OBJECTIVE:To assess the therapeutic effect of weekend fasting and administration of a modified Lingguizhugan decoction on metabolic syndrome(MetS).METHODS:Twenty-one patients with MetS were recruited from the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University.Fasting plasma glucose(FPG),30-min and 2-h post-prandial blood glucose(PG),fasting serum insulin(FINS),blood pressure(BP),body mass index(BMI),waist circumference(WC),homeostasis model assessment for insulin resistance index(HOMA-IR),and levels of triglyceride(TG),total cholesterol(TC),low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol(LDL-C),and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol(HDL-C)were tested.Patients were allowed to drink only water and a Chinese herbal decoction during weekends.All samples were tested again after 12 weeks of treatment.RESULTS:FPG,30-min PG,2-h PG,FINS,LDL-C,systolic BP,diastolic BP,BMI,WC,and HOMA-IR de-creased significantly(P<0.05)compared with before treatment.Levels of TG,TC,and HDL-C did not change significantly.CONCLUSION:Weekend fasting improved glucose metabolism,lowered BP,reduced LDL-C levels,BMI,and WC.These data suggest that weekend fasting may be an effective therapy for MetS by protection against coronary atherosclerosis. OBJECTIVE: To assess the therapeutic effect of weekend fasting and administration of a modified Lingguizhugan decoction on metabolic syndrome (MetS). METHODS: Twenty-one patients with MetS were recruited from the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University. Fasting plasma glucose ( FPG), fasting serum insulin (FINS), blood pressure (BP), body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), homeostasis model assessment for insulin resistance index (HOMA-IR), and levels of triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein- cholesterol (LDL- C), and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL- C) were tested. Patients were allowed to drink only water and a Chinese herbal decoction during weekends. All cases were tested again after 12 weeks of treatment .RESULTS: FPG, 30-min PG, 2-h PG, FINS, LDL-C, systolic BP, diastolic BP, BMI, WC, and HOMA-IR de-creased significantly (P <0.05) compared with before treatment. Levels of TG, TC, and HDL-C did not change significantly. C ONCLUSION: Weekend fasting improved glucose metabolism, lowered BP, reduced LDL-C levels, BMI, and WC. The data suggest that weekend fasting may be an effective therapy for MetS by protection against coronary atherosclerosis.