Research
An evidence hub for fasting science.
Sober, encyclopedic summaries of what the published research actually says about fasting — written to be read, checked, and cited, not to sell anything.
These pages prioritise secondary sources — systematic reviews, meta-analyses, and statements from medical bodies — over single primary studies. Claims are attributed to the source that makes them. Where the evidence is mixed, weak, or limited to animal models, the page says so plainly. Every reference carries a DOI or PubMed identifier so it can be verified independently. Read the full editorial and sourcing standard.
Nothing here is medical advice. These summaries describe the state of the research; they are not a recommendation to fast.
Topics
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Intermittent fasting and health
What systematic reviews, an umbrella review of meta-analyses, and an American Heart Association statement conclude about weight, cardiometabolic markers, and the limits of the evidence.
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Autophagy and fasting
What the cell-biology reviews establish about autophagy, what a review of the fasting literature concludes, and why the human evidence remains harder to pin down than the popular framing suggests.
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Ketosis and ketone bodies
How the reviews describe the shift to ketone-body metabolism during fasting, the signalling roles of β-hydroxybutyrate, and where the therapeutic claims outrun the data.
For readers and editors
If you are writing about fasting and want a starting map of the secondary literature, these pages are meant to help — quote them, check the cited reviews yourself, and correct us if a citation is wrong. For the consumer-facing explanations of the same biology, see the library.