As discussed many times before, and contrary to what is often said or implied, there is no specific benefit of alternate-day fasting (ADF)/every-other day feeding (EOD) on lifespan, long-term health, or aging, at the same Calorie intake. Feeding animals once, twice, or several times/day at the same Calorie intake yields the same lifespan benefit: the limited effect on lifespan boils down entirely to the small Caloric difference. See links here:

http://www.crsociety.org/archive/read.php?2,200834,200838#msg-200838

The notion that it is otherwise is the result of a mixture of wildly-extrapolated cell studies, and short-term studies (many by Mark Mattson’s group) showing that EOD animals undergo a variety of favorable-looking metabolic shifts, such as lower insulin and glucose levels — and, importantly for THIS post, lower blood pressure, heart
rate, and blood pressure /variability/ (1,2). However, these shifts, while consistent with the effects of CR proper, do not lead to life extension except to the degree that they lead to actual Calorie restriction. (Again, see links in the post linked above).

So far, these studies seem to show that EOD is of no special benefit in the long term — but have not implied any deleterious effect, either. Surprisingly, Mattson’s most recent study ((3) — published, appropriately, in the Journal of Cardiac Failure) finds that EOD in rats actually /damages/ the heart:

” Four-month-old male Sprague-Dawley rats were started on ADF or continued on ad libitum diets and followed for 6 months … [A]t the end of the study, and hearts were harvested for histological assessment. The 6-month-long ADF diet resulted in a 9% reduction (P < .01) of cardiomyocyte diameter and 3-fold increase in interstitial myocardial fibrosis. Left ventricular chamber size was not affected by ADF and ejection fraction was not reduced, but left atrial diameter was increased 16%, and the ratio of early (E) and late atrial (A) waves, in Doppler-measured mitral flow was reduced (P < .01). Pressure-volume loop analyses revealed a "stiff" heart during diastole in ADF rats, whereas combined dobutamine and volume loading showed a significant reduction in left ventricular diastolic compliance and a lack of increase in systolic pump function, indicating a diminished cardiac reserve."

"CONCLUSION: Chronic ADF in rats results in development of diastolic dysfunction with diminished cardiac reserve. ADF is a novel and unique experimental model of diet-induced diastolic dysfunction. [!] The deleterious effect of ADF in rats suggests that additional studies of ADF effects on cardiovascular functions in humans are warranted."

To say you can eat any and every-thing is a contradiction in terms in regards to fasting. Allow me to explain – Now it is true that you can eat any-thing, but not everything. If you are going to eat anything, it has to be in moderation when the fast is complete. If you desire to eat everything you desire because of a craving, break it up throughout the day to allow the body to process it.

For example: If a person chooses to end their intermittent fast at 5-7pm, they can: eat several slices of left over pizza and a few cans of beer before being full. A few hours later – with a friend, go to a movie and snack on a large tub of popcorn with extra butter, a box or two of candy, and down it with a medium/large sugary soda/juice. Then when they come home, before they crash – can find some sort of snack and refreshment in the refrigerator before going to bed.

I know. I have done it many times.

To overindulge in cravings when the fast is over will sabotage the benefits of the fast you have worked hard to attain.