Increased Life Expectancy
Intermittent fasting is a popular way to improve health and extend life. It involves limiting your eating window to one six-to-eight-hour period each day, such as a 16/8 approach where you eat for eight hours and fast for 16.
The idea is that you’re getting enough food but aren’t overdoing it. In fact, intermittent fasting is one of the easiest ways to avoid micronutrient deficiencies that can contribute to all sorts of health problems.
It also helps you manage insulin levels, which is important because too much insulin can lead to diabetes and heart disease. Studies have shown that long-lived animals and people tend to have lower levels of insulin.
Researchers have also found that intermittent fasting protects neurons from damage. This might help slow the progression of dementia or Alzheimer’s disease.
In addition, periodic fasting increases blood flow to the brain, which may help with memory. It can boost working memory in mice and verbal memory in adult humans.
But the main benefit, he says, is that it makes the body more responsive to the hormone insulin. Insulin is responsible for regulating blood sugar and helping cells use up their fuel stores. In people with type 2 diabetes, high insulin levels can be a major culprit.
Increasing your insulin sensitivity may prevent or reverse diabetes and other diseases that require high amounts of the hormone, said Mattson. It also might reduce inflammation, a common risk factor for cardiovascular disease.
Another benefit of intermittent fasting is that it can increase the number of red blood cells, which are necessary for oxygen transport to tissues. This increases your lifespan and can help you recover from injuries and surgeries more quickly.
It may also help you control your weight, according to a new study from the University of California, San Diego. Overweight adults who practiced the 5:2 diet, which involves fasting two days a week, showed improvements in their cholesterol, blood sugar and weight.
In the past decade, scientists have discovered that brief cycles of periodic fasting-mimicking diets (FMD) have a variety of beneficial effects on aging and on a range of diseases in mice and humans. These findings have inspired a growing field of research that aims to leverage fasting-like diets as a way to increase longevity and healthspan.
Reduced Risk of Cancer
Intermittent fasting is a popular eating style that involves limiting food intake for periods of time throughout the day. This can be beneficial for people who are trying to lose weight or want to improve their overall health. However, there are a few things to consider before starting this type of diet plan.
First of all, if you’re not sure how to go about it, talk to your doctor or health professional. They can help you find a suitable fasting schedule that works best for your needs.
Secondly, remember that fasting should be done in conjunction with healthy eating habits. You still need to eat regular meals during your fasting window, so be sure to include plenty of fruits and vegetables as well as lean proteins.
One of the main reasons that intermittent fasting is thought to be beneficial for cancer prevention is because it can reduce inflammation and improve immune function. This can lead to a reduced risk of the development of many different types of cancer.
Additionally, research suggests that fasting can also reduce the effects of chemotherapy treatments. This is because chemotherapy often causes a lot of oxidative stress and damage to the cells in your body. This can make it harder for them to fight off the effects of chemotherapy and can result in them becoming more sensitive to the treatment.
A short-term fast before chemotherapy is also shown to protect your normal cells from the damaging effects of the medication, and may even allow drugs to be delivered more easily into the cancerous cells. In addition, it can increase your energy levels and tolerance for the medication, and can improve your overall quality of life.
While there are a number of different ways that intermittent fasting can benefit your health, it is important to note that this type of diet should not be used by anyone with a history of eating disorders or depression. It can also be harmful for pregnant women or those who are trying to become pregnant, as it can interfere with their ability to conceive.
Increased Brain Function
As a complex and dynamic organ, the brain demands massive amounts of energy to function. This includes sustaining processes like transmembrane potential preservation and action potential generation that are essential for neuronal signaling, as well as other less-important functions such as macromolecule turnover and axonal transport.
These activities consume huge quantities of glucose, despite the fact that only limited amounts are stored in the brain’s cells, according to Dr. Mark Mattson, a professor of neuroscience at John’s Hopkins School of Medicine.
In order to cope with this enormous demand, the brain switches its metabolism from using glucose to a type of acid called ketones. This process is known as “metabolic switching,” and it may build the brain’s resilience and productivity, boost its support system, and increase its capacity to fight off injury and disease, scientists say.
The shift in energy sources also increases the activity of a protein known as BDNF, which is known to protect the brain from damage and improve cognition and mood. It also triggers a process called autophagy, which reduces the risk of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases by clearing away dead tissue.
Another way that intermittent fasting may benefit the brain is by boosting the amount of new neurons it produces. Studies have shown that fasting-induced boosts in ghrelin, a hormone released by the stomach, are key for this.
Researchers believe that the rise of ghrelin and other dietary factors during periods of fasting promotes the formation of new neurons. This could also improve neuronal plasticity, which is a process that allows neurons to adapt to environmental changes and learn new skills.
This is important for brain health because it helps the brain ward off age-related cognitive decline, according to Matthew Phillips, a neurologist at Waikato Hospital in New Zealand who studies fasting and ketogenic diets.
Moreover, he says the fasting-induced metabolic switch in energy sources may be beneficial for cancer patients. It can help them survive the toxic effects of chemotherapy and radiation treatments, he says.
In addition, he says, many people who fast report improved cognition and mood. This is because the dietary regimen forces you to eat nutrient-dense foods that are good for your brain, including fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.
Reduced Inflammation
Inflammation is a normal immune response to injury or infection, but chronic inflammation that occurs without any such event can be harmful. It has been linked to a host of health issues, including heart disease, diabetes, Alzheimer’s and cancer.
Intermittent fasting reduces inflammation by reducing pro-inflammatory cells in the blood, called monocytes. These immune cells are designed to destroy germs and eliminate infected cells, but too many of them can cause serious tissue damage.
Researchers from Mount Sinai’s Precision Immunology Institute found that a 24-hour fasting regimen reduced the production of these monocytes in human and mouse immune cells. The results suggest that intermittent fasting is a good way to combat the inflammatory effects of our modern diet.
Studies have shown that people who implement intermittent fasting have a decreased resting heart rate, blood pressure, triglyceride levels, and bad cholesterol (LDL). They also saw improvements in other risk factors associated with heart disease and cancer.
A new study, published in Cell, suggests that fasting might be a natural anti-inflammatory. It found that water-only 24-hour intermittent fasting increased a protein that can ease the body’s inflammatory responses, which could be helpful for preventing chronic illness.
This cellular-repair protein is called galectin-3, and it may be an adaptive response to help prevent chronic diseases like type 2 diabetes or cardiovascular disease by easing inflammation. But more research is needed to determine whether this regime is effective in reducing chronic inflammation and the related inflammatory processes.
Inflammation can lead to the development of a number of chronic illnesses, including arthritis and inflammatory bowel diseases. It has also been linked to Alzheimer’s and cancer, gout, asthma and Parkinson’s.
However, there are many things you can do to fight inflammation and improve your health. One such method is to eat a healthy, plant-based diet rich in antioxidants. It can also be beneficial to exercise regularly, even at a gentle level, and to get adequate sleep.
The key to successful, long-term health is a balance of exercise and nutrition. A well-balanced diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains and healthy fats can boost your energy while lowering your blood sugar, cholesterol and inflammation.
