Sarah Regan, mbg Spirituality & Relationships Editor, reported on April 19, 2026 on a new area of research for intermittent fasting.
From reducing inflammation to boosting longevity, researchers are now exploring its potential role in addiction treatment. A study from the University of Arizona suggests an intermittent fasting regimen could benefit people undergoing treatment for opioid addiction.
Testing IF during opioid treatment
The research began when student David Duron, who has since obtained his Ph.D., was curious about intermittent fasting’s effects on opioid treatment. The team, unsure of what they would find, proceeded with a study using mice as subjects.
Corresponding author John Streicher, Ph.D., explained this was the first study of its kind. The mice were placed on a six-hour fasting regimen, eating only within a six-hour window each day, while receiving opioid injections for one week.
At the end of the week, pain relief had improved and lasted longer in the fasting group compared to the control group. This included a post-surgical pain model. Despite the increased effectiveness of the treatment, the side effects did not increase.
Streicher pointed out this could have important implications for addiction. Opioids activate the brain’s reward circuit, which is the basis of addiction. The control mice, which ate freely, showed the expected reward response to morphine.
But the mice on the intermittent fasting schedule showed no evidence of that reward. They did not seem to experience the drug’s euphoric effect, or at least did not learn to associate the drug with that feeling.
Improving treatment and limiting side effects
While the research is in early stages, the findings suggest people using opioid treatment could try intermittent fasting to potentially improve the treatment and help reduce or eliminate the chance of addiction, should the results translate to humans.
Other side effects also improved. Tolerance for the opioids increased by as much as 100 percent in the control group that was not fasting. The intermittent fasting group saw only about a 40 percent increase in tolerance, meaning they did not need to increase their dosage as much.
The team also found the fasting mice had less constipation and recovered faster from the drugs. Given what is known about intermittent fasting’s effects on gut health, Streicher noted those findings make sense.
All of these results together suggest the side effects of opioids are reduced while the efficacy is improved, which Streicher said is the ideal outcome.
What’s next moving forward?
To continue, the team wants to conduct more studies and clinical trials to understand exactly what is happening in the brain that affects opioid receptors and side effects.
Streicher said one advantage of this approach is that unlike a new drug, which requires years and regulatory approval, a dietary change can be tested more quickly. The team is already trying to set up a clinical trial based on these findings to have patients try an intermittent fasting diet during opioid pain therapy.
Research into intermittent fasting continues to expand, with studies examining its impact on various aspects of metabolic health, cognitive function, and disease prevention. This creates a growing body of evidence for how timing of eating influences physiology.
The potential for a simple dietary intervention to improve outcomes for a serious issue like opioid treatment represents a promising, though still preliminary, avenue for future medical research.
