As 2018 wraps up and we look forward to a promising new year in our personal lives, the medical community looks forward to a very exciting new year of knowledge, testing and treatment discoveries. Medical research has come so far and with 2019 in our headlights, I thought this article on the most intriguing medical studies of 2018 could shine some light on what exciting things are still on the horizon.

https://www.mdlinx.com/otolaryngology/top-medical-news/article/2018/12/21/7552151/

The article goes over some of the most popular medical research throughout the year 2018, including the rise of intermittent fasting diets, dangerous habits to avoid, exciting new heights in cancer research, and the findings that some old home remedies might actually have some bearing!

First up – the new diet trend of intermittent fasting. With the new year upon us, thousands upon thousands of people are undertaking the popular resolution of improved health and weight loss. We have seen the keto diet, Adkins diet, low carb diet (among countless others), and now we are trying intermittent fasting – the 16:8 fasting diet. This is where a person consumes the bulk of their calories over an 8 hour period, but must fast for the next 16. The University of Illinois at Chicago confirmed that it can help people with obesity achieve a 3% loss of weight by the end of 12 weeks. It also found that the 16:8 dieting style helped them maintain lower blood pressure. The University of Florida College of Medicine says that this dieting style effectively “flips the metabolic switch”.

I think, on the other hand,

I think that, on the surface, the results sounded promising – at least until I calculated the average weight loss per test subject. For a 200 lb person, the weight loss over 3 months would be 6 pounds. That does not seem that encouraging, since the Weight Watchers program can get a pound per week for a total of 12 pounds during that same time period. The difference is that one helps teach you how to lead a healthier lifestyle, encouraging you to eat in moderation and get moving, while the other is an eating pattern. I think that the speculations – and yes the article says speculations! – about metabolic processes increasing lifespan, protecting cognitive function and reducing inflammation require a bit more research before I can get behind it fully.

Next week, I’ll talk more about my thoughts on dangerous habits to avoid – including research regarding e-cigarettes and alcohol use!