The Science Behind Fasting Diets

Fasting diet might seem like just another trend. But the science behind fasting is revealing some surprising health benefits.

By Mark Barna
Jan 10, 2023 9:20 PMMar 20, 2023 8:26 PM
Intermittent Fasting Diet - Zarebinski
(Credit: Lucas Zarebinski)

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This article was originally published on Jan. 2, 2019.

So much was happening, it was hard to take it all in.

Just over a year ago, Alex Allen moved across the country to San Francisco. He’d landed a job as a software engineer, achieving his dream of working in a city at the center of the tech industry. The 24-year-old loved the area’s open culture and mild, consistent weather. He wanted to make the most of his adopted city.

But socializing inevitably posed a problem. Sometimes, dinner with new friends meant he sipped water as he watched them chow down.

In the last couple of years, he’d started a fasting diet — 16 hours of fasting and then eating within an eight-hour window each day. It had been a wake-up call for his body. In his late teens and early 20s, he lifted weights regularly, but he also packed on a lot of fat. He was over 200 pounds, and he was tired of it.

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