Intermittent Fasting and Muscle Lipid Metabolism: Commentary on: Liu et al “Effects of intermittent fasting or calorie restriction on markers of lipid metabolism in human skeletal muscle”

Extract
Intermittent fasting (IF) has emerged as an alternative to daily calorie restriction (CR) to improve metabolic health. Alternate-day fasting (ADF) is the most studied form of intermittent fasting to date. ADF consists of a “feast day” alternated with a “fast day.” The feast day involves ad libitum eating with no restrictions on food quality and quantity for 24 hours. The “fast day” limits intake to 0 kcal/d (termed zero-calorie ADF) or 25% of energy needs (termed modified ADF) for the following 24 hours.

More than a dozen trials have examined the efficacy of ADF in humans (1, 2). Results from these trials suggest ADF is as effective as daily CR for weight loss and metabolic disease risk reduction (1, 2). Specifically, ADF appears to produce moderate weight loss (3%-8%) and may decrease metabolic disease risk by lowering low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels, triglycerides,...