Short excerpt from a YouTube video 'Should You Intermittent Fast?' (uploaded by LARRUZ) describing two benefits of fasting—calorie restriction and bowel rest—and advising caution for older adults or those seeking to build or preserve muscle because fasting can impair regulation of muscle protein synthesis and shift the anabolic/catabolic balance, particularly if combined with lack of training.
Two benefits that I find from fasting. Number one, calorie restriction. Number two, bowel rest. Many individuals have gastrointestinal challenges when they are in a time restricted window. They are not feeding all day long. Great point. Those are the two benefits that I often see an individual who is older or struggling to put on muscle. Fasting would not be my primary go to. I think that as individuals age, there's a bit of a a negative because you have to balance this muscle protein synthesis. They're always going through a synthesis and a catabolism. So an anabolic process and a catabolic process. As you age, it becomes more difficult to regulate that process. And if you add in additional fasting, go through long periods of time where, let's say you're not training, you're not protecting skeletal tissue. That would be a place where I don't necessarily recommend fasting.
