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II. Total Fasting, Protein-Sparing Modified Fasts, Chemically Defined Diets

Stephen R. Newmark, MD; Beverly Williamson, MS, RD

Arch Intern Med. 1983;143(7):1423-1427.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

The US Public Health Service stated that "because of the potential hazards of starvation diets and the need for continuous medical supervision..., such diets should never be self-administered."¹ Total fasting produces a number of detrimental side effects, including severe ketosis, hyperuricemia, negative nitrogen balance, hyponatremia, hypokalemia, hypoglycemia, neutropenia, alopecia, and increased renal loss of phosphate and magnesium.^2,3 Even in trials of intermittent fasting under close medical supervision, patients experienced hyperuricemia, sodium depletion, ketosis, and hyperketonemia. Duncan et al⁴ reported atrial fibrillation in three patients with cardiovascular disease who exercised while following an intermittent fasting protocol.

Fasting as a weight reduction regimen became popular following the publication of Fasting: The Ultimate Diet, by Allan Cott⁵ in 1975 (Table). Cott stated that "fasting brings a welcome physiological rest for the digestive tract and the central nervous system. It normalizes metabolism." In addition, the total fasting approach was recommended . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

Author Affiliations
Tulsa, Okla

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