do not burn extra calories.

More research is needed to find what level of exercise is just enough to burn calories and lose weight efficiently without wasting your time doing too much.

But at this point researchers say aim for an hour of exercise or a 2 mile walk a day. If you are trying to lose weight, you also need to adjust your diet.

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Food for Thought: Exercise and weight loss - WWLP.com

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) On the day after Christmas, many are feeling stuffed with some even thinking about diet resolutions for the new year. New research surfaced Thursday on a diet thats growing in popularity that has people abstaining from food for extended periods of time.

Its called intermittent fasting. Theres now more evidence that it can help not just weight loss but has benefits that include lower cholesterol and reduced stress.

So people might be thinking about trading holiday feasting for fasting.

Intermittent fasting diets see people stop eating for extended periods of time that triggers metabolic switching, where cells use up their fuel stores and convert fat to energy flipping a switch from fat-storing to fat being used for fuel.

The diets are growing in popularity. Google searches for them have quadrupled in the past three years.

I was 360 pounds, Donate Franklin said.

Franklin, a fitness trainer, credits a lot of his weight loss to intermittent fasting and careful food choices.

I have peanuts in a shell. I have some quinoa made quinoa with beans, theres some sausage, cilantro, tomatoes, green onions, Franklin said.

There are two basic intermittent fasting diets:

One, only eating during a six-hour period and fasting for 18 on a daily basis.

Second, weekly fasting, eating on two days and fasting for five.

There doesnt seem to be any negative impact on the short burst of fasting, UNMC College of Public Health Dr. Paul Estabrooks said.

Intermittent fasting has been shown to help with weight loss and improve conditions like diabetes and heart disease and even boost memory and brain functioning.

But research has shown many people cant sustain fasting diets because theyre hungry and irritable common side effects that usually pass after a few weeks.

Another issue with fasting diets is, in the periods when people are allowed to eat they tend to go overboard because theyre so hungry.

An important note you should consult with your doctor before starting any diet.

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Study: Intermittent Fasting Appears To Have Many Health Benefits, Also Helps With Weight Loss - CBS Philly

The "Rolling in the Deep" singer posted to her Instagram a few festive photos from a Christmas party, but the Grinch friend she posed with was hardly the focus of attention. Fans were quick to point out Adele's considerable weight loss, which she flaunted in a silky Reformation gown. She looked stunning, but the massive reaction raised an issue with how modern society generally responds to weight loss.

There's a lot of concerning implications that can arise with complimenting someone for losing weight, whether directed at a celebrity or a member of your family. First, this reinforces the stereotype that thinner people are inherently more desirable and attractive. There's the false implication that losing weight is synonymous with good health, as well as infinite ways to become thinner dangerously: eating disorders, substance abuse, and dangerous fad diets among them. Praising someone for losing weight, however well-intended, propagates fat shame and implies that individuals are worth most at their thinnest.

Adele has spent her entire career championing plus-size (but actually average-size) women. Before eventually singing to XL, she reportedly had a strict policy for her potential record labels: Under no circumstances would she be encouraged to lose weight. But of course, that hadn't made her immune to negative comments on her body. In 2012, Karl Lagerfeld called the singer "a little too fat." "I've never wanted to look like models on the cover of magazines," Adele responded. "I represent the majority of women and I'm very proud of that."

No matter her size, Adele remains one of the best-selling music artists in the world. Let's leave weight out of the conversation.

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Adele and the Dangers of Praising Weight Loss - Popdust

What does your gut microbiome, the collection of trillions of bacteria living in your intestines, have to do with weight maintenance? More than you might think. Research has shown that the bacterial makeup in individuals who are obese is less diverse than in individuals who are lean.

But it presents a chicken-or-the-egg questiondoes the imbalance cause weight gain or does the extra weight somehow change the balance of bacteria? Renowned integrative physician Robert Rountree, M.D., thinks the evidence is clear, "There is no question that the bacteria in our gut can affect our weight."* He cites animal studies, in which obese mice are given a fecal transplant from lean mice and, consequently, lose weight and body fat.*

This might be due to how gut bacteria interact with our cells and digestive process. One study found that simply overeating can tip the balance in favor of bad bacteria. The problem? As Rountree explains it, "Certain bacteria are better at extracting energy from food than others." This means these bacteria can harvest even more calories from the increased intake of food, to be turned into energy and body fat.* A double weight-gain whammy, if you will.

In addition, gut bacteria play a role in appetite regulation and satiety.* When the "good" bacteria outnumber the "bad," the levels of short-chain fatty acids increase in the gut, triggering the production of hormones that regulate appetite.* So, if these hormones are out of balance, then you might not get the signal that you are full.

The result is a vicious weight-gain cycleyou overeat and the bad bacteria increases in your gut, possibly increasing body fat and lowering levels of short-chain fatty acids that would otherwise help control your appetite, causing you to eat more, which increases the bad bacteria, which...well, you get the idea.*

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Can Probiotics Help You Lose Weight? Here Are The Strains To Look For - mindbodygreen.com