Meet some of the leading advocates of fasting as one of the impotant "tools" for health and wellness.
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Here’s a list of doctors and health experts who advocate or teach fasting as a therapeutic practice for health and wellness.
Many of them are authors who promote various forms of fasting, such as intermittent fasting, extended fasting, or time-restricted eating, often for benefits like improved metabolism, weight loss, cellular repair, and longevity.
Studies on the benefits of fasting as a health and wellness "tool" have shown significant positive outcomes in areas such as metabolic health, cellular repair and anti-inflammation therapy.
Here, we present the leading lights in this growing body of scientific research:
#1. Dr. Jason Fung – Nephrologist and one of the most prominent figures advocating fasting for reversing type 2 diabetes and obesity. He has said a mouthful on fasting, having authored the “The Complete Guide to Fasting”, “The Obesity Code”, and “The Cancer Code”.
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#2. Dr. Yoshinori Ohsumi – Nobel Prize-winning scientist who discovered the mechanisms of “autophagy”, a process triggered during fasting that promotes cellular repair. Dr. Ohsumi, a cell biologist specialising in autophagy, is a professor at Tokyo Institute of Technology’s Institute of Innovative Research. He is recognised for his discoveries concerning the mechanisms of autophagy (the process that cells use to destroy and recycle cellular components), a fundamental process for the breakdown and recycling of cell components.
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#3. Dr. Satchin Panda – A researcher, and professor at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, is known for his work on time-restricted eating and circadian rhythms, showing how aligning eating windows with the body’s natural clock can improve health. A founding executive member of the Center for Circadian Biology at the University of California, San Diego, he is widely recognized as one of the world’s leading experts on circadian rhythms and has been publishing revolutionary research with a current focus on the benefits of time-restricted eating. He is also the author of The Circadian Code, a guide for optimising health and reversing disease by living in alignment with the body’s internal clock.
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#4. Dr Samir Rahmani – Dr Rahmani is a bariatric and laparoscopic surgery consultant practicing in the UK and the UAE. He is a UK-trained surgeon and a triathlete who also practises 72-hour (3-day) fasts. He has performed metabolic and bariatric surgery on more than 4,500 patients. “Fasting,” he explains, “improves your glucose tolerance. By fasting, you create an anti-inflammatory status. Our body is a balance of pro- and anti-inflammatory states. Any change in this equation will lead to more inflammation — or less inflammation.”
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#5. Dr. Valter Longo – Biogerontologist and author of “The Longevity Diet” is known for research on fasting-mimicking diets (FMD) and their role in longevity and disease prevention. He said: eating for 12 hours and then fasting for 12 hours is likely safe for most people, Longo explains. “That pattern of eating is very common among people who have record lifespans,” he says. “It seems to match both science and tradition.”
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#6. Dr. Josephine Rojo-Tan – Filipina researcher, medical doctor and author who advocates fasting as a tool for improving health. She penned the book “Eat to Heal”, among others. Her approach integrates medical science with practical lifestyle strategies, focusing on how fasting can reverse conditions like obesity, diabetes, and other metabolic syndromes. She has become a prominent figure in the health and wellness community, particularly through her social media presence and online consultations, where she shares tips and success stories on fasting and low-carb nutrition as methods to manage weight, improve metabolic health, and combat chronic diseases.
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#7. Dr. Robert Lustig – American endocrinologist known for his work on sugar, obesity, and metabolic diseases. Dr. Lustig, UCSF Professor of Paediatrics in the Division of Endocrinology, focuses more on dietary interventions than fasting, though his views on metabolic syndrome and insulin resistance align with those who promote fasting as a tool for improving metabolic health. He is a key advocate for reducing sugar intake and improving metabolic health, highlighting the damage caused by sugary foods in his book “The Bitter Truth About Sugar”.
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#8. Dr. Mark Mattson – Neuroscientist who has studied the neurological benefits of intermittent fasting and its role in brain health, cognitive function, and the prevention of neurodegenerative diseases. “Intermittent fasting improves cognition, that is learning and memory, and protects nerve cells from dysfunction and degeneration,” said Dr Mattson, who wrote the book “The Intermittent Fasting Revolution”.
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#9. Dr. Peter Attia – Physician and author of “Outlive” focuses on longevity. He has popularised the use of fasting as a tool for metabolic health and increasing lifespan through practices like time-restricted eating. Attia believes, however, that fasting is a “tool” that should only be used for the ideal candidate. That person is someone who either has a good deal of muscle to spare or someone who has over 35 per cent body fat and can handle losing a little muscle because they have so much fat to lose.
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#10. Dr. Rhonda Patrick – She is a renowned health expert with a PhD in biomedical science and is known for her extensive research on nutrition, aging and healthspan optimisation. She speaks extensively about the benefits of fasting, particularly its ability to induce autophagy and support brain health. She said: “Everything in our body runs on a clock, including our metabolism…There’s also an argument for needing a rest period for your gut and digestion because energy is diverted there when you’re digesting food. That takes energy away from other things, like repair. Repairing processes usually happen when you’re in a fasted state. When you sleep, your brain shuts down for repair; if you didn’t sleep, your brain wouldn’t repair. The same goes for other organs; they need a rest period too. The longer the rest period, the better for having enough energy to do repair processes.”
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[This is for information purposes only and is not intended as professional medical advice. Always consult with a healthcare professional regarding any health concerns or before making any decisions related to your diet and health.]