Overview
- Researchers at King’s College London published a peer-reviewed pilot trial in the Journal of Clinical Periodontology showing patients who followed repeated five-day low-calorie fasting cycles had lower inflammation markers in blood and gingival fluid compared with controls.
- The study enrolled 28 patients treated at Spanish hospitals who completed three fasting cycles over six months, with each cycle consisting of two days at 1,100 calories and three days at 750 calories followed by a gradual return to normal eating.
- Measured reductions included C-reactive protein in blood and multiple molecules tied to gum inflammation in gingival crevicular fluid, indicating both systemic and local anti-inflammatory signals.
- Authors propose possible mechanisms such as reduced oxidative stress, lower intake of refined carbohydrates, and shifts in the oral or systemic microbiome, but they stress these explanations remain speculative pending mechanistic studies.
- The trial is small and limited by single-country recruitment and short-term follow-up, so researchers warn fasting may be unsafe for some groups such as people with diabetes and call for larger, targeted trials to test clinical benefit and safety.