Protein pacing with intermittent fasting sparks gut microbiome and boosts weight loss: Study reveals insights

The study, published in Nature Communications, showed that a unique dieting regimen involving intermittent fasting may boost weight loss and offer particular benefits for gut health.

The novel work provides insight into the gut microbiome (GM) and metabolomic profile of participants following intermittent fasting (IF)-protein pacing (P) or calorie-restricted (CR) diet, highlighting important differences in microbial assembly associated with weight loss (WL) and body composition responsiveness.

"These data may inform future GM-focused precision nutrition recommendations using larger sample sizes of longer duration," the researchers wrote.

Protein pacing means protein consumption at regular intervals, while intermittent fasting involves alternating between fasting and eating periods. A recent study has suggested that combining these approaches may lead to superior weight loss and improve gut health and metabolic responses compared to a simple calorie-restricted diet. While this novel diet approach revealed significant benefits, this study was small, and research on this type of diet is limited.

Experts recommend prioritizing a healthy gut microbiome and seeking personalized weight management advice from licensed dietitians or doctors. Considering this, Alex E. Mohr, College of Health Solutions, Arizona State University, Phoenix, AZ, USA, and colleagues described distinct fecal microbial and plasma metabolomic signatures between combined IF-P (n = 21) versus a heart-healthy, CR (n = 20) diet matched for overall energy intake in free-living human participants (women = 27; men = 14) with obesity/overweight for eight weeks.

The key findings of the study are as follows:

• Gut symptomatology improves and abundance of Christensenellaceae microbes and circulating cytokines and amino acid metabolites favoring fat oxidation increase with IF-P, whereas metabolites associated with a longevity-related metabolic pathway increase with CR.
• Differences indicate GM and metabolomic factors play a role in WL maintenance and body composition.

"These findings shed light on the differential effects of intermittent fasting regimens, including IF-P as a promising dietary intervention for obesity management and microbiotic and metabolic health," the researchers wrote.

"There is a need for further research to elucidate the underlying mechanisms driving these associations and to explore the therapeutic implications for developing personalized strategies in obesity management," they concluded. "Additionally, future studies should consider investigating microbial populations in upper GI sections and potential intestinal tissue remodeling to comprehensively understand the role of gut microbiome in these interventions."

Reference:

Mohr, A. E., Sweazea, K. L., Bowes, D. A., Jasbi, P., Whisner, C. M., Sears, D. D., Jin, Y., Gu, H., Arciero, K. M., Gumpricht, E., & Arciero, P. J. (2024). Gut microbiome remodeling and metabolomic profile improves in response to protein pacing with intermittent fasting versus continuous caloric restriction. Nature Communications, 15(1), 1-20. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-48355-5