I Sabotaged My Body With Men’s Intermittent Fasting Studies
The gender gap in health research is so dangerous for women
Last month, I got my blood drawn for labs. It was meant to be a preventative check-up. After all, I was doing everything “right” — strength training, walking, eating well, meditating, and fasting — so I expected a clean bill of health.
“Your thyroid levels are alarmingly high,” my doctor said. “The normal range for TSH is between .4 and 4.5. Yours is over 14. You need to see an endocrinologist.”
I was in shock. I’d spent so much time, money, and effort correcting my thyroid levels — and the last time I’d gotten them tested, they were perfectly normal. What had changed?
Three weeks later, I learned why my thyroid was dysregulated.
Not from my doctor, who was quick to suggest medication for an organ that’s influenced by diet and lifestyle, but from a podcast.
Intermittent fasting (IF, sometimes called time-restricted feeding) is a schedule that alternates between eating and intentionally not eating. It skyrocketed into popularity a few years ago as a low-effort approach to longevity and weight management.
