Mice who fast every other day have better blood sugar control and less brain damage than those who eat freely or who consume a calorie-reduced diet.

Healthy eating guidelines always say you shouldn't fast or miss meals. But an intriguing new animal study from the US National Institute of Aging seems to go against his advice.

A group of mice were made to fast every second day though they could eat as much as they liked on the other days. A second group ate freely and a third had a calorie reduced diet. The meal-skipping group proved to have the best blood sugar control, which would protect from diabetes.

The mice were all dosed with a neurotoxin which can cause damage to the hippocampus, an area of the brain concerned with memory and learning. The meal-skipping group appeared to be protected from brain damage, compared to the other animals. It is not clear how the fasting works to protect health. The animals were not consuming fewer calories overall - an aspect of diet which is known to produce benefit - for they gorged on the days they were allowed to eat. The researchers are conducting another study on how meal-skipping affects the heart and circulation and hope to report on this soon.

Source

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on-line 28th April 2003