New data shows intermittent fasting affects female hormones

Although intermittent fasting has been proven to be a successful weight loss method, some have expressed concern that it might harm women's reproductive hormones. Recently, a group of researchers published a study on obesity that adds new information to the debate. Eight weeks were spent monitoring a group of pre- and post-menopausal obese women using the "warrior diet" technique under the direction of researchers. The warrior diet calls for a four-hour window each day during which dieters are allowed to eat without counting calories. They measured the differences in hormone levels between groups of dieters who adhered to four- and six-hour feeding windows and a control group who followed no dietary restrictions, using data from blood samples. The drop in Dehydroepiandrosterone levels was the most significant finding of the study. In comparison to the control group, which lost almost no weight, women in the dieting groups lost between 3% and 4% of their starting weight over the course of the study. Additionally, the dieters noticed a decrease in oxidative stress biomarkers and insulin resistance.