Study Explores How Intermittent Fasting Could Help Addiction Treatment

From reducing inflammation to boosting longevity, we're beginning to wonder what intermittent fasting can't do. And according to research out of the University of Arizona, another area that may see benefits from an intermittent fasting (IF) regimen is addiction.

It all started when a student, David Duron (who has now obtained his Ph.D.), was curious about the effects intermittent fasting could have on opioid treatment and addiction. The team moved forward with the study using mice as subjects, not entirely sure what they would find.

The study's corresponding author, John Streicher, Ph.D., explained to mbg that this was the first time the impact of intermittent fasting on opioids had been studied.

To do this research, the team put mice on a six-hour fasting regimen—meaning they could only eat during a six-hour window each day—while undergoing opioid injection treatment for one week. When the week was up, they discovered pain relief had significantly improved and lasted longer in the fasting group, including in a post-surgical pain model.

But despite the increased efficacy, the side effects did not increase, which Streicher points out could have important implications with regard to addiction.

While this research is still in its early stages, the findings suggest people undergoing opioid treatment could try intermittent fasting to both improve treatment and help reduce or eliminate the chance of addiction (should similar results translate to humans).

And in addition to that, other side effects improved as well. Tolerance for the opioids, for example, increased by as much as 100% in the control group that wasn't intermittent fasting. The IF group, on the other hand, only saw about a 40% increase in tolerance, meaning they didn't have to up their dosage as much.

Another issue facing patients on opioid regimens is constipation. The team found the IF mice had less constipation and recovered faster from the drugs, and given what we know about IF's effects on gut health, those findings make sense.

To continue the research, the team wants to do more studies and clinical trials to understand what exactly is happening within the brain that's affecting opioid receptors and side effects.

"One of the cool things is—unlike a new drug which requires 10 years, millions of dollars, and approval by the FDA—something like a dietary change can be tested almost immediately," Streicher says. "So we're already trying to set up a clinical trial based on these findings to have patients on an intermittent fasting diet, and see what it does to their experience with opioid pain therapy."