Abstract
BackgroundThe Daniel Fast is a vegan diet that prohibits the consumption of animal products, refined foods, white flour, preservatives, additives, sweeteners, flavorings, caffeine, and alcohol. Following this dietary plan for 21 days has been demonstrated to improve blood pressure, LDL-C, and certain markers of oxidative stress, but it has also been shown to lower HDL-C. Krill oil supplementation has been shown to increase HDL-C.MethodsWe investigated the effects of following a Daniel Fast dietary plan with either krill oil supplementation (2 g/day) or placebo supplementation (coconut oil; 2 g/day) for 21 days. The subjects in this study (12 men and 27 women) were heterogeneous with respect to body mass index (BMI) (normal weight, overweight, and obese), blood lipids (normolipidemic and hyperlipidemic), blood glucose (normal fasting glucose, impaired fasting glucose, and type 2 diabetic), and blood pressure (normotensive and hypertensive).ResultsKrill oil supplementation had no effect on any outcome measure (all p > 0.05), and so the data from the krill oil group and the placebo group were collapsed and analyzed to examine the effects of following a 21-day Daniel Fast. Significant reductions were observed in LDL-C (100.6 ± 4.3 mg/dL vs. 80.0 ± 3.7 mg/dL), the LDL:HDL ratio (2.0 ± 0.1 vs. 1.7 ± 0.1), fasting blood glucose (101.4 ± 7.5 mg/dL vs. 91.7 ± 3.4 mg/dL), fasting blood insulin (7.92 ± 0.80 μU/mL vs. 5.76 ± 0.59 μU/mL), homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) (2.06 ± 0.30 vs. 1.40 ± 0.21), systolic BP (110.7 ± 2.2 mm Hg vs. 105.5 ± 1.7 mm Hg), and body weight (74.1 ± 2.4 kg vs. 71.5 ± 2.3 kg) (all p < 0.05).ConclusionFollowing a Daniel Fast dietary plan improves a variety of cardiometabolic parameters in a wide range of individuals in as little as 21 days, and these improvements are unaffected by krill oil supplementation.Trial registrationClinicaltrial.govNCT01378767
Highlights
The Daniel Fast is a vegan diet that prohibits the consumption of animal products, refined foods, white flour, preservatives, additives, sweeteners, flavorings, caffeine, and alcohol
Dietary treatments that target the main parameters associated with type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease – glycemic control, blood lipids, blood pressure, and body weight – will likely reduce the morbidity and mortality associated with these diseases
A recently investigated “Daniel Fast” was shown to lower blood pressure, total cholesterol, and low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) [6]
Summary
The Daniel Fast is a vegan diet that prohibits the consumption of animal products, refined foods, white flour, preservatives, additives, sweeteners, flavorings, caffeine, and alcohol. Following this dietary plan for 21 days has been demonstrated to improve blood pressure, LDL-C, and certain markers of oxidative stress, but it has been shown to lower HDL-C. A recently investigated “Daniel Fast” (a plant-based dietary plan that prohibits the intake of animal products, refined foods, white flour, preservatives, additives, sweeteners, flavorings, caffeine, and alcohol) was shown to lower blood pressure, total cholesterol, and low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) [6]. We pooled together the data for subjects in the krill oil and placebo conditions, and we present the results of following a Daniel Fast dietary plan for 21 days
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