He intermittent fasting It is one of those fad diets that, even with some scientific evidence, must be followed carefully. It is true that it can help you lose weight and have some health benefits. Its role in the treatment of some diseases has even been studied. However, it can also lead damages. Some are already known, which are generally solved if carried out with professional follow-up. Now, however, a team of scientists from the University of East Anglia has added the fertility problems to the list.
It is important to note that the study in question has been carried out with fish. Specifically with copies of zebra fish (danio laughed), a species widely used as laboratory model. This, logically, indicates that it would also be necessary to carry out studies in humans to verify if the results can be extrapolated. However, given the genetic similarities between this species and ours, something similar cannot be ruled out.
For this reason, this study invites us to continue investigating this possible effect of intermittent fasting. After all, more and more people are doing it, so it is worth studying all its effects in depth.
What is intermittent fasting?
In reality, intermittent fasting isn’t exactly a diet, but rather a way of spreading out your meals throughout a day. Basically, what is done is fasting for a number of hours, so that meals take place at very specific times. There are different types, depending on how long the fasting periods last. For example, one of the most famous is on 8/16, in which 16 hours of fasting and 8 of feeding are made. You can also fast in alternating daysso each phase lasts about 24 hours.
It has been proven that if the fast lasts long enough, they can activate alternative metabolic pathways, less dependent on glucose and more on other carbon sources. It is also possible that the diet fits better with the Cardiac rhtymsso that various benefits would be obtained.
However, intermittent fasting, also known as time-restricted fasting, is not for everyone. For starters, people with Eating disorder They should not take this diet. And not only that. There are certain congenital disorders, initially mild, that can be complicated by intermittent fasting, giving rise to kidney or liver problems, among others. It is precisely for this reason that follow-up by a professional is always recommended. Now, putting all that aside, could there be other, lesser-known risks?
The danger of breaking the balance between fertility and food
Our organism has a quantity of energy that it must distribute among all the functions necessary for their survival. If this energy is sufficient, they can all be carried out. However, when it becomes scarce, priorities must be established. And the reproduction it is not a priority. Yes, it is for the survival of the species, but not for the individual survival of a person.
For this reason, it has been observed that when there is malnutrition, the reproductive functions. A good example of this is that of women with anorexia, who in many cases lose menstruation when they reach a certain degree of malnutrition. The body doses the little energy it receives through food.
This led the authors of this new research to think that something similar could happen with intermittent fasting. It is true that malnutrition is not generated. But there are periods in which the body could interpret that it should start dose energy.
To check, Zebrafish were subjected to intermittent fasting, both males and females. Thus, it was seen that, once the intermittent fasting period ended, both the ova of the females as the sperm of the males their quality decreased. That did not prevent them from keeping their offspring, so this was also of a worse quality.
This indicates that if the same thing occurs in humans, fertility could be affected even after returning to a normal eating pattern. More research is needed to verify if this is the case. But for now there is reasons to suspect.
Why were zebra fish used?
the zebra fish It’s one of the most common laboratory models, after the mouse. It is due to various reasons. For starters, they are very easy to breed They reproduce in large numbers and very quickly. This makes it easy to have many copies in a short time.
In addition, in a good part of their development they are transparent, so you can see what’s going on in your body without opening them. That, coupled with his ability to regeneration already his genetic resemblance with humans, makes them a suitable species.
In this case, they have brought to the table a possible unknown effect of intermittent fasting. Perhaps, with another animal model, it would not have been possible.