At first look, intermittent fasting seems like the right resolution to your entire well being considerations, with research linking the apply to weight reduction, anti-inflammatory advantages1, lowered blood strain, lowered threat of liver illness2, improved intestine well being3, and extra. Nevertheless it seems intermittent fasting advantages aren’t essentially a given — significantly for girls, who might even see unfavorable repercussions on hormone well being, temper, and even lifespan.
“Opposite to what some longevity gurus say, intermittent fasting (IF) isn’t routinely safety, and in some instances could also be dangerous,” explains Kim Shapira, registered dietitian and writer of That is What You’re Actually Hungry For.
It’s time to set the document straight: the nice, the unhealthy, and the ugly. Finally, is intermittent fasting good for you? And is intermittent fasting wholesome for girls? Right here’s what you want to keep in mind as a lady contemplating an intermittent fasting protocol.
Why Are We Simply Now Realizing the Potential Dangers of Intermittent Fasting?
If it took us this lengthy to determine the doubtless detrimental results of intermittent fasting on ladies, it’s largely on account of making some harmful assumptions. The primary spherical of research on the apply had been completed mainly on males, and we merely can’t draw clear conclusions in regards to the apply for girls primarily based on that information.
If greater than half the inhabitants slipped by way of the cracks, it isn’t actually all that stunning, in response to Kathleen Garcia-Benson, a registered dietitian specializing in PCOS and Girls’s Well being. She cites “a long-standing sample in medical analysis the place males had been handled because the ‘default,’ and ladies’s well being was thought-about too complicated or inconvenient to review.”
“This created a niche in information that also shapes what we all know at the moment and displays each systemic boundaries in analysis priorities,” she continues.
The Potential Destructive Results of Intermittent Fasting
So earlier than you dive into any intermittent fasting routine, what are the important thing dangers ladies ought to remember? If you happen to already wrestle with any of the beneath elements of your well being, you could need to assume twice earlier than leaping into IF.
Disrupted Hormone Well being
Whereas intermittent fasting can have optimistic results on hormone well being in each women and men, the complexity of the feminine endocrine system implies that it’s removed from a one-size-fits-all resolution. A 2022 analysis assessment in Vitamins highlighted each advantages and potential dangers4. Whereas fasting might help deal with hyperandrogenism in females with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), it may well additionally enhance estradiol and reduce luteinizing hormone, resulting in unfavorable modifications within the menstrual cycle.
“What we now have to this point exhibits blended outcomes,” explains Garcia-Benson. “In some ladies with PCOS, it could decrease androgens and assist stability hormones, however for others, particularly if energy are too low or exercise is excessive, it may well throw off cycles and power.”
For Shapira, the proof is powerful sufficient to steer her to discourage most girls from collaborating within the apply. “IF can and can disrupt ladies’s hormones, elevating stress (cortisol), impacting sleep and throwing off our metabolism,” she says. “These shifts will affect their menstrual cycle, sleep, temper, weight, hydration, bone well being, muscle mass and metabolism.”
Garcia-Benson, nevertheless, is a little more reasonable in her method. “The most secure method is to watch issues like menstrual well being, power, and thyroid signs,” she says, “and cease if issues present up.”
Temper Instability
One other problem doubtlessly linked to IF protocols and hormone well being is temper instability. This can be a short-term drawback linked to non permanent starvation, or a longer-term problem additionally stemming from hormonal disruption.
“You will notice dips in power, irritability, hypoglycemia – particularly in ladies who’re already delicate to blood sugar swings,” says Shapira, who notes that fasting has the potential to “enhance irritability, anxiousness and make it more durable to go to sleep or keep asleep, which then will additional have an effect on our hormones and metabolism.”
This, in response to Alisa Vitti, Integrative Nutritionist, Writer, & Founding father of FLO Residing, is largely because of the interlinked nature of the assorted hormones within the endocrine system. “A disruption in a single hormone system within the physique can set off different hormone imbalances,” she says, citing thyroid hormones and stress hormone cortisol as two doubtlessly linked techniques whose disruptions can have unfavorable negative effects on each bodily and emotional well-being.
Estrogen imbalance has been linked to low power and impaired cognitive perform5, whereas cortisol imbalance might be linked to anxiousness and insomnia, and thyroid hormone imbalances might result in mind fog and melancholy. In some ladies, intermittent fasting may cause or exacerbate all of those issues.
Exacerbation of Consuming Issues
Whereas consuming problems will not be linked to organic intercourse, individuals figuring out as ladies usually tend to endure from an consuming dysfunction than individuals figuring out as males6. And in response to a 2023 analysis assessment in Medical Diabetes and Endocrinology, intermittent fasting can exacerbate these underlying points7.
“Intermittent fasting, relying on the way it’s carried out, can significantly lower the time window and quantity of complete energy an individual eats in a day,” explains Jordan Hill, MCD, RD, CSSD at Stay it Up. “Time-bound consuming guidelines and meals restriction can result in excessive starvation and cravings, which may result in bingeing or different disordered consuming behaviors. This may be very true for people which have a historical past of weight-reduction plan, disordered consuming, or physique picture challenges.”
For Shapira, she sees IF as a type of ready for “permission from a clock” fairly than listening to your physique’s starvation cues. “This may create a disconnect out of your pure alerts, and might spiral into cycles of overeating, guilt and disgrace,” she says. “For somebody already susceptible, it may well worsen an present consuming dysfunction or set off one which has been dormant.”
Nutrient Deficiencies
Intermittent fasting additionally has the potential to pave the best way for nutrient deficiencies. Garcia-Benson notes this isn’t immediately linked to consuming inside time home windows, however fairly one thing that stems from the ensuing potential for caloric restriction.
“Intermittent fasting can create issues if it results in low calorie consumption,” she says. This, she says, can have an effect on not simply hormones, but additionally the menstrual cycle and even efficiency and restoration in lively ladies. “Very slender consuming home windows could make it more durable to satisfy nutrient wants reminiscent of protein, iron, fiber, calcium, and many others.”
A Shortened Lifespan
Following a research from Mass Normal Brigham exploring meal timing in older adults, a latest article from Harvard posited a hyperlink between intermittent fasting and a shorter lifespan8.
“Later meal timing, particularly delayed breakfast, is tied to each well being challenges and elevated mortality threat in older adults,” defined lead writer Hassan Dashti, a vitamin scientist and circadian biologist at Harvard-affiliated Massachusetts Normal Hospital. “These outcomes add new that means to the saying that ‘breakfast is a very powerful meal of the day,’ particularly for older people.”
However Hill is fast to warning in opposition to drawing a relationship of causality. “The article discusses older adults and their later breakfast occasions doubtlessly being a marker of frailty, melancholy, sleep issues, or social and useful decline versus merely being an consuming sample of intermittent fasting,” she explains.
Garcia-Benson agrees. “Individuals who skip breakfast or eat in very slender home windows usually produce other points occurring like low urge for food, melancholy, or poor entry to meals,” explains Garcia-Benson. “That may make fasting look linked to greater mortality, even when it’s not the fasting itself. What does stand out is that consuming earlier within the day and never overly limiting the consuming window appears to be extra supportive for long-term well being.”
Is Intermittent Fasting Proper for You?
Finally, like several consuming protocol, intermittent fasting isn’t for everybody. The reply as to whether intermittent fasting is unhealthy (or good!) for you’ll actually rely upon you. It’s important to take heed to your individual physique to see if the apply helps or harming your well being — and to talk to a healthcare skilled earlier than making any large modifications to weight loss program or life-style.
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Sources:
- https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9946909/
- https://www.bmj.com/content material/389/bmj-2024-082007
- https://cyprusjmedsci.com/articles/intermittent-fasting-and-its-potential-effects-on-health/doi/cjms.2024.2023-109
- https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9182756/
- https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3660717/
- https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2696560/
- https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10589984/
- https://information.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2025/09/early-breakfast-could-help-you-live-longer/
