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Diet that mimics fasting appears to slow aging

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Re: Diet that mimics fasting appears to slow aging

#291

Post by eru »

16bytes wrote: post #251
eru wrote: post #240

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In a very loose sense of the word you could call sugar a toxin. But it has a ridiculous LD50. (I agree with you mostly, just don't think your argument is holding water.)

I think the argument holds. Sugar has a huge and quantifiable LD50. So does, well, water. This tells us that they are pretty much non-toxic at lose doses. If the LD50 of the "toxins" is similar to water, how can one claim that "de-toxing" will have any benefit? In other words, how can you call it "detoxing" if none of the things are toxic?

> This tells us that they are pretty much non-toxic at lose doses.

Just because sugar doesn't kill you fast (in an LD50 way), doesn't mean it's not bad for you.

You are indeed right that those `toxins' people `detox' for are pretty nebulous.

Re: Diet that mimics fasting appears to slow aging

#292

Post by crusso »

aviv wrote: post #113
aviv wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Correct. I did not consume anything but water for those 23 days. And yes, past day four I felt more energized than at any time in the last 10 years or so. I know it sounds counter intuitive, but I guess it's one of those things you have to try to feel for yourself :) Even the people around me that knew I was fasting were surprised to see the progression and how much more energetic I seemed. Anecdotally, I did feel at…

@crusso, haha I only heard about this show when my friend suggested that I go ahead and apply to participate. It does take some mental effort to cruise through a prolonged fast. It's especially hard in our society where so much is centered around food. It was inconvenient at times to be the one who doesn't eat in social functions and such, but you get over it. The key is not to talk about it and have to explain to pe…

Inspired by this thread and your post, I decided yesterday to try at least a 24 hour fast. After a breakfast shake yesterday, I played tennis and went about my normal activities. I eat a fairly ketogenic diet, so the hunger wasn't too distracting, although I felt very laid back in the evening.

This morning, I woke up about an hour earlier than usual with a great feeling of energy and focus. No real hunger. I'm going to push it a little further as long as I feel good. Thanks.

Re: Diet that mimics fasting appears to slow aging

#293

Post by excentrida »

squids wrote: post #278
shanev wrote: post #194

Earlier quoted context omitted.

An easy way to fast frequently is to just skip breakfast everyday. Then you automatically get a 16+ hour fast and keep your eating to a short window during the day. This helps kick in autophagy [1], a process whereby our cells repair themselves; a garbage collector for our body if you will. This is most likely the process the scientists are observing as slowed down aging. It's not really a foreign topic as there's 39…

I used to think this but then I read a few studies showing larger breakfast breaking the overnight fast result in better blood sugar/insulin/body fat scores. In comparison to intermittent fasting, chronic fasting/starvation everyday like you're doing is probably not good for your body. It responds by keeping more bodyfat to last you through your 16 hr window, giving you a belly and raising your insulin when you start…

Agree! There's also a BBC documentary on intermittent fasting. The idea is to eat just normally 5 days a week, and then two days a week you eat 500 calories if you are a woman, or 600 calories, if you are a man - pretty optimal routine for modern lifestyle :)

Re: Diet that mimics fasting appears to slow aging

#294

Post by excentrida »

js2 wrote: post #156
gituliar wrote: post #151

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What 5:2 stands for: 2 days of fasting per week? If so, what days do you fast at?

You can pick any 2 non-consecutive days, and they aren't actually full fast days. You just limit to 500-600 calories on those days. http://thefastdiet.co.uk/how-many-calories-on-a-non-fast-day...

5:2 fits my lifestyle perfectly )

Re: Diet that mimics fasting appears to slow aging

#295

Post by excentrida »

ketosoy wrote: post #261
pbreit wrote: post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do any of these reveal the diet basics? I wonder if a Soylent-like product could deliver?

There are a few ketogenic soylents -- check out the sidebar at http://www.reddit.com/r/soylent/

I go for Ambronite - it's real food and 500 kcal makes is perfect for fasting days. Ordered here http://ambronite.com/

Re: Diet that mimics fasting appears to slow aging

#296

Post by stevebmark »

benatkin wrote: post #72
stevebmark wrote: post #29

Ketosis also "mimics fastings", the main metabolic difference being nutritional ketosis is 0.5 - 3 mmol/L, while fasting is 3 - 5 mmol/L (betahydroxybuterate in the serum). The benefits of ketosis may also add longevity, possibly with similar mechanisms to fasting. It's likely intermittent fasting put the subjects of the study into mild ketosis. Bottom line: Ketosis may have benefits similar to fasting in terms of ag…

Aren't most ketogenic diets high in red meat? What about cancer? http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/d-brief/2015/01/02/red-mea...

I wouldn't say ketogenic / atkins diets are high in red meat. The aim is 60-80% of the diet as FAT, not as protein. I love a good steak but won't go out of my way to have one unless it's after a workout when I want more protein.

Either way, I would suggest reading The Big Fat Surprise and/or Why We Get Fat to learn more about the tenuous red meat cancer risk. I would also suggest re-reading the last three paragraphs of the article you linked to, and read studies and books instead of articles!

Re: Diet that mimics fasting appears to slow aging

#297

Post by stevebmark »

exelius wrote: post #76
hrehhf wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Ketones (what your body burns for energy when there are no sugars available) don't penetrate to the brain [0] says that this is false. Ketones do go into the brain and the brain does use them for fuel. [0] http://proteinpower.com/drmike/2007/05/22/metabolism-and-ket...

I believe you -- most of what I know about keto I found on reddit so I treat it with a grain of salt. But I also know how it made me feel, and I can't do the diet and hold down the job I currently have.

Ketosis takes at minimum two weeks to adapt to. For some, up to two months. It specifically takes this long because your brain has to switch to using the BOHB for its main fuel source (up to 66% of energy, perhaps higher). The remaining 33% is still glucose (other bodily functions still need glucose to perform, such as the creation of tears), and can usually be supplied by gluconeogenesis from the liver.

I understand the urge is great to talk about science exploration, but if your only source is reddit, you can easily accidentally propagate misinformation. Likely someone walked away from your post thinking that the brain will fail on ketosis because it doesn't have glucose (which is actually a common myth heard from physicians). They will never read this reply. I would highly encourage you to read a complete book before even attempting ketosis, otherwise you won't have the motivation and understanding of the changes in your body to make it worth your time.

If you want something light, read Keto Clarity. If you want a dense but approachable medical perspective, read The Art And Science of Low Carbohydrate Living. I've been in nutritional ketosis approaching a year, and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who hasn't done their research on it.

Re: Diet that mimics fasting appears to slow aging

#298

Post by ljk »

Rainymood wrote: post #38

I currently intermittent fast by skipping breakfast + lunch, partially because I'm lazy, partially because it allows me to easily eat 'all my calories' in the end of the day. I really like this as it provides a 'buffer' for unexpected food, such as random cake, or random lunches with colleagues etc. Has anyone here actually ever TRIED fasting a full 24h day? I have. I HATED it. Well, the fasting itself wasn't that ba…

do you work out? I'd imagine working out while being hungry can't be good?

Re: Diet that mimics fasting appears to slow aging

#299

Post by bargl »

nitrogen wrote: post #283
rquantz wrote: post #272

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Look, I'm an atheist, and I think religion is mostly a bad thing for humanity. But you are off-base here. The parent was in no way proselytizing. It was apropos to the current discussion. Are you so sensitive that you can't handle someone mentioning that they have a religion ?

Perhaps you are unfamiliar with the culture of the particular religion mentioned. Every member is expected to proselytize at every oppprtunity. They are told by their leaders to "plant seeds" everywhere, and to use social media to spread their gospel. Every mention has an ulterior motive. Trust me, I used to do exactly the same things. It's a particularly insidious strategy because anyone who catches on and speaks ou…

I am very familiar with the "particular religion mentioned" the Latter Day Saints aka Mormons.

The OP was obviously just bringing up an anecdote from his/her own life and in a very harmless way. Your comment was rude and your meta note is off base. Bringing up religion on HN is fine if done in a sane and approachable way. I've done this multiple times in an attempt to learn and to offer my opinions. I feel it has been beneficial for both myself and others here in the community and I've never received negative feedback from anyone like what you've posted.

I feel as if you've done a disservice in misrepresenting the respectful nature of our community regarding religion in most cases. If the op is trying to use his account to convert people on HN it's pretty obvious from his past comments that he's not doing it enough.

I've seen polls on here about religion, articles about religion, and other comments about religion. It's part of our history as a species and shouldn't be ignored, even if you feel that further practice of any religion is detrimental to society. Writing anything out of history tends to be bad practice.

Side note: I'm not Mormon but I was raised as one.

Re: Diet that mimics fasting appears to slow aging

#300

Post by aviv »

crusso wrote: post #292
aviv wrote: post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

@crusso, haha I only heard about this show when my friend suggested that I go ahead and apply to participate. It does take some mental effort to cruise through a prolonged fast. It's especially hard in our society where so much is centered around food. It was inconvenient at times to be the one who doesn't eat in social functions and such, but you get over it. The key is not to talk about it and have to explain to pe…

Inspired by this thread and your post, I decided yesterday to try at least a 24 hour fast. After a breakfast shake yesterday, I played tennis and went about my normal activities. I eat a fairly ketogenic diet, so the hunger wasn't too distracting, although I felt very laid back in the evening. This morning, I woke up about an hour earlier than usual with a great feeling of energy and focus. No real hunger. I'm going…

Glad to hear! Feel free to reach out via email if you have any questions or interested in several resources that will go into great detail with regards to prolonged water fasting.
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