Maria V.Dimitrova

Author of article

March 01, 2020

Date

Intermittent Fasting - Healthier and Prettier

Studies have proven that what you eat determines to a great extent your health, youthfulness and cellular age, but it turns out that how you eat also matters. Researchers have been conducting studies on different forms of intermittent fasting (reducing your food intake in whole or in part, a few days a week, every other day or once a week) and the results have shown that this practice can help regulate the insulin levels, decrease the risk of chronic disease, slow down aging and prevent dementia. Let’s take a look at what other benefits it provides, who it is suitable for and whether there are other options except strict fasting.

Benefits

·         According to Mark Mattson, head of the National Institute on Aging's neuroscience laboratory, intermittent fasting acts as a form of mild stress that continually boosts cellular defenses against molecular damage. His studies with mice showed that occasional fasting increases the levels of “chaperone proteins,” which don’t allow the incorrect assembly of other molecules in the cell. Another effect from intermittent fasting was the increased level of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) – a protein preventing stressed neurons from dying.

·         Fasting also plays a role in autophagy, which is like a garbage-disposal system in cells that cleans them from damaged molecules, including ones that have been previously linked to Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and other neurological diseases.

·         As mentioned above, fasting increases the body's responsiveness to insulin which is very important since decreased sensitivity to insulin is linked to obesity, diabetes and heart failure. It’s has been discovered that long-lived animals and people tend to have unusually low insulin. It is considered that the reason for this is the high sensitivity of their cells to the hormone and that is why they need less of it.

·         It might help in alleviating asthma symptoms. A study published in 2007 by Mattson, Johnson and their colleagues showed a rapid, significant alleviation of asthma symptoms and numerous signs of inflammation in nine overweight asthmatics who near-fasted every other day for two months.

·         Cancer cells starve out during fasting according to Valter Longo’s research studies ( a professor of Biogerontology at the USC Davis School of Gerontology and director of the USC Longevity Institute).

·          It has anti-age effects. Valter Longo also explains about fasting:” It’s about reprogramming the body so it enters a slower aging mode, but also rejuvenating it through stem cell-based regeneration.”

·         Prolonged fasting also lowered levels of IGF-1 which may protect against tumor progression and reduce cancer risk since Longo and others have found that this growth-factor hormone is linked to aging and these types of diseases.

Is fasting good for everyone?

Experts warn that fasting is NOT appropriate for:

• Pregnant and breastfeeding women because the babies need regular supply of nutrients for a normal development
• People who are on some medication that must be taken with food to achieve the proper effect
• People with diabetes
• People who have high uric acid should also avoid it since fasting can precipitate gout since kidneys increase their reabsorption of uric acid in periods of no food consumption
• Children should not fast for more than 24 hours because they need nutrients for continued growth
• People with body mass index (BMI) of 18.5 or less
• Malnourished people who suffer any vitamin or mineral deficiencies should start eating healthier foods and when they achieve normal levels of these nutrients, they can give intermittent fasting a try

The scientist Valter Logo also warns: “Not everyone is healthy enough to fast for five days, and the health consequences can be severe for a few who do it improperly. Water-only fasting should only be done in a specialized clinic!”

An Alternative to Strict Fasting

Longo and his team of researchers developed the Fasting Mimicking Diet that has been tested in a trial and has shown numerous positive results – reduced visceral belly fat, regeneration of stem cells in different organs including the brain, where it boosted neural regeneration and improved learning and memory.

The diet (bimonthly cycles that lasted four days of an FMD) reduced the individual’s caloric intake down to 34 to 54 percent of normal, with a specific composition of proteins, carbohydrates, fats and micronutrients. It can be done anywhere under the supervision of a physician and carefully following the guidelines established in the clinical trials.

If you want to learn what the ancient science of Ayurveda recommends regarding fasting, click here.