The science behind fasting

It should be a well known fact that our bodies were designed for famine and not for abundance.  As you well know from reading this blog, our digestive systems have not changed in over 10,000 years.

10,000 years ago life was a lot different than it is now.  Humans were known as hunter-gatherers, in other words, they lived off what foods they could gather - fruit, vegetables, nuts and seeds.  Every now and again they might be lucky enough to catch an animal.  Catching an animal also meant "feasting" as they would have had to eat it as quickly as possible as there was no way of preserving it.

However, nowadays we live - in the Western World at least, in a time of abundance.  Food is constantly available to us 24/7, and most of it isn't healthy.  Anything labeled a "convenience" food or anything that has been processed isn't just feasting... it's DANGEROUS.

Unfortunately, we know very little about our ancestors' health problems - if they had any at all.  They were most probably eaten by wild animals or died from being hit by a rock then to actually experience disease.  However, we do know a lot more nowadays about aging and disease and how to make ourselves healthier to avoid disease.

We know that being obese or overweight increases the risk of suffering from metabolic syndrome, insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, some cancers and heart disease.

There is also a huge food industry that is consistently bombarding us with advertisements
encouraging us to pour vast amounts of sugar and salt into our bodies and that GMO produce is "good" for us.

There is also a huge "diet" industry - most of which belongs to the aforementioned food industry, that tells us that low fat is good for us, that high carb diets are also good for us, and what the latest diet fad is.

If we focus on the fact that natural foods such as fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds and animal protein are good for us, and combine that with the vast amount of knowledge we have acquired over the past couple of decades - then surely we can come up with a diet that can be very "user friendly" and not just promote weight loss but also promote better health.

Dr. Michael Mosley has done just that.  The Fast Diet, also known as the 5:2 diet is, in my opinion, a masterpiece of combining anti-aging information with food.

Dr. Mosley has spoken with a number of scientists who are analyzing the way our bodies react to aging and to other environmental factors, and how changing those environmental factors can also improve how we age.

Having read his book, "The Fast Diet" and seen the documentary he produced for the BBC, I was fascinated.  However, there was one piece of information that really got me hooked.  Michael Mosley traveled to the USA and spoke to Dr. Valter Longo, director of the University of Southern California's Longevity Institute.  Dr. Longo is passionate about the science of fasting.  The reason why he feels the way he does is that his research, and that of many others also, has shown the amazing range of measurable health benefits acquired from fasting.  Going without food for even quite short periods of time switches on a number of repair genes which, as Dr. Longo explained, can provide some longterm benefits:

"There is a lot of initial evidence to suggest that temporary periodic fasting can induce changes that can be beneficial against aging and disease.  You take a person, you fast them, after 24 hours everything is revolutionized.  And even if you took a cocktail of drugs, very potent drugs, you will never even get close to what fasting does.  The beauty of fasting is that it's all coordinated," Dr. Longo says.

It all comes down to the levels of insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1).  IGF-1 is what makes your body's cells multiply continuously.  However, Valter has discovered that during fasting the body reduces the production of IGF-1 and instead of multiplying cells like crazy, the body begins to repair damaged areas.  When you are young and growing, you need adequate levels of IGF-1 and other growth factors, however, high levels in later life appear to lead to accelerated aging and cancer.

There is a vast history of fasting in many cultures - this is not something new.  There are cultures that fast for long periods of time.  However, for many of us in our abundance orientated world are horrified at the prospect of skipping a single meal.

"I've been so busy today I didn't even have time for lunch!" we frequently hear.

What we need to do is to change our way of thinking.  The Fast Diet makes fasting easy; 5 days a week you eat normally and the other 2 days you severely restrict your calories to 600Kcal/day for men and 500Kcal/day for women.  Michael Mosley found this idea much easier to work with than say fasting for 4 days every 2-3 months or even alternate day fasting.

The 2 fasting days do not have to be consecutive, they can be whichever days you choose.  You can work them into your diary so it works for you.  You can have all your calories in one meal or you can have two smaller meals (breakfast and dinner).  But the idea is to go for as long as possible between meals.  The Fast Diet has proved to be a good weight loss plan, BUT also has the added benefits of improved health and reduced aging.

For more information you can visit the website: http://thefastdiet.co.uk/

So what are you waiting for?

I can help you improve your health.  If you would like to make an appointment with me either in person or via Skype, just send me an email to lucycarr@socialnutrition.com