MINI REVIEW article
Front. Nutr.
Sec. Nutrition, Psychology and Brain Health
This article is part of the Research TopicImpact of nutrition on brain healthView all 20 articles
Effects of intermittent fasting on brain health via the gut-brain axis
Provisionally accepted
- 1Department of Geriatric Neurology, Shandong Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong First Medical University, Jinan, Shandong, China
- 2Shandong First Medical University & Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, Shandong Academy of Occupational Health and Occupational Medicine, Jinan, Shandong, China
- 3Institute of Brain Science and Brain-inspired Research, Shandong First Medical University & Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, Jinan, Shandong, China
- 4Shandong Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong First Medical University, Jinan, China
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Intermittent fasting (IF), an emerging dietary strategy alternating fasting and feeding cycles, exerts multi-modal brain protection through regulation of the gut-brain axis. With neurological and mental disorders ranking among the top global disease burdens, IF opens new frontiers in nutritional neuroscience by modulating gut microbiota composition and metabolic pathways, offering a non-pharmacological intervention strategy. Preclinical studies reveal that IF enriches probiotics, reduces neuroinflammation, and restores intestinal barrier integrity, thereby mitigating "leaky gut"-induced cognitive decline. Similarly, the ketogenic effect of IF can improve mitochondrial efficiency, while its anti-inflammatory effect alleviates the pathological changes of multiple sclerosis by suppressing autoreactive T cells. Clinical evidence reveals that IF significantly correlates with decreased β-amyloid burden in AD transgenic models and enhanced motor performance in PD patients, suggesting its multimodal neuroprotective effects. Mental health benefits are equally striking: IF rebalances Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratios, linked to anxiety and depression remission. The gut-brain axis (GBA) emerges as a pivotal mediator, with SCFAs and tryptophan derivatives fostering serotonin synthesis and oxidative stress reduction. This review synthesizes preclinical and clinical evidence demonstrating how intermittent fasting modulates the gut-microbiota-metabolite-brain axis to confer neuroprotection and mental benefits, while identifying personalized protocol optimization as a critical avenue for future research.
Keywords: intermittent fasting, Brain health, gut-brain axis, Microbial Metabolites, Neurodegenerative disorders, mental illness
Received: 01 Sep 2025; Accepted: 03 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Zhao, Geng, Gao, Liu, Nie and Yin. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Shanjing Nie, nieshanjing814@163.com
Qingqing Yin, yinqingqing@sdfmu.edu.cn
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