Intermittent fasting is an eating plan that switches between fasting and eating on a regular schedule. There are studies and researches that shows that intermittent fasting is a way to manage your weight and prevent, or even reverse, some forms of disease.

While most diets focus on "what" you eat, intermittent fasting focuses on "when" you eat. This is the crucial difference, though here too, healthy eating is encouraged. However, with this diet, you only eat during a specific time. Research shows fasting for a certain number of hours each day or just eating one meal a couple days a week may have health benefits.

A 2022 study titled Intermittent and period fasting, longevity and disease, published in the Author Manuscript stated that cycles of fasting lasting from 12 to 72 hours followed by a refeeding period have beneficial effects of longevity, markers for health, stress, metabolic response, age-related diseases, and tissue regeneration.

Mark Mattson, a neuroscientist from John Hopkins, studied intermittent fasting for 25 years and he believes that "our bodies have evolved to be able to go without food for many hours, or even several days or longer. In prehistoric times, before humans learned to farm, they were hunters and gatherers who evolved to survive — and thrive — for long periods without eating. They had to: It took a lot of time and energy to hunt game and gather nuts and berries."

The official website of John Hopkins Medicine mentions that it was even easier to maintain a healthy weight in the US, some 50 years back, as there were no computers, TVs were turned off by 11pm, people stopped eating because they wanted to go to bed. Portions were also much smaller. More people worked and played outside, which also ensured getting enough exercise.

However, with TV, internet and other entertainment available 24/7, many are now staying up for longer hours, snacking all day long.

How does intermittent fasting really work?

It revolves around alternating periods of eating and fasting, giving your body a break from constant calorie intake. The approach can vary widely: you might restrict eating to an 8-hour window daily, leaving the remaining 16 hours for fasting, or eat only one meal on two specific days each week. The key is choosing a pattern that fits your lifestyle.

Here’s how it works: when you go several hours without food, your body exhausts its sugar stores and starts burning fat instead—a process called metabolic switching. Mattson explains, "Intermittent fasting contrasts with the typical eating patterns of most Americans, who consume food throughout their waking hours. When you eat three meals a day plus snacks without much exercise, your body primarily burns those calories, not stored fat."

By extending the fasting period, your body uses up stored calories and begins tapping into fat reserves for energy.

Also Read: Longevity Diets: What to Eat to Live Past 100

How to plan it?

Daily Time-Restricted Eating:

Limit eating to a six- to eight-hour window each day. A popular example is the 16/8 method, where you fast for 16 hours and eat during an eight-hour period.

5:2 Method:

Eat normally five days a week, and restrict your calorie intake to 500–600 on the remaining two days. For instance, you might choose Monday and Thursday as your low-calorie days.

Longer Fasts:

While fasting for 24–72 hours is possible, it’s not always advisable. Extended fasting can stress your body, potentially leading to fat storage rather than fat loss.

Losing weight doesn’t always require fancy supplements, heavy workouts, or expensive meal plans—at least not according to Delhi-based cardiologist Dr Bimal Chhajer. Known for his work in non-invasive cardiology, Dr Chhajer recently opened up about his “Jadoo Diet,” a plant-based weight loss plan he claims can help you shed at least 7 kg in just a month.

What Is the Jadoo Diet?

Dr Chhajer describes his Jadoo Diet as a simple yet effective way to achieve rapid weight loss without feeling deprived. The name itself—‘jadoo’ meaning magic in Hindi—hints at the dramatic transformation he believes it can bring. He insists that the diet works by keeping your stomach full while maintaining a calorie deficit, thus allowing the body to naturally burn fat.

In a recent podcast, Dr Chhajer explained, “If we fill our stomachs with high-calorie food, our weight will increase. But if we fill it with low-calorie food, we won’t feel hungry, and our weight won’t go up.” His emphasis is on eating more, not less—just smarter.

What to Eat on the Jadoo Diet

The diet plan is structured around three main meals, with a focus on unprocessed, seasonal, and plant-based ingredients:

Breakfast: Black tea and seasonal fruits such as papaya, apple, or watermelon. These provide fibre and antioxidants while being low in calories.

Lunch: A hearty combination of protein-rich dals like moong or masoor, served with a salad of raw vegetables—think cucumber, beetroot, and carrots. This ensures intake of vitamins, minerals, and plant protein.

Dinner: Soup paired with a salad and boiled or lightly sautéed vegetables like cabbage, beans, or spinach. Cooking should use minimal oil, and meals should be light yet filling.

Dr Chhajer claims that sticking to this routine for a month can lead to significant weight loss, even up to 10 kilos in some cases, depending on metabolism and adherence. He shared the example of a patient from Kolkata who reduced her weight from 86 kg to 62 kg using only this diet.

Is It Nutritious Enough?

The idea of rapid weight loss often raises concerns about nutritional adequacy. However, experts agree that a well-planned vegetarian diet can meet most nutritional needs. Plant-based eating has been associated with lower risks of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and even some forms of cancer.

That said, nutritionists caution against overly restrictive or poorly balanced vegetarian diets that may rely too much on processed foods or refined carbs. To ensure balanced nutrition while following a plan like the Jadoo Diet, it’s essential to include:

• Whole grains like brown rice, oats, and millet
• Legumes and pulses such as lentils, beans, and chickpeas
• Healthy fats from nuts, seeds, and minimal oil
• Plenty of fruits and vegetables

Avoiding sugary beverages, fruit juices, and refined snacks is also key to maintaining long-term health.

Dr Chhajer recommends trying the Jadoo Diet only for a month, positioning it as a kickstart to healthier living. While the diet’s results may vary from person to person, its focus on simple, plant-based eating is largely in line with mainstream nutritional advice—just with a little “magic” thrown in.

Every now and then, we hear about new diets and eating habits that can help you lose weight. However, not all of them are safe to follow. Many of these diets focus on just one aspect like losing fat, ignoring other parts of our health. Weight loss that comes at the cost of your health is not sustainable and can cause long-term health issues.

So, the question arises, which diets are the healthiest to follow and how do they benefit our health. A new study has answered that question for us. The study entailed how these diets not only help you lose weight but also lower your blood pressure.

Putting Two Diets to the Test

In a recent study published in the Nutrients journal researchers compared the keto and Mediterranean diets in 26 people who were overweight or obese with high blood pressure tried either the keto or Mediterranean diet. Fifteen people followed the keto diet, and eleven followed the Mediterranean diet. Everyone ate about 1,300 calories a day. The keto diet was high in protein and fat, but very low in carbs. The Mediterranean diet was high in carbs (especially from whole grains, fruits, and veggies) and potassium, but low in salt.

After three months, both groups lost weight and had lower blood pressure. They also saw drops in waist size and body fat. The only real difference was that the keto diet led to a bigger drop in blood pressure overnight, which could mean a healthier heart. Keep in mind the study was small, short, and people chose their diets instead of being randomly picked.

How These Different Diets Work

Even though they're very different, both diets helped people in the study. The keto diet works by making your body burn fat for energy instead of carbs, a process called ketosis. This happens because you eat very few carbs. The Mediterranean diet is based on traditional eating in places around the Mediterranean Sea, focusing on whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and healthy fats, with less animal protein and fat. It's thought to help people live longer.

Both diets lead to weight loss, which then helps lower blood pressure. The study participants lost weight mainly because they ate fewer calories. However, the healthy foods and nutrients in both diets also play a role.

Which Diet Is Better for You?

While both diets can help, experts usually suggest the Mediterranean diet over the keto diet. The keto diet can cause quick weight loss and help with blood sugar, but it's very strict and hard to stick with long-term. Cutting out carbs means missing out on fiber, which is vital for weight, heart health, and digestion. The keto diet can also lead to higher cholesterol, digestive problems, "brain fog," and a "keto flu" in the beginning.

The Mediterranean diet is less extreme and doesn't forbid any foods. This makes it easier to follow for life. It has many proven benefits, like reducing inflammation, helping your heart, lowering diabetes risk, preventing some cancers, and improving brain health. While it can help with weight loss, it's more about a healthy way of eating that makes you feel full and satisfied.

Picking the Right Diet for You

The keto diet might be right for a few specific groups, like people preparing for weight-loss surgery or those with epilepsy. Some early research also suggests it could help with type 2 diabetes. However, experts agree that the Mediterranean diet can work for almost anyone. You can often adjust it to fit your cultural foods. When choosing a diet, think about:

• What are your long-term health goals?
• What diet plan is realistic for you to follow?
• What foods do you enjoy eating?
• What can you stick with for a lifetime?

Most of us reach for our morning coffee with a single goal in mind—energy. But what if that humble cup of black coffee could do more than just wake you up? New research suggests it might actually extend your life. While cream-laced lattes and syrupy café concoctions dominate the market, it's the unadulterated cup—free of sugar and heavy cream—that appears to carry powerful, long-term health benefits. According to two major studies, including one led by researchers at Tufts University and another by Harvard, your daily coffee ritual may be silently contributing to both a longer life and healthier aging provided you keep it simple.

A newly published observational study by the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University has revealed a noteworthy link between black coffee consumption and a reduced risk of early death. Drawing on two decades of national health survey data involving 46,000 U.S. adults, the study found that those who drank 1–2 cups of caffeinated black coffee daily experienced a 14% lower risk of death from all causes. Notably, the protective benefits were strongest when the coffee was consumed with little to no added sugar or saturated fat.

Dr. Fang Fang Zhang, senior author and professor at the Friedman School, emphasizes the nuance: “The health benefits of coffee might be attributable to its bioactive compounds, but our results suggest that the addition of sugar and saturated fat may reduce the mortality benefits.”

This comprehensive analysis relied on data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), cross-linked with National Death Index records from 1999 to 2018. Mortality factors considered included deaths from all causes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. The researchers categorized coffee drinkers by caffeine content and levels of added sugar and fat, setting clear benchmarks for what qualifies as “low” sugar and fat content.

Why Additives In Your Coffee Can Cancel Out Its Benefits?

The devil, it seems, is in the dairy. While coffee itself contains antioxidant-rich bioactive compounds that may improve heart health, reduce inflammation, and support metabolic function, loading your cup with creamers, syrups, and whipped toppings may negate these benefits.

Specifically, the Tufts study defines “low sugar” as under 2.5 grams (about half a teaspoon) per 8-ounce cup, and “low fat” as under 1 gram of saturated fat—the equivalent of 5 tablespoons of 2% milk or a tablespoon of half-and-half. Exceeding these thresholds was linked to a diminished or even absent association with reduced mortality risk.

According to first author Bingjie Zhou, “Our results align with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans which recommend limiting added sugar and saturated fat.”

Link Between Black Coffee and Healthy Aging

Adding another layer to the discussion, a separate longitudinal study from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health monitored over 47,000 women for three decades. Researchers discovered that women who drank at least one cup of coffee daily were significantly more likely to reach old age in good physical and cognitive health.

Dr. Sara Mahdavi, the lead researcher, explained: “While past studies have linked coffee to individual health outcomes, our study is the first to assess coffee’s impact across multiple domains of aging over three decades.” These domains included mental sharpness, physical mobility, and absence of major chronic disease.

The study, presented at the American Society for Nutrition’s annual conference, found that habitual coffee drinkers were statistically more likely to fall within a group labeled as experiencing "healthy aging." That means fewer chronic conditions, greater cognitive function, and better overall vitality as they aged—remarkable results that again favored moderate black coffee consumption over sugary or high-fat alternatives.

How Much Coffee Is Too Much?

According to the Tufts data, drinking more than three cups of coffee per day did not significantly improve longevity and, in some cases, weakened the protective link between coffee and cardiovascular mortality. In other words, more is not necessarily better.

Experts also point out that moderation and personalization matter. People with underlying heart issues, insomnia, or sensitivity to caffeine should consult their healthcare provider before increasing their coffee intake. Moreover, self-reported food recall surveys, which this study relied on, have inherent limitations. Daily fluctuations in diet and underreporting can affect accuracy, although the large sample size and consistent findings still give the data substantial credibility.

What do these findings mean for your daily routine? If you're already a black coffee drinker, science just handed you a compelling reason to stay the course. If your go-to order resembles a dessert in a cup, you might want to rethink your approach.

To reap the most benefits, consider switching to unsweetened black coffee or limit add-ins to small amounts of plant-based or low-fat dairy alternatives. The key takeaway is that the simplicity of black coffee—not its fanciful counterparts—may hold the secret to living not just longer, but better.

In a world overflowing with complicated wellness trends and expensive superfoods, the latest research offers something refreshingly simple: black coffee. Affordable, accessible, and already a staple for millions, it might be one of the easiest lifestyle tweaks you can make for long-term health.