Spain's New Research Shows Intermittent Fasting Sustains Weight Loss and Phage Therapy Cuts Poultry Bacterial Risk

Scientists from the Institute of Biosanitary Research in Granada, the University of Granada, the Public University of Navarra and the CIBER network reported that an 8‑hour eating window (16:8 intermittent fasting) helps adults with overweight or obesity keep the weight they lost for at least a year. In a trial of 99 participants, both early (9 am–5 pm) and late (1 pm–9 pm) 8‑hour windows produced significantly greater weight loss than a control schedule of 12‑hour eating, with the early‑window group also showing a larger reduction in fat mass. About one‑third of participants kept practicing the fasting protocol on their own after the study.

A separate study by AZTI and the University of the Basque Country evaluated a cocktail of four bacteriophages to combat Campylobacter, a common poultry pathogen linked to thousands of food‑borne infections in Europe. The phage blend reduced bacterial loads in an insect infection model, raising survival from 25.5 % to 57.5 % and up to 89 % when combined with erythromycin. Researchers see the approach as a promising, non‑antibiotic tool for improving food safety in the poultry industry.