OK, I had a look ....
Looking at 3 weeks of ADF (alternate days zero calories) in healthy women and borderline overweight men, BMI 22 and 25 respectively, the conclusion of
one paper was
Glucose response to a meal was slightly impaired in women after 3 weeks of treatment (p < 0.01), but insulin response was unchanged. However, men had no change in glucose response and a significant reduction in insulin response (p < 0.03). There were no significant changes in the expression of genes involved in mitochondrial biogenesis or fatty acid transport/oxidation, although a trend toward increased CPT1 expression was observed (p < 0.08). SIRT1 mRNA expression was increased after alternate day fasting (p = 0.01). The increased expression in SIRT1 suggests that alternate day fasting may improve stress resistance
The same study group were
reported to have ...
lost 2.5 ± 0.5% of their initial body weight (P < 0.001) and 4 ± 1% of their initial fat mass (P < 0.001). Hunger increased on the first day of fasting and remained elevated (P < 0.001). RMR and RQ did not change significantly from baseline to day 21, but RQ decreased on day 22 (P < 0.001), which resulted in an average daily increase in fat oxidation of ≥15 g. Glucose and ghrelin did not change significantly from baseline with alternate-day fasting, whereas fasting insulin decreased 57 ± 4% (P < 0.001).
From a weight loss perspective the 4% fat loss / 2.5 % body weight in 21 days compares favourably with a group of
obese alternate day calorie reducers who lost 5.8% of body weight in 8 weeks eating 25% on their calorie reduction days. 0.83 vs 0.73 % of body weight per week. Fat loss was 0.675 kg per week in the latter case, or 12.4%, which at 1.55% per week is slightly better than the 1.33% of the true alternate day fasters however the latter were not obese.
A
different study used 300-380 calories of low carb shakes on alternate days for 8 weeks. This one was focussed on health and concluded that ...
Compliance with the ADCR diet was high, symptoms and pulmonary function improved, and oxidative stress and inflammation declined in response to the dietary intervention. These findings demonstrate rapid and sustained beneficial effects of ADCR on the underlying disease process in subjects with asthma, suggesting a novel approach for therapeutic intervention in this disorder.