JERUSALEM, Dec. 10 (Xinhua) -- A new Israeli-French study has found that regular fasting can improve the liver's ability to produce energy from fat during future fasting periods, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HU) said in a statement Tuesday.
The adaptation is similar to a form of cellular memory, showed the study published in Nucleic Acids Research.
The study, conducted by HU and the University of Toulouse, found that alternate-day fasting (ADF) activates key genes and liver enhancers, which in turn prime the liver for more efficient ketogenesis -- the production of ketone bodies from fat for energy when glucose levels are low.
A mere week of ADF can lead to a significant increase in ketone body production during subsequent fasts, a sensitization specific to fasting, the study showed.
Furthermore, the study linked the health benefits of ADF, such as better lipid metabolism, to enhanced ketogenesis rather than calorie intake or body weight changes.
