Fasting simulating diet for longevity

[stoneaxe]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/science-news/11683736/Five-day-fasting-diet-slows-down-ageing-and-may-add-years-to-life.html

[PonoBill]

Dr. Longo comes across as a nitwit. Anyone that says "It's about... " should receive a major shock from a device implanted in their nether regions. And the Telegraph needs a science write that can actually write. But what the hell, I'll give it a go.

[pdxmike]

It is interesting to see a diet where half the calories come from fat.  Quite a switch from the typical "fat makes you fat" diet thinking. 

[headmount]

Dr. Longo comes across as a nitwit. Anyone that says "It's about... " should receive a major shock from a device implanted in their nether regions. And the Telegraph needs a science write that can actually write. But what the hell, I'll give it a go.

Remember in Ghostbusters how Bill Murray shocks the guy giving the right answers and fawns all over the babe giving the wrong ones?  "You really gotta a knack for this."  I'm all for shock therapy but want to be the one zapping guys.

Fasting works.  Has made me feel pretty damn good in the past.  Yeah five days is good but even one a week helps.

[johnysmoke]

"Don't cross the streams"

Not sure if vegetable soup and chamomile tea would hold me over for 5 days. Would rather just go cold turkey and drink just water. Not sure how you'd start back up again on day 6, slowly I suppose. Would like to try a fast or cleanse but then I just start thinking they're just a fad, especially if it's out of southern California. Although the taoist did link food consumption with aging, not sure they're any better resource than southern California folks.

[blueplanetsurf]

Fasting one day a week is not as difficult and has the same benefits.  Just drink water only (or unsweetened coffee or tea) and no calories, period.  This is hard at first but your body adjusts.

[pdxmike]

Not sure if vegetable soup and chamomile tea would hold me over for 5 days. Would rather just go cold turkey and drink just water.

^ Same here on the cold turkey and water. 

[Boardfit]

I didn't see any references at the bottom of that article and nothing shows up on pubmed.com, indicating that this isn't a credible "research" publication. A little birdie also told me that no one could duplicate this study done at USC either...whatever that means.

I wouldn't jump into this diet thinking that it will be beneficial to your health. As far as my knowledge goes, the immune system needs nutrition to function properly. Starving certainly wouldn't "regenerate " it.

[Admin]

Day one of the diet comprises:
10 per cent protein, 56 per cent fat and 34 per cent carbohydrate, making 1,090 calories
Days two to five:
Nine per cent protein, 44 per cent fat and 47 per cent carbohydrate making 725 calories

Day 1: Here's your peanut and a bag of Doritos.  Have a nice day.
Days two to five: Here's 3/4 of a peanut and a bag of Doritos.  Leave a few in the bag.  See you tomorrow.

[Quickbeam]

This video ( ) is long (just under one hour) but for anyone interested in fasting it is a fascinating show. I saw this a couple of years ago, and after doing some reading and talking to my doctor I decided to give fasting a try. I did not do this to lose weight. I had a couple of pounds to lose, but was not obese or greatly overweight by any stretch of the imagination. I’ve also never dieted in my life. I really did it because of the possible overall health benefits.

I also do my fasting a little differently than what is outlined in the video. I do not do a calorie restricted diet twice per week. I am not a cook at all. My wife does all the cooking and I just did not want to ask her to keep track of my calories, so on my fast days I just drink water. So I started off just drinking water twice per week. The only problem was, I was losing too much weight. So I now do a water fast once per week. Once you get used to it, it is not that difficult to do.

As for the health benefits, I guess only time will tell. I’ve been doing this for about two years now and other than a back that gives me some problems, I feel great. All my numbers (cholesterol, etc.) are very good, and on my last, recent checkup at my doctors, his words to me were “whatever you’re doing, just keep on doing it.”

I should also point out that my regular diet, on non-fasting days, is not always the best. I have a sweet tooth and sometimes eat too much junk food. I suppose one of these days I’ll work on that, but for now the fasting lets me do that and I still get good checkups and my weight is where it should be.

Each to their own, but so far at least, this has been working for me.

[Tom]

Some how I missed these posts. I have been on the 5 2 fasting diet for about 4 weeks and think its great.  My brother sent me a DVD of the previous video and I thought I'd try it.

I'm 67, do not have a weight problem but could lose 5 to 10 pounds, and really wanted to get into it for the multiple health benefits. I've had several blood tests lately and have several areas that are 'border line above average' or 'no medication needed, but you should be aware of this'.  I'm going to give it another month and get a physical and I'll let you know the results.

The diet is really easy, I eat whatever I want 5 days a week and restrict my calories to 500 to 600 a day for 2 days a week. My normal fasting days menu is for  breakfast I eat 3/4 cup of the cereal I usually eat for breakfast, Kasai crunch, with a small splash of milk (200 calories). I skip lunch and for dinner I will grill a 3 oz piece of meat or chicken and have a small lettuce and carrot salad with no dressing (300 calories). I drink water, coffee, and zero calorie ice tea or soda water and may have a piece of fruit for a snack. It really is easy and I'm not that hungry though out the day.

[PonoBill]

Yeah, I need to get serious about doing this. I've more or less given up alcohol except for social occasions and when I really feel like it. Oddly enough, cutting back has made it easier to cut back. Now when I have even one beer it makes me feel kind of crappy. Wine too. I seem to be getting away with an occasional brandy with no unpleasant effects, but I've always been moderate about hard liquor.

I did a couple of fast days, not hard. And Diane and I have modified our eating so we just have two meals a day. A good breakfast (I cook--I am a golden GOD when it comes to omelets), and then a light Linner about 4-5:00PM. It's a lot easier on Diane's diabetes. She snacks a little in between to maintain blood sugar. I don't.

You'd think I'd loose weight with all the activity and dietary modifications, but I haven't. So I'm gonna step up the fasting thing.

The whole "cleanse" thing sounds like drawstring pants, Birkenstock-wearing California petunias pretending to understand biochemistry and medicine without benefit of cracking an actual book. Take an actual look inside a colon someday and see if you see anything stuck in there. I've done the whole video drive-through of mine (the day after a  of course) and it's clean as a whistle, no scrubbing required. For the curious, here's what it looked like--though I didn't have any suspicious lesions.

[nj_sup]

So called cleanses/detoxes have never been proven to be beneficial. It's much better to eat heathy, stay active and exercise than any of the crap out there. The Mediterranean diet has been proven to be beneficial in preventing heart disease etc... I know a lot of people like paleo which may help with weight loss but has NOT been proven to lower heart disease risk etc..Just because a diet/fad/fast causes some weight loss does NOT mean it is healthy or beneficial

[Tom]

There is a lot of science behind what make intermittent fasting work, a few studies, and anecdotal evidence . The Michael Moseley video points those out.  I am not into it because of the weight loss, but that is an added benefit.

What I like most  about it is its versatility. By only fasting 2 times a week, I can lead a normal life and not cheat on my diet. This makes me feel that I can keep it up for a long long time. The problem with most other diets is, you have to stay on them 7/24. That makes it hard to go out to eat or to have dinner at someone house. If some one wants to go out for pizza and have beer, that's fine, I just fast on a different day.

[Quickbeam]

As I said above, I have been fasting for going on two years now. I don’t really think of it as a diet, because when I’m not fasting I can eat whatever and whenever I want. I think it might be better to call it a way of life.

As for exercise, staying active and eating healthy, I absolutely agree they are important, although as mentioned in my previous post, I sometimes don’t follow the healthiest of diets. But from everything I’ve read fasting can also help, and from what I’ve seen it has been beneficial for me.

Would be curious to know how you make out in the future Tom. Please keep us posted.