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<\/a>Fasting vs. weight loss<\/p>\nVarady says that testosterone levels drop in those suffering from PCOS if they lose at least 5% of their body weight. However, critics have previously expressed concerns about intermittent fasting for women, as it may disrupt female hormones.<\/p>\n
She argues that this sentiment is not true and that intermittent fasting can actually improve female hormones, especially for women with PCOS.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis sentiment seems to have come from early animal studies that observed disrupted hormonal function, but more recent studies in humans don\u2019t support this,\u201d Varady tells us.<\/p>\n
\u201cDepending on the study population, human trials find that intermittent fasting has either little to no effect on sex hormones, such as in pre- and postmenopausal women with obesity, or that it leads to improvements, such as in individuals with PCOS. Ultimately, our guidance to women should be based on the results of human trials, not animal trials.\u201d<\/p>\n
Varady says that testosterone levels drop in those suffering from PCOS if they lose at least 5% of their body weight.She says there are very few studies that have studied the impact of intermittent fasting on women\u2019s hormones, and therefore, no firm conclusions can be drawn.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOur lab\u2019s analysis of sex hormones in pre- and postmenopausal women with obesity showed a slight decrease in dehydroepiandrosterone or DHEA \u2014 a precursor to testosterone \u2014 in postmenopausal women after eight weeks, but in our longer-term 12-month study, we did not see any changes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Varady further notes a 2021 trial where participants only ate during an eight-hour window each day for three months and found no changes in thyroid hormones or estradiol \u2014 a form of estrogen.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf women are fasting for multiple days in a row, there\u2019s some evidence this could alter hormone levels, like cortisol, in a negative way, but daily intermittent fasting does not seem to have these same effects,\u201d she notes.<\/p>\n
Contradicting findings<\/p>\n
Time-restricted eating could cut one\u2019s daily calorie consumption by 300 to 500. Varady says the method makes people eat less, similarly to counting calories. The benefits observed come from weight loss resulting from reducing calories, rather than the fasting itself.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cTo the best of our knowledge, it is the reduced calories. By shortening the eating window each day, people tend to simply eat less. When we look at studies comparing time-restricted eating to daily calorie restriction, we see very similar results in calorie intake and weight loss, which suggests that it comes down to reduced calories in both diets,\u201d says Varady.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a way of reducing energy intake without having to do really complicated calorie counting.\u201d<\/p>\n
The randomized controlled trial<\/a> has been published in Nature Medicine, involving 76 premenopausal women with PCOS. They either ate only between 1 PM and 7 PM or counted calories for six months. Both groups lost on average 10 lbs and reduced their average daily calorie intake by 200.\u00a0<\/p>\n Both groups showed lower testosterone concentrations. However, only the intermittent fasting group reduced the free androgen index \u2014 a ratio between testosterone and the protein that transports testosterone in the blood. This is the marker of how much testosterone reaches body tissue. The fasting group also showed a decreased risk of developing diabetes.<\/p>\n Prior studies similarly demonstrated that intermittent fasting does not lead to measurable metabolic or cardiovascular improvements, but the weight loss is solely attributable to reducing calorie intake<\/a>.<\/p>\n Experts recently debated a study suggesting that intermittent fasting is unlikely to lead to weight loss in obese and overweight adults. It compared intermittent fasting to traditional diets, alongside making no dietary changes. Intermittent fasting did not appear to have a clinical effect on weight loss in either comparison.\u00a0<\/p>\n