In general, plant-based diets are associated with health benefits including lower rates of chronic disease and longer lives. Bloomer says the Daniel Fast is essentially a vegan diet, but potentially even healthier, since it eliminates processed foods that can come with sugar, fat, salt and preservatives.
While the Daniel Fast does not explicitly restrict the number of calories followers consume, Bloomer says most people who follow it end up eating fewer by filling up on nutrient- and fiber-dense whole foods instead of meat, dairy and processed products. He says most followers lose five to six pounds over the three weeks and report other benefits like clearer skin, more energy and better focus.
Wayne Jonas, a family physician and executive director of Samueli Integrative Health Programs at the University of California, Irvine, says this kind of calorie restriction — which is similar to the type in intermittent fasting — is not dangerous, as long as people are still eating enough to feel satiated.
Jonas explains that periodic calorie restriction can not only spur weight loss but also kickstart cellular and metabolic processes that enhance good health. Jonas says most fairly healthy people should be able to complete the Daniel Fast with no problems. People with chronic health conditions — especially those that require dietary monitoring, such as diabetes, congestive heart failure and kidney disease — should consult a doctor first. While plenty of meals can be created from plant foods, Bloomer says people who typically rely on restaurants, takeout and packaged foods can find it difficult to adjust.
Write to Jamie Ducharme at jamie. While the latter findings are likely related to the lower protein intake particularly meat observed in this study [ 27 , 28 ], the slight decrease in white blood cells is not well-supported. It has been suggested that ingestion of food additives and preservatives can increase white blood cell count by triggering an immune response due to a sensing of invading pathogens from the food stuff; however, we are unaware of any scientific reports that confirm this hypothesis.
In the present plan, subjects' diets were devoid of such additives and preservatives, which may help to explain the finding of lowered white blood cells. Moreover, any reduction in saturated fat intake, as well as in body weight or body fat levels, may have contributed to these findings, as excess fat ingestion and increased adiposity has been associated with increased inflammation.
This finding indicates that the intake of natural, high fiber, low glycemic carbohydrate foods enhances satiety and consequently reduces kilocalorie intake [ 12 , 29 ].
Subjects did not purposely restrict food intake, as evidenced by their comments, compliance to the fast, and self-reported satiety ratings.
It is likely that subjects consumed a similar or greater volume of food as compared to pre fast, despite consuming fewer total kilocalories; this is plausible, because the foods that were consumed during the fast were more nutrient dense and less energy dense compared to the foods consumed before the fast. This includes the increased intake of fruit during the fast, which resulted in a similar amount of sugar to be consumed as compared to pre fast, although seemed to provide increased satiety, likely due to the fiber content of some fruits.
As mentioned earlier, many of our subjects were already in very good physical condition prior to starting the fast, and therefore had little room for improvement. Inclusion of a homogeneous sample of obese subjects would likely yield statistically significant findings for many of the anthropometric variables. In fact, most variables were nearly identical from pre to post fast. Based on these findings, the short-term effects of the Daniel Fast do not pose any health concerns. Future studies including longer fasting protocols should continue to monitor clinical parameters in order to extend the present findings.
Each of these differences was expected based on prior literature. Finally, for completeness of analysis, we analyzed data using a 2 training status: trained vs. While it is obvious that the change in subjects' dietary intake is responsible for our findings, difficulty lies in determining which specific dietary component is most important in this regard.
Because we have included multiple outcome measures in this initial study, in addition to the measurement of multiple dietary variables, a complete analysis of predictor and response variables would be the topic of another manuscript. It is likely that the combination of decreased kilocalorie, saturated fat, and cholesterol intake, coupled with an increase in nutrient and fiber-rich fruit, vegetable, and whole grain intake, contributed to our findings.
Moreover, it is possible that the elimination of food additives, preservatives, and processing agents, in addition to the decrease in protein intake methionine included , could be partly responsible for our findings.
Future study is needed, ideally inclusive of a larger sample of subjects, to provide more definitive answers to the above hypotheses. Our data indicate that exercise trained and untrained individuals, inclusive of normal weight, overweight, and obese men and women can benefit from a dietary approach in accordance with the Daniel Fast.
The diet plan was well-tolerated by subjects, with several noting a desire to continue with the plan long-term, and appears to provide a default nutrition education. In particular, such studies may include patients with diagnosed metabolic e. RJB was responsible for the study design, oversight and analysis of biochemical variables, statistical analyses, and writing of the manuscript. MMK was responsible for coordination of the study.
Funding for this work was provided by the University of Memphis. National Center for Biotechnology Information , U. Journal List Lipids Health Dis v. Lipids Health Dis. Published online Sep 3. Author information Article notes Copyright and License information Disclaimer. Corresponding author.
Richard J Bloomer: ude. Received Aug 2; Accepted Sep 3. This article has been cited by other articles in PMC. Abstract Background Dietary modification via caloric restriction is associated with multiple effects related to improved metabolic and cardiovascular health. Results Subjects' compliance to the fast was Conclusion A 21 day period of modified dietary intake in accordance with the Daniel Fast is 1 well-tolerated by men and women and 2 improves several risk factors for metabolic and cardiovascular disease.
Background Caloric restriction has been reported in a number of studies to improve overall health in both humans [ 1 ] and animals [ 2 ]. Methods Subjects and Screening Forty-four subjects 13 men; 31 women were initially recruited to participate and were enrolled in this study.
SF Questionnaire Upon arrival to the lab, subjects were asked to complete a questionnaire pertaining to their overall mental and physical health status SFv2; QualityMetric, Inc. Heart Rate and Blood Pressure Following completion of the above questionnaire, subjects were asked to void. Anthropometric Variables Subjects' height was measured using a stadiometer, and body weight was measured using a calibrated medical scale. Dietary Records and Physical Activity All subjects were instructed to maintain their normal diet until they began the fast and to record on data forms all food and beverage consumed during the seven days immediately prior to the start of the fast.
Statistical Analysis All data were analyzed using a t-test. Results Compliance, Mood, and Satiety Forty-four subjects were initially enrolled in the study, and all 44 subjects completed the 21 day fast, as well as pre and post assessments.
Table 1 Mental and physical health, hemodynamic, and anthropometric data of men and women before and after a 21 day Daniel Fast. Variable Pre Post Mental Health Open in a separate window. Table 2 Complete blood count data of men and women before and after a 21 day Daniel Fast.
Table 3 Metabolic panel data of men and women before and after a 21 day Daniel Fast. Table 4 Lipid panel data of men and women before and after a 21 day Daniel Fast.
Dietary Data As expected, several differences existed in dietary intake from pre fast to the final week of the fast. Table 5 Dietary data of men and women before and during the final seven days of a 21 day Daniel Fast. Discussion Results from the present study indicate that a 21 day Daniel Fast 1 significantly reduces systolic and diastolic blood pressure, 2 significantly reduces total, LDL, and HDL cholesterol, 3 reduces insulin, HOMA-IR, and C-reactive protein in a clinically meaningful, although statistically insignificant manner, 4 does not cause any negative effects on blood count or metabolic panel values, 5 is well-tolerated, and 6 may be useful as a nutrition education tool for men and women.
Conclusion Our data indicate that exercise trained and untrained individuals, inclusive of normal weight, overweight, and obese men and women can benefit from a dietary approach in accordance with the Daniel Fast. Competing interests The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
Authors' contributions RJB was responsible for the study design, oversight and analysis of biochemical variables, statistical analyses, and writing of the manuscript. Acknowledgements Funding for this work was provided by the University of Memphis. Caloric restriction in humans. Exp Gerontol. How does calorie restriction work? Genes Dev. Caloric restriction: From soup to nuts.
Ageing Res Rev. Oxidative stress, caloric restriction, and aging. Overview of caloric restriction and ageing. Mech Ageing Dev. Dietary approaches that delay age-related diseases.
Clin Interv Aging. Macronutrient balance and lifespan. Aging Albany NY ; 1 10 — Lowered methionine ingestion as responsible for the decrease in rodent mitochondrial oxidative stress in protein and dietary restriction possible implications for humans.
Biochim Biophys Acta. Nut and seed consumption and inflammatory markers in the multi-ethnic study of atherosclerosis. Am J Epidemiol. Whole-grain consumption and risk of coronary heart disease: results from the Nurses' Health Study. By Melanie Fincher Updated August 23, Pin FB Share. I ate no pleasant food, no meat or wine came into my mouth, nor did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled. Rainbow of plant-based food. Credit: Meredith. Whole grains: Barley, brown rice, buckwheat, farro, grits, millet, oats, popcorn, quinoa, rice cakes, rye, sorghum, spelt, whole wheat, whole-wheat pasta, and wild rice.
Beans and legumes: Black beans, black-eyed peas, cannellini beans, garbanzo beans chickpeas , great northern beans, kidney beans, lentils, peanuts, pinto beans, and split peas. Nuts and seeds: Almonds, cashews, hazelnuts, macadamia nuts, natural nut butters no additives , peanuts, pecans, pumpkin seeds, pine nuts, pistachios, poppy seeds, sesame seeds, soy nuts sunflower seeds, and walnuts. Vegetables: All vegetables whether fresh, frozen, dried, juiced, or canned.
Fruits: All fruit whether fresh, frozen, dried, juiced, or canned so long as it doesn't contain added sugar. Oils: Oils can be used minimally, but not for deep-frying. Herbs, spices, and seasonings: Includes salt and pepper. Soy products: All soy products including tofu. Unleavened bread: Whole grain breads made without yeast, sugars, or preservatives.
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