Debunking Myths: Long-Term Health Risks Of 16-Hour Fasting

• Intermittent Fasters Pay Attention, Your Long-Term Health Could Be In Jeopardy

• Another Diet "Fad" Put Under The Microscope Raises Concerns

• Read This Then Rethink Your 8:16 Approach To Eating Food

All the people "in the know" are doing it.  The easy way to lose weight they call it. Intermittent fasting (IF) with an 8-hour window to eat reasonably well and then eat nothing for the next 16 hours. Wash, rinse, repeat. But does it work and are there risks?  A preliminary report from the American Heart Association says yes and yes.

8-hour Time-Restricted Eating Linked To A 91% Higher Risk Of Cardiovascular Death

What? Now wait just an overweight minute.  What about all those TV and internet success stories?  Those spokespersons aren't dying of heart attacks in the middle of telling us how much weight they've lost and how good they feel. What's going on?

Researchers on behalf of the American Heart Association studied more than 20-thousand adults and found that those who followed an 8-hour time-restricted (IF) eating schedule, a type of intermittent fasting, had a 91% higher risk of death from cardiovascular disease.

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Short-Term Gains For Long-Term Losses?

Study author Victor Wenze Zhong, Ph.D.

Restricting daily eating time to a short period, such as 8 hours per day, has gained popularity in recent years as a way to lose weight and improve heart health. However, the long-term health effects of time-restricted eating, including risk of death from any cause or cardiovascular disease, are unknown.

Researchers say the results of the study are preliminary but rendered down, Intermittent Fasting (IF) does this:

• You want to lose weight to prevent a heart attack...IF increases the chance of that attack
• You have a serious health condition now and want to try IF to get better...IF makes it worse
• You want to live longer by cutting back on when you eat...IF doesn't work

READ MORE: Are You Trying To Lose Weight Now

But It Was Science Who Started It

If that's true how did we get here with so many positive reports?  The answer is more research. Previous studies found that time-restricted eating improves blood pressure, blood glucose, and cholesterol levels. That is in the short-term.  Long-term - study participants were followed from anywhere between 8 and 17 years to track results. It is important to note that an association between an 8-hour eating window and cardiovascular death does not mean that time-restricted eating caused cardiovascular death.