The Effect of Alternating High-Sucrose and Sucrose Free-Diets, and Intermittent One-Day Fasting on the Estrous Cycle and Sex Hormones in Female Rats.
Level 5 - mechanism / opinion, no new human data
Preclinical animal research in female rats
PubMed 36297033 · doi:10.3390/nu14204350
What was done
Fifty female rats were allocated across five feeding groups to test the effects of sucrose intake levels and patterns alongside intermittent fasting. Interventions included diets with sucrose at 9% or 18% of dietary energy content, alternating high-sucrose and sucrose-free diets, and a high-sucrose diet paired with intermittent one-day fasting. Outcomes assessed were estrous cycle parameters and concentrations of estradiol, progesterone, and luteinizing hormone.
What was found
The abstract reports directional changes without exact numbers, variances, or p-values. Sucrose at 9% of dietary energy increased estradiol and decreased progesterone concentrations. A high-sucrose diet, even when alternating with a sucrose-free diet, decreased luteinizing hormone. Combining high-sucrose feeding with one-day fasting caused the greatest hormonal alterations, shortened the estrous phase, and disrupted the estrous cycle.
Why it matters
This study shows that both the amount and consumption pattern of dietary sucrose, including its combination with fasting, can alter female sex hormone profiles and ovarian cyclicity in rodents.
Limits
The study was conducted in female rats, limiting direct translation to human reproductive endocrinology. The abstract provides no quantitative hormone measurements, group-specific sample sizes, intervention durations, or statistical effect sizes.
Cited by
- supports Female rats on every-other-day fasting continue cycling, though with increased irregularity in cycle timing.