Fasting brings gut hormones, above all insulin, to zero ('your fasting insulin equals zero').

Original statement

فالصيام يُصفّر الهرمونات المعوية، وعلى رأسها الأنسولين، فيمنح الكبد والأمعاء فرصة الإصلاح وإخراج السموم.

verbatim according to source. Translation by the project; the Arabic wording is authoritative.

Translation

Fasting brings gut hormones, above all insulin, to zero ('your fasting insulin equals zero').

Origin

Source status

Archive editors

Attribution

Archive editors summarising Elawady's view (homepage summary; not the quote box)

Origin

https://eltayebat.com/

Attribution uncertainty

Homepage summary written by the archive operators describing Elawady's views; partly cites his 'statement of the theory' video (aEbRfVSJIOw), otherwise no video reference.

Claimed mechanism

Insulin is only secreted in response to food in the gut.

Claimed health effect

Insulin falls to zero during fasting

Population concerned

Everyone

Geographic restriction by Elawady

none found

Diverging source versions

Scientific assessment

Mostly false – Essential parts of the statement are not supported by the evidence or are strongly exaggerated.

Certainty of evidence: moderate – Further research may still affect the assessment.

1. What was claimed?

Fasting reduces insulin (and other gut hormones) to zero.

2. What is demonstrably correct?

Insulin secretion falls during fasting, which permits lipolysis and ketone body production; ketones (beta-hydroxybutyrate) become a major brain fuel in prolonged starvation (I-FAST-01). Fasting regimens can lower fasting insulin (I-FAST-05).

3. What is wrong or exaggerated?

Insulin does not fall to zero in healthy people; a low basal level persists and restrains ketone production and hepatic glucose output. When insulin truly approaches zero (type 1 diabetes), ketoacidosis develops (I-INS-08). A fasting glucose of 700 mg/dL, which Elawady mentions as compatible with 'zero insulin', is a medical emergency indicating severe insulin deficiency, not a healthy fasting state. Insulin is also not only a gut hormone; it is a pancreatic hormone released into the portal vein, with secretion modulated by gut hormones (incretins).

4. What remains unclear?

Exact basal insulin concentrations during fasts of different length were not extracted from the sources reviewed; it is also uncertain whether Elawady meant 'zero' literally or as 'very low'.

5. Which studies support it?

I-FAST-01 (insulin falls, ketones rise); partly I-FAST-05 (fasting insulin reduced in some trials; nothing supports insulin falling to zero).

6. Which studies contradict it?

I-INS-08, I-INS-10.

7. What applies to Germany and Europe?

Not region-specific.

8. What is known about Egypt?

Not region-specific; Ramadan fasting practice is common.

9. What practical conclusion is appropriate?

Fasting lowers insulin, which is part of its metabolic effect, but a body without any insulin is in danger. People with diabetes on insulin must not stop basal insulin during fasting without medical advice.

Assessment details

Rationale for certainty of evidence

It is well established that insulin falls during fasting while glucagon rises, enabling fat breakdown and ketone production (kernel correct). Basal insulin secretion continues in healthy people and is essential: complete absence of insulin (type 1 diabetes) leads to uncontrolled ketogenesis and DKA. ADA advises that people on intensive insulin therapy should not stop basal insulin even when not eating. Evidence is physiological and guideline-based; no direct study measuring 'zero' was reviewed (moderate).

Source quality

Homepage editorial paraphrase plus own words in machine transcripts.

Regional transferability

Universal.

Regional scope of the claim

general (biological/medical)

Last reviewed

25 October 2026 provisional

In plain language

When we do not eat, insulin goes down and the body starts burning stored fat. That part is correct. But insulin never reaches zero in a healthy person, because a small amount is always needed to keep acids in the blood under control. When insulin really is missing, as in type 1 diabetes, life-threatening ketoacidosis follows.

Studies on this claim

Regional context

Germany / EU

Not region-specific.

Egypt

Not region-specific; Ramadan fasting practice is common.

What applies in my country?

General scientific assessment

Mostly false Fasting lowers insulin but does not and should not bring it to zero.

This statement concerns biological or medical relationships. The scientific assessment above applies regardless of the country; country-specific food data do not change it.

References

1. Fuel metabolism in starvation.. Cahill GF. Annu Rev Nutr 2006 · PMID 16848698 · DOI 10.1146/annurev.nutr.26.061505.111258
2. Diabetic ketoacidosis.. Dhatariya KK et al.. Nat Rev Dis Primers 2020 · PMID 32409703 · DOI 10.1038/s41572-020-0165-1
3. 6. Glycemic Goals, Hypoglycemia, and Hyperglycemic Crises: Standards of Care in Diabetes-2026.. American Diabetes Association Professional Practice Committee for Diabetes* . Diabetes Care 2026 · PMID 41358894 · DOI 10.2337/dc26-S006
4. Metabolic Effects of Intermittent Fasting.. Patterson RE et al.. Annu Rev Nutr 2017 · PMID 28715993 · DOI 10.1146/annurev-nutr-071816-064634