Intermittent fasting (IF) has been connected with health benefits such as weight loss, lower risk of coronary artery disease (CAD) and diabetes, increased longevity, and improved quality of life. However, the mechanisms of these IF benefits in humans require further investigation. This study sought to elucidate some of these mechanisms through secondary analyses of the Fasting… Read More

The liver is an essential metabolic organ, and its metabolic function is controlled by insulin and other metabolic hormones. Glucose is converted into pyruvate through glycolysis in the cytoplasm, and pyruvate is subsequently oxidized in the mitochondria to generate ATP through the TCA cycle and oxidative phosphorylation. In the fed state, glycolytic products are used to synthesize fatty acids… Read More

Fasting has been practiced for millennia, but, only recently, studies have shed light on its role in adaptive cellular responses that reduce oxidative damage and inflammation, optimize energy metabolism, and bolster cellular protection. In lower eukaryotes, chronic fasting extends longevity, in part, by reprogramming metabolic and stress resistance pathways. In rodents intermittent or periodic… Read More

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Routine, periodic fasting is associated with a lower prevalence of coronary artery disease (CAD). Animal studies show that fasting may increase longevity and alter biological parameters related to longevity. We evaluated whether fasting initiates acute changes in biomarker expression in humans that may impact short- and long-term health. METHODS AND RESULTS: Apparently-… Read More

Although a salted diet appears to be a sine qua non for the development of essential hypertension, low-salt diets often have a modest or even negligible impact on the blood pressure of hypertensives; this suggests that salt, perhaps often acting in concert with other aspects of a modern, rich diet, may set in place certain metabolic vicious cycles that sustain blood pressure elevation even… Read More

Glutamine is the most abundant amino acid in the human body and is involved in more metabolic processes than any other amino acid. Until recently, the understanding of many aspects of glutamine metabolism was based on animal and in vitro data. However, recent studies using isotopic and balance techniques have greatly advanced the understanding of glutamine metabolism in humans and its role in… Read More

The antilipolytic effect of insulin was investigated in obese subjects before and after 7 days of total fasting, and 1 h after oral refeeding with 100 g glucose. Isolated fat cells were prepared from subcutaneous gluteal adipose tissue and incubated in vitro. Specific insulin receptor binding and insulin inhibition of basal and isoprenaline-stimulated lipolysis were determined. During the… Read More

Fasting and hypocaloric diets are known to induce a reduction of triiodothyronine (T3) and to increase reverse triiodothyronine (rT3) in normal and obese subjects. The effect of 8-day fasting was evaluated on T3, thyroxine (T4), free T4, rT3, TSH, immunoreactive insulin (IRI), thyroxine binding globulin (TBG) and glycemia in 21 obese subjects (5 males, 16 females) grouped according to the… Read More