Ever been told you need more bacterial diversity?(You probably did hear that, from me!).Yes, we do need a more “diverse” bacterial garden to reap all kinds of benefits - from a lower body weight to sharper senses…But what happens if we skip a few meals?Would these tiny helpers in our gut starve, or even die?In this mice <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29874567">study</a>, fellow scientists wondered if intermittent fasting would wipe out and exterminate entire bacterial colonies…(A pretty scary thought for those of us who skip a few meals every now and then).So, would our brave bacteria wither and perish if we don’t feed them?Surprisingly, instead of the widespread chaos and destruction of entire bacterial colonies, bacterial diversity actually increased!<a href="https://indexed.thehealthsciencesacademy.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/SCU-Intermittent-fasting_The-Health-Sciences-Academy.png" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><img src="https://indexed.thehealthsciencesacademy.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/SCU-Intermittent-fasting_The-Health-Sciences-Academy.png" alt="" style="width: 300px; height: auto; cursor: pointer;"></a>24h fasting increased gut bacteria diversity and lowered inflammation (<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29874567">Cignarella et al., 2018</a>).It sounds pretty counter-intuitive, but it’s true. How could this be?Well, it might be to do with the distant history of our gut flora...Billions of years ago, bacteria often had to survive in conditions with far less food.Which means that when we give them too much to feed on, they gorge themselves into an early grave!Intermittent fasting seems to flip the “growth switch” in these little guys, and then they pass on benefits to us.(Which I think is rather kind of them, in a symbiotic way).This cutting-edge research just adds to my excitement as I wait to see what amazing studies into this topic come up next!If you want to find out more about how your gut microbiota could help “fix” your gut, then you can join me and my team of dedicated researchers in our 4-Step Gut Restoration Program <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://thsa.ezycourse.com/en/course-detail/4-step-gut-restoration-program/38712/">here</a>.<h2 id="b3dc55ef-3505-4c91-a4dd-375c91a3044e" data-toc-id="b3dc55ef-3505-4c91-a4dd-375c91a3044e" style="text-align: left; font-size: 24px; line-height: 1.2;">Related Training:</h2><a target="" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.thehealthsciencesacademy.org/en/course-detail/4-step-gut-restoration-program/38712/">4-Step Gut Restoration Program</a><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.thehealthsciencesacademy.org/advanced-gut-restoration-nutritional-advisor-level-5-diploma">Advanced Gut Restoration Nutritional Advisor Certification</a>

Ever been told you need more bacterial diversity?

(You probably did hear that, from me!).



Intermittent Fasting: Good or Bad for Your Gut Bacteria?

Explore science-based articles on nutrition, health, wellness, behaviour change, clinical practice, dietary supplements, gut health, sports nutrition, menopause, and professional development.

Nutrition Blogs | Evidence-Based Health and Nutrition Articles | THSA

Discover science-based nutrition articles, research insights, clinical practice tips, and professional development resources from THSA.

Nutrition Blogs | Evidence-Based Health and Nutrition Articles

English

Elite

Cookie

Lora

Source Sans 3

Dashboard

Memberships

Courses

Certificates

Coaching Programs

Bundle Courses

Communities

Groups

Digital Products

Physical Products

Live Products

Video Library

Audio Library

Events

Appointments

Premium Pages

Badges

Order History

Organization Orders

Subscription

Affiliate Dashboard

Profile

Settings

Billing

thsa

Primary Menu

System Defaults

Primary color

Primary color hover

Heading text color

Body text color

Banner text color

Primary button text color

Primary button text hover color

Secondary button background color

Secondary button background hover color

Secondary button text color

Secondary button text hover color

Navbar item background color

Navbar item text color

Navbar item text hover color

Intermittent Fasting: Good or Bad for Your Gut Bacteria?

Intermittent Fasting: Good or Bad for Your Gut Bacteria?

Related Posts

Science Catch-up. Weight gain through plasticisers?

Science Catch-up. Low-Carb or Low-Fat For Weight Loss?

Science Catch-up. Sugar Bingeing Like Drug Abuse

Science Catch-up. Weight Gain From Inhaling Polluted Air?

The Over-40 Fertility Boom: Why the Biological Clock is Being Rewritten