{"id":4147,"date":"2026-10-25T14:57:05","date_gmt":"2026-10-25T14:57:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/drsoniafawad.com\/?p=4147"},"modified":"2026-10-25T14:57:05","modified_gmt":"2026-10-25T14:57:05","slug":"what-a-seven-day-fasting-study-found-after-day-three","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/drsoniafawad.com\/?p=4147","title":{"rendered":"What a Seven-Day Fasting Study Found After Day Three"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/p>\n

\n

\n\tA seven-day fasting study is making the rounds again, but before you rethink breakfast, there\u2019s some context worth knowing.<\/p>\n

\n\tScienceDaily<\/a> <\/em>ran the story again on October 5, 2026, after publishing coverage on May 17. Both cover research first released in Nature Metabolism<\/em><\/a> on March 1, 2024. The small study followed 12 healthy volunteers through a closely monitored, seven-day water-only fast.<\/p>\n

\n\tResearchers found that participants started using more stored fat within the first few days. Around day three, they also detected more widespread changes in blood proteins linked to organs throughout the body. Here\u2019s what researchers found during that week, and why the timing matters.<\/p>\n

\n\t<\/p>\n
\n

\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n
\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"A<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

<\/p>\n

\tRelated story
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tDon\u2019t Let Anyone Tell You Diet Soda Is Slowing Down Your Weight Loss Journey\t\t<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n<\/article>\n

\t
\n<\/section>\n<\/p>\n

\n\t\tWhat Did the Seven-Day Fasting Study Measure?\t<\/h2>\n

\n\tResearchers from Queen Mary University of London\u2019s Precision Healthcare University Research Institute (PHURI) and the Norwegian School of Sports Sciences monitored five women and seven men daily. Participants drank water but ate nothing for seven whole days.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe paper, \u201cSystemic proteome adaptions to 7-day complete caloric restriction in humans,\u201d looked at how the body responded. Unlike intermittent fasting<\/a>, which usually limits when you eat, this study involved seven days with no food at all.<\/p>\n

\n\t\tWhat Happens During the First Three Days of Fasting?\t<\/h2>\n

\n\tWithin the first two to three days, participants began relying more on stored fat for energy instead of glucose, or sugar. Researchers also measured roughly 3,000 proteins in their blood before, daily during, and after the fast. This approach, called proteomics, let them follow changes that wouldn\u2019t show up on a scale.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cFor the first time, we\u2019re able to see what\u2019s happening on a molecular level across the body when we fast,\u201d Claudia Langenberg, director of Queen Mary\u2019s Institute, said in a press release<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n\tBurning stored fat was an early response to going without food. After about three days, researchers also detected changes in blood proteins linked to all major organs.<\/p>\n

\n\t\tWhat Changed After Three Days of Fasting?\t<\/h2>\n

\n\tAbout one-third of the proteins measured changed significantly during the fast, with a similar overall pattern across participants. Researchers grouped the changes into nine response patterns based on when protein levels rose or fell.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cOur results provide evidence for the health benefits of fasting beyond weight loss, but these were only visible after three days of total caloric restriction,\u201d Langenberg said in the press release.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe study measured molecular changes and predicted their possible effects. It didn\u2019t show that participants became healthier after three days.<\/p>\n

\n\t\tWhat Did Researchers Find Beyond Weight Loss?\t<\/h2>\n

\n\tParticipants lost an average of about 12.6 pounds, including both fat and lean mass. Three days after they started eating again, most of the lost lean mass had returned. Their body fat was still below its starting level.<\/p>\n

\n\tSome findings couldn\u2019t be explained by weight loss alone. Researchers saw changes in proteins in the extracellular matrix, the material that surrounds and supports cells. One example was tenascin-R, a brain-specific protein involved in the support structure around nerve cells.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe team used genetic data from large population studies<\/a> to predict how some of these changes might affect health. The results pointed to both potential benefits and risks, giving researchers specific leads to investigate next.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe longer-term hope is to develop treatments that reproduce some of fasting\u2019s effects without requiring people to stop eating for days. Co-lead researcher Maik Pietzner said this could be especially useful for patients whose poor health makes fasting unsuitable. The team also hopes to find alternatives for people unable to follow fasting-mimicking diets, such as ketogenic diets. These findings have not established an FDA-approved treatment.<\/p>\n

\n\tFor now, the clearest finding is the timing. These 12 closely monitored volunteers began using more stored fat within two to three days. Around 72 hours, blood tests also showed a coordinated response involving major organs throughout the body. The next step is to find out what those changes mean for health and whether any benefits can be achieved without a prolonged fast.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n


\n
Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A seven-day fasting study is making the rounds again, but before you rethink breakfast, there\u2019s some context worth knowing. ScienceDaily ran the story again on October 5, 2026, after publishing coverage on May 17. Both cover research first released in Nature Metabolism on March 1, 2024. The small study followed 12 healthy volunteers through a closely monitored, seven-day water-only fast. Researchers found that participants started using more stored fat within the first few days. Around day three, they also detected more widespread changes in blood proteins linked to organs throughout the body. Here\u2019s what researchers found during that week, and why the timing matters. Related story Don\u2019t Let Anyone Tell You Diet Soda Is Slowing Down Your Weight Loss Journey What Did the Seven-Day Fasting Study Measure? Researchers from Queen Mary University of London\u2019s Precision Healthcare University Research Institute (PHURI) and the Norwegian School of Sports Sciences monitored five women and seven men daily. Participants drank water but ate nothing for seven whole days. The paper, \u201cSystemic proteome adaptions to 7-day complete caloric restriction in humans,\u201d looked at how the body responded. Unlike intermittent fasting, which usually limits when you eat, this study involved seven days with no food at all. What Happens During the First Three Days of Fasting? Within the first two to three days, participants began relying more on stored fat for energy instead of glucose, or sugar. Researchers also measured roughly 3,000 proteins in their blood before, daily during, and after the fast. This approach, called proteomics, let them follow changes that wouldn\u2019t show up on a scale. \u201cFor the first time, we\u2019re able to see what\u2019s happening on a molecular level across the body when we fast,\u201d Claudia Langenberg, director of Queen Mary\u2019s Institute, said in a press release. Burning stored fat was an early response to going without food. After about three days, researchers also detected changes in blood proteins linked to all major organs. What Changed After Three Days of Fasting? About one-third of the proteins measured changed significantly during the fast, with a similar overall pattern across participants. Researchers grouped the changes into nine response patterns based on when protein levels rose or fell. \u201cOur results provide evidence for the health benefits of fasting beyond weight loss, but these were only visible after three days of total caloric restriction,\u201d Langenberg said in the press release. The study measured molecular changes and predicted their possible effects. It didn\u2019t show that participants became healthier after three days. What Did Researchers Find Beyond Weight Loss? Participants lost an average of about 12.6 pounds, including both fat and lean mass. Three days after they started eating again, most of the lost lean mass had returned. Their body fat was still below its starting level. Some findings couldn\u2019t be explained by weight loss alone. Researchers saw changes in proteins in the extracellular matrix, the material that surrounds and supports cells. One example was tenascin-R, a brain-specific protein involved in the support structure around nerve cells. The team used genetic data from large population studies to predict how some of these changes might affect health. The results pointed to both potential benefits and risks, giving researchers specific leads to investigate next. The longer-term hope is to develop treatments that reproduce some of fasting\u2019s effects without requiring people to stop eating for days. Co-lead researcher Maik Pietzner said this could be especially useful for patients whose poor health makes fasting unsuitable. The team also hopes to find alternatives for people unable to follow fasting-mimicking diets, such as ketogenic diets. These findings have not established an FDA-approved treatment. For now, the clearest finding is the timing. These 12 closely monitored volunteers began using more stored fat within two to three days. Around 72 hours, blood tests also showed a coordinated response involving major organs throughout the body. The next step is to find out what those changes mean for health and whether any benefits can be achieved without a prolonged fast. Source link<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4148,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4147","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-female-health-issues"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/drsoniafawad.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4147","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/drsoniafawad.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/drsoniafawad.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drsoniafawad.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drsoniafawad.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4147"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/drsoniafawad.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4147\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drsoniafawad.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4148"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/drsoniafawad.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4147"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drsoniafawad.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4147"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drsoniafawad.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4147"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}