The benefits of intermittent fasting may extend to cancer care by reducing risk and improving quality of life for patients during treatment. Intermittent fasting has been a big topic in the health and wellness community for several years, so researchers have been working to determine how different types of restricted eating affects the body. “When we talk about intermittent fasting that we specifically study in research, it's alternating between eating and not eating, and that might take place over a period of hours within a certain day and repeated every day,” says Faiza Kalam, PhD, MS, the director of Food, Activity, Sleep and Time (FAST) Lab at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC – James). Kalam shares more details about intermittent fasting’s potential impact on cancer care and overall health on our Cancer-Free World Podcast. Watch on YouTube and the video player above, and listen on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. While years of research has pointed to several potential health benefits of intermittent fasting, including improved cholesterol, LDL and blood pressure levels and rates, Kalam and her FAST Lab colleagues are focused on the possible effects of restricted eating on cancer prevention and treatment. “In our lab, we’re using fasting as a non-pharmacological method to help people reduce the risk of cancer, but also for patients who are receiving chemotherapy or other cancer treatments,” Kalam says. Among the studies conducted by FAST Lab experts are efforts involving gynecologic cancer patients who fast around chemotherapy treatments and then undergo testing to determine possible impacts to their quality of life. “We mimic the alternate day fasting around the patients’ chemotherapy infusions,” Kalam says. “With cancer, there is a hesitation around making people fast every single day or every other day, so we try to make that fasting around the infusion time.” Click here to learn more about cancer care and research at the OSUCCC – James. Safety is a constant emphasis for Kalam and her colleagues, who also emphasize hydration for participating patients. “They consume non-caloric foods such as water, coffee, tea and broth, and even sugar-free gum,” she says. The FAST Lab’s research could help determine if intermittent fasting can benefit cancer patients by reducing the amount of energy required for digestion, possibly helping the body better tolerate chemotherapy. “It's one of the hypotheses behind how fasting might work in this area,” says Kalam, who emphasizes that much more research is required to determine whether intermittent fasting could one day play a significant role in cancer care. “Many people think we know everything about fasting, but there are a lot of unanswered questions.” Click here to learn more about innovation in cancer care at The Ohio State University.