At first look, intermittent fasting seems like the proper answer to all your well being considerations, with research linking the follow to weight reduction, anti-inflammatory advantages1, decreased blood stress, decreased threat of liver illness2, improved intestine well being3, and extra. Nevertheless it seems intermittent fasting advantages aren’t essentially a given — notably for girls, who might even see unfavorable repercussions on hormone well being, temper, and even lifespan.
“Opposite to what some longevity gurus say, intermittent fasting (IF) isn’t routinely safety, and in some instances could also be dangerous,” explains Kim Shapira, registered dietitian and writer of That is What You’re Actually Hungry For.
It’s time to set the document straight: the nice, the dangerous, and the ugly. Finally, is intermittent fasting good for you? And is intermittent fasting wholesome for girls? Right here’s what you want to keep in mind as a girl contemplating an intermittent fasting protocol.
Why Are We Simply Now Realizing the Potential Dangers of Intermittent Fasting?
If it took us this lengthy to determine the doubtless detrimental results of intermittent fasting on ladies, it’s largely as a result of making some harmful assumptions. The primary spherical of research on the follow have been executed mainly on males, and we merely can’t draw clear conclusions in regards to the follow for girls based mostly on that knowledge.
If greater than half the inhabitants slipped by means of the cracks, it isn’t actually all that shocking, in response to Kathleen Garcia-Benson, a registered dietitian specializing in PCOS and Girls’s Well being. She cites “a long-standing sample in medical analysis the place males have been handled because the ‘default,’ and ladies’s well being was thought-about too advanced or inconvenient to check.”
“This created a niche in knowledge that also shapes what we all know as we speak and displays each systemic boundaries in analysis priorities,” she continues.
The Potential Damaging Results of Intermittent Fasting
So earlier than you dive into any intermittent fasting routine, what are the important thing dangers ladies ought to bear in mind? If you happen to already wrestle with any of the beneath facets of your well being, chances are you’ll wish to assume twice earlier than leaping into IF.
Disrupted Hormone Well being
Whereas intermittent fasting can have constructive results on hormone well being in each women and men, the complexity of the feminine endocrine system signifies that it’s removed from a one-size-fits-all answer. A 2022 analysis evaluation in Vitamins highlighted each advantages and potential dangers4. Whereas fasting may help deal with hyperandrogenism in females with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), it could actually additionally improve estradiol and reduce luteinizing hormone, resulting in unfavorable adjustments within the menstrual cycle.
“What we have now thus far reveals blended outcomes,” explains Garcia-Benson. “In some ladies with PCOS, it could decrease androgens and assist stability hormones, however for others, particularly if energy are too low or exercise is excessive, it could actually throw off cycles and power.”
For Shapira, the proof is robust sufficient to steer her to discourage most girls from taking part within the follow. “IF can and can disrupt ladies’s hormones, elevating stress (cortisol), impacting sleep and throwing off our metabolism,” she says. “These shifts will influence their menstrual cycle, sleep, temper, weight, hydration, bone well being, muscle mass and metabolism.”
Garcia-Benson, nonetheless, is a little more reasonable in her method. “The most secure method is to observe issues like menstrual well being, power, and thyroid signs,” she says, “and cease if issues present up.”
Temper Instability
One other difficulty doubtlessly linked to IF protocols and hormone well being is temper instability. This can be a short-term drawback linked to non permanent starvation, or a longer-term difficulty additionally stemming from hormonal disruption.
“You will note dips in power, irritability, hypoglycemia – particularly in ladies who’re already delicate to blood sugar swings,” says Shapira, who notes that fasting has the potential to “improve irritability, anxiousness and make it tougher to go to sleep or keep asleep, which then will additional have an effect on our hormones and metabolism.”
This, in response to Alisa Vitti, Integrative Nutritionist, Writer, & Founding father of FLO Residing, is largely because of the interlinked nature of the assorted hormones within the endocrine system. “A disruption in a single hormone system within the physique can set off different hormone imbalances,” she says, citing thyroid hormones and stress hormone cortisol as two doubtlessly linked programs whose disruptions can have unfavorable unintended effects on each bodily and emotional well-being.
Estrogen imbalance has been linked to low power and impaired cognitive perform5, whereas cortisol imbalance may be linked to anxiousness and insomnia, and thyroid hormone imbalances may result in mind fog and melancholy. In some ladies, intermittent fasting may cause or exacerbate all of those issues.
Exacerbation of Consuming Problems
Whereas consuming problems are usually not linked to organic intercourse, individuals figuring out as ladies usually tend to undergo from an consuming dysfunction than individuals figuring out as males6. And in response to a 2023 analysis evaluation in Scientific Diabetes and Endocrinology, intermittent fasting can exacerbate these underlying points7.
“Intermittent fasting, relying on the way it’s applied, can enormously lower the time window and quantity of complete energy an individual eats in a day,” explains Jordan Hill, MCD, RD, CSSD at Reside it Up. “Time-bound consuming guidelines and meals restriction can result in excessive starvation and cravings, which might result in bingeing or different disordered consuming behaviors. This may be very true for people which have a historical past of weight-reduction plan, disordered consuming, or physique picture challenges.”
For Shapira, she sees IF as a type of ready for “permission from a clock” fairly than listening to your physique’s starvation cues. “This can create a disconnect out of your pure indicators, and may spiral into cycles of overeating, guilt and disgrace,” she says. “For somebody already weak, it could actually worsen an current consuming dysfunction or set off one which has been dormant.”
Nutrient Deficiencies
Intermittent fasting additionally has the potential to pave the way in which for nutrient deficiencies. Garcia-Benson notes this isn’t instantly linked to consuming inside time home windows, however fairly one thing that stems from the ensuing potential for caloric restriction.
“Intermittent fasting can create issues if it results in low calorie consumption,” she says. This, she says, can have an effect on not simply hormones, but in addition the menstrual cycle and even efficiency and restoration in lively ladies. “Very slender consuming home windows could make it tougher to fulfill nutrient wants equivalent to protein, iron, fiber, calcium, and so forth.”
A Shortened Lifespan
Following a examine from Mass Common Brigham exploring meal timing in older adults, a current article from Harvard posited a hyperlink between intermittent fasting and a shorter lifespan8.
“Later meal timing, particularly delayed breakfast, is tied to each well being challenges and elevated mortality threat in older adults,” defined lead writer Hassan Dashti, a diet scientist and circadian biologist at Harvard-affiliated Massachusetts Common Hospital. “These outcomes add new which means to the saying that ‘breakfast is an important meal of the day,’ particularly for older people.”
However Hill is fast to warning towards drawing a relationship of causality. “The article discusses older adults and their later breakfast occasions doubtlessly being a marker of frailty, melancholy, sleep issues, or social and useful decline versus merely being an consuming sample of intermittent fasting,” she explains.
Garcia-Benson agrees. “Individuals who skip breakfast or eat in very slender home windows usually produce other points happening like low urge for food, melancholy, or poor entry to meals,” explains Garcia-Benson. “That may make fasting look linked to increased mortality, even when it’s not the fasting itself. What does stand out is that consuming earlier within the day and never overly proscribing the consuming window appears to be extra supportive for long-term well being.”
Is Intermittent Fasting Proper for You?
Finally, like several consuming protocol, intermittent fasting isn’t for everybody. The reply as to whether intermittent fasting is dangerous (or good!) for you’ll actually rely on you. It’s important to take heed to your individual physique to see if the follow helps or harming your well being — and to talk to a healthcare skilled earlier than making any large adjustments to weight-reduction plan or way of life.
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Sources:
- https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9946909/
- https://www.bmj.com/content material/389/bmj-2024-082007
- https://cyprusjmedsci.com/articles/intermittent-fasting-and-its-potential-effects-on-health/doi/cjms.2024.2023-109
- https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9182756/
- https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3660717/
- https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2696560/
- https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10589984/
- https://information.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2025/09/early-breakfast-could-help-you-live-longer/
