Study: Fasting once a month could help you live longer and healthier
By: Team Ifairer | Posted: 20-11-2019
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One recent study seems to indicate that a little bit of fasting might actually be good for your body. Intermittent fasting in particular is a now oft-made suggestion, either for weight-loss or just to improve your nutrition habits. It takes many forms too. Some involve fasting for a few hours at a stretch in the day, and others for a few days in the week entirely. However, researchers at the Intermountain Healthcare Heart Institute in Salt Lake City think there's a better way.
Led by PhD Benjamin Horne, they're suggesting a gentler form of this fasting, saying it could lengthen a person's lifespan and make them healthier in general. The study looked at 2,000 cardiac catheterization patients in the facility, which is when doctors insert a catheter into the heart to take a look at conditions. The thing is, most of these patients were practicing Mormons, who typically fast for 24 hours on the first Sunday of each month. And even when keeping other factors in mind, the researchers said these fasting patients lived longer and healthier over the following five-year period.