Can fasting rewrite the microbes in your blood?
NCT ID NCT06678516
First seen Sep 11, 2026 · Last updated Sep 11, 2026
Summary
Researchers at Erasmus Medical Center are studying whether one month of daily intermittent fasting changes the mix of bacteria, archaea, and viruses in the blood of healthy volunteers. Participants follow their usual eating habits for one month, then fast from 7:30 to 18:30 each day for another month, drinking only water or zero-calorie beverages during fasting hours. The team uses genetic sequencing to compare blood microbe samples before and after fasting, and also looks at how blood microbes relate to gut microbes. The goal is to understand whether fasting, a common lifestyle change, alters the blood microbiome in ways that could matter for future disease detection.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- intermittent fasting, a schedule where people eat only during certain hours of the day
- What this could lead to
- If fasting shifts the microbes in blood, doctors might one day use blood microbe patterns to spot liver disease early or to guide lifestyle advice.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, short study in healthy people, so any changes may be minor, temporary, or not apply to sick patients. Fasting can cause hunger, headaches, or low energy, and the blood microbiome is a new field with no proven clinical use yet.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 48 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Dec 2025
- Expected to finish
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Nov 2027
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 to 65 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Accepted
You do not need to have the condition being studied to take part.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Age 18-65 years * 18.5 =\< BMI \< 25 kg/m2 * All genders are included. * Have not fasted (go for a day without any food) for any amount of days in the month before the start of the study * Being willing to provide App-derived movement data over the course of the study * Participants are willing to and capable of providing written informed consent. Exclusion Criteria: * Regular use medications such as antibiotics, steroids, beta blockers, and adrenergic-stimulating agents (self-report) * Regular use prebiotic and/or probiotics (self-report) * Intake of antibiotic at least in previous 1 months (self-report) * Daily consumption of \>10 cigarettes, or \>6 cups of coffee (the latter because of the effects on circadian rhythm). (self-report) * Chronic diseases including type 2 diabetes, hypertension, fatty liver disease, cancer, or autoimmune disease (self-report and clinical chemistry) * Internal diseases, including those of the gastrointestinal tract, lung, heart, vasculature, liver, and kidney (self-report and clinical chemistry) * Eating disorder or unconventional eating habits (self-report) * Have a clinically significant abnormality as measured by a blood test * Participation in another study (self-report) * Habit of performing regular fasting (self-report) * Women: pregnancy and breastfeeding (self-report)
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
2 sites in 2 countries. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Erasmus Medical Center - Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology
RECRUITINGRotterdam, 3015 GD, Netherlands
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Northwest Minzu University
RECRUITINGLanzhou, Gansu, 730046, China
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