Israeli health technology startup Lumen has launched its eponymous health tracking device in the Middle East with a project to track the impact of Ramadan fasting on people's bodies, the company announced Wednesday.
Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter
The Lumen device measures the body's carbon dioxide concentration when a user breathes into it. The levels measured indicate the type of fuel the user's body is using to produce energy – how much fat, and how much carbs. The device then provides nutritional recommendations.
As intermittent fasting becomes more common, the Lumen research team is going back to a long-established tradition of fasting. Throughout the Islamic month of Ramadan, which this year begins the evening of April 13 and lasts until May 12, the Lumen research team will analyze metabolism measurements of 2,000 people across the Middle East, Asia, North America and the UK who observe the fast, before and after the Iftar and Suhur meals, which break and start the fast, respectively.
"We are very exciting to draw insights from one of the largest fasting traditions – the holy month of Ramadan. The unique setting enables to see how these fasting windows impact our metabolism but also other interesting factors such as not consuming water throughout the day, the timing of the meals and of course the impressive month-long duration of the fasting practice," said Lumen's head of data, Barak Alon.
Currently, over 45% of Lumen users across the Middle East who fast 16 hours are able to shift their fuel source to fat burn. Lumen will publish their results when Ramadan ends to sum up the impact of fasting for all daylight hours for an entire month.
Lumen was co-founded by Israeli twins Michal and Merav Mor, both of whom hold doctorates in physiology. They now serve as head of science for product and head of research and science.
The Mor sisters came up with the idea for a personal metabolic tracker while training for an Ironman triathlon. After eight years of development and an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign, Lumen was released worldwide on March 31.
"While metabolism is key to weight loss, the only way to test metabolism was through a restrictive, hours-long laboratory process, leaving regular people with zero visibility into their metabolic rate and only haphazard ways of improving it," said Michal Mor.
"With Lumen, we are bringing scientifically rigorous insight into personal metabolism for the very first time, allowing anyone at home to measure how efficient their body is at burning calories, but also sharing research-driven recommendations on how they can reach their health and fitness goals faster," Mor added.
In a study conducted by San Francisco State University, Lumen has been validated to meet the gold standard for metabolic measurement.
Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!
