Scientists have discovered that calorie restriction helps decrease cellular damage and support healthy DNA, but maintaining such a diet for life may be unattainable. That’s why intermittent fasting and the ProLon FMD have emerged as viable solutions.
Monthly cycles of fasting-mimicking diet can improve insulin resiliency and liver fat accumulation, according to researchers. Furthermore, these five-day cycles reduce immune system aging signs as well as biological aging symptoms.
1. Reduces inflammation
Fasting can help lower chronic low-grade inflammation levels, helping protect against diseases such as cancer and heart disease that often emerge with age. Fasting can lower these markers of inflammation to protect against cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, atherosclerosis, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases among other conditions.
Anti-Aging Benefits of Ionic FluxTM can be attributed to its ability to enhance cellular repair, reduce oxidative stress and promote healthy DNA. Furthermore, IF can slow the progression of aging by inhibiting cell damage and encouraging new cell formation.
Researchers have recently discovered that intermittent fasting (IF) can significantly lower inflammatory markers and protect cells from damage. One of the ways IF could do this is by reducing arachidonic acid blood levels – an essential fatty acid needed for cell membrane health but excessive consumption can cause inflammation as well as numerous health complications.
Another way in which intermittent fasting (IF) may reduce inflammation is by increasing insulin sensitivity and reducing oxidative stress in the body. IF may help balance sugar levels in blood by controlling its release into circulation via controlling insulin secretion.
Studies have revealed that fasting can also increase production of healthy mitochondria, the powerhouses of cells responsible for turning glucose into energy and producing energy for cell functions. By increasing production of healthy mitochondria, intermittent fasting (IF) may reduce oxidative stress while improving cell functions and functionality.
IF can also help to reduce inflammation markers by modulating immune cell activity. According to one study, researchers discovered that IF reduced monocyte activity – precursor cells to macrophages. Furthermore, it induced autophagy within macrophages and prevented activation of pro-inflammatory proteins found in aged bone marrow cells.
These findings suggest that integrative nutrition (IF) may reduce oxidative stress and increase protein production in cells, helping promote DNA repair by decreasing inflammation and oxidative stress levels in the body. More research needs to be conducted into its effects on progression of aging or specific diseases.
2. Boosts your metabolism
Researchers have demonstrated that fasting can switch your body from using glucose (blood sugar) for energy production to burning fat instead, helping your body detoxify, repair tissues, and increase energy. An ideal way to achieve this metabolic boost is through intermittent fasting; which involves eating at regular intervals throughout the day with only short windows during which food and beverages may be consumed.
Intermittent fasting differs from dieting in that it doesn’t involve restricting calories or eating only certain kinds of food. According to research at UF Health, intermittent fasting has been found to optimize physiological functioning while possibly delaying or even reversing aging and disease processes.
The study, published in Nature Communications, discovered that a nutritious diet similar to fasting can promote metabolic health and delay biological aging in healthy adults. More specifically, scientists observed that such an approach increase production of antioxidants while improving mitochondrial flexibility to counteract age-related decreases in energy processing within cells.
Diets that increase energy availability can also help improve muscle function and slow the progression of Parkinson’s disease and other movement disorders, while possibly decreasing risks for heart disease and cancer.
To conduct their study, the team fed four volunteers a nutritional diet designed to simulate fasting for five days, then measured their metabolites–molecules produced by their bodies to store and use energy–using an analytical technique called metabolomics.
Scientists noted during this process that the bodies of their study volunteers shifted away from using glucose for energy production to burning fat as fuel instead, producing ketones along the way and also seeing an increase in antioxidants and other beneficial chemicals in their bodies.
Researchers found that their findings demonstrated how a five-day, plant-based fasting-mimicking diet reduced biological age markers in both men and women, as well as rejuvenation of metabolic and immune systems – two significant findings given no other diet intervention has demonstrated such effects. They hope their research may eventually lead to dietary regimens designed to prevent or treat diseases associated with aging or chronic inflammation.
3. Burns fat
Fasting can help your body transform fat into ketones for energy use instead of sugar, helping reduce your blood sugar levels and speed up weight loss efforts. In addition, cravings for sweets are reduced making it easier to resist temptation and consume fewer calories overall. In two recent clinical trials led by USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology professor Valter Longo it was discovered that following an FMD (fasting-mimicking diet) reduced disease risk factors as well as biological aging in healthy participants1.1
Calorie restriction can be an effective strategy to promote metabolic health and extend your healthy lifespan, but due to its difficulty of implementation it may not be an ideal long-term diet choice for most.
