Diet that mimics fasting appears to slow aging • Hacker News Board

Re: Diet that mimics fasting appears to slow aging

#31

Post by chisleu » Thu, Jun 18, 2015, 8:51 PM UTC

themgt wrote: post #23

zdw wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Contents of the diet are on this PDF: http://www.cell.com/cell-metabolism/pdfExtended/S1550-4131(1... The human fasting mimicking diet (FMD) program is a plant-based diet program designed to attain fasting-like effects while providing micronutrient nourishment (vitamins, minerals, etc.) and minimize the burden of fasting. It comprises proprietary vegetable-based soups, energy bars, energy drinks, chip snacks, chamomi…

It really shouldn't be allowed to publish science without the underlying data regarding what you did - barely any of that list gives much hint as to actual ingredients. That said, this conforms to a lot of previous research regarding fasting, and so it's a reasonable assumption that if you did a once-monthly 5 day fast at 33% of normal calorie intake, composed of a mix of nutrient/vitamin-dense plants and herbs, you…

There are websites that let you put in your macros and your calories, and the type of diet you want to eat, and they design a diet for you automatically.

Re: Diet that mimics fasting appears to slow aging

#32

Post by tosseraccount » Thu, Jun 18, 2015, 8:52 PM UTC

reasonattlm wrote: post #27

There is much more background info on Longo and his work on intermittent fasting if you go digging. More interesting than this particular piece, which is very short on context and science relating to the study of intermittent fasting, calorie restriction as adjuvant cancer therapy, immune regeneration via fasting, etc. http://gero.usc.edu/faculty/longo/ http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-06/uosc-fts06021...…

Can you tl;dr , please.

Does adjuvant therapy in the form of fasting affect survival in clinical trials in cancer patients?

Is this proven and accepted?

Re: Diet that mimics fasting appears to slow aging

#33

Post by themgt » Thu, Jun 18, 2015, 9:01 PM UTC

bjt wrote: post #30

themgt wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It really shouldn't be allowed to publish science without the underlying data regarding what you did - barely any of that list gives much hint as to actual ingredients. That said, this conforms to a lot of previous research regarding fasting, and so it's a reasonable assumption that if you did a once-monthly 5 day fast at 33% of normal calorie intake, composed of a mix of nutrient/vitamin-dense plants and herbs, you…

> In reality this should just be your normal diet Maybe the proportions, but not the total amounts. 725 calories per day is way too low on a long term basis.

Completely agreed - I do think the fasting studies suggest you should find some way to integrate that into your diet, and the easiest way is likely intermittently, trying to space out and decrease your eating in reasonable ways, e.g. taking consistent 12-20 hour breaks between large meals, spending a few days a month on a 1/3 normal caloric intake, etc.

You don't need to keep yourself in a low-calorie state, but it's important to enter that state to some degree, on some number of occasions, to get your body to kick off the internal processes of autophagy and renewal that result in a variety of benefits, to healthspan even moreso than lifespan.

Re: Diet that mimics fasting appears to slow aging

#34

Post by Retric » Thu, Jun 18, 2015, 9:04 PM UTC

kazinator wrote: post #9

The connection between longevity and caloric intake has been studied in mice: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3958810 [1986!] "Mice from groups 3-6 [restricted intake] exhibited mean and maximal life spans 35-65% greater than for group 1 and 20-40% greater than for group 2. Mice from group 6 [most restricted intake] lived longest of all." Brackets mine.

Oddly enough with people being slightly overweight seems to increase lifespan at least when looking at actuary tables.

There are a lot of possible factors that may be involved. From changing behaviors, lifestyle, lack of disease, larger buffer before weight loss becomes an issue etc.

Edit: It should be noted that this still a fairly low BMI compared to most middle aged Americans.

Re: Diet that mimics fasting appears to slow aging

#35

Post by carbocation » Thu, Jun 18, 2015, 9:09 PM UTC

Retric wrote: post #34

kazinator wrote: post #9

The connection between longevity and caloric intake has been studied in mice: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3958810 [1986!] "Mice from groups 3-6 [restricted intake] exhibited mean and maximal life spans 35-65% greater than for group 1 and 20-40% greater than for group 2. Mice from group 6 [most restricted intake] lived longest of all." Brackets mine.

Oddly enough with people being slightly overweight seems to increase lifespan at least when looking at actuary tables. There are a lot of possible factors that may be involved. From changing behaviors, lifestyle, lack of disease, larger buffer before weight loss becomes an issue etc. Edit: It should be noted that this still a fairly low BMI compared to most middle aged Americans.

Interestingly, the same does not hold for overweight people who are diabetic: http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1304501

Re: Diet that mimics fasting appears to slow aging

#36

Post by chaz72 » Thu, Jun 18, 2015, 9:09 PM UTC

alecco wrote: post #24

hathawsh wrote: post #19

The authors disclosed they have equity in a company called L-Nutra, which intends to sell diet food packs: http://www.l-nutra.com/index.php/products/prolon Nothing for sale yet, but hopefully the price will be competitive with do-it-yourselfers. I am cautiously optimistic about this direction.

Ah, this gets me extremely suspicious until there's independent verification.

If it can't be independently verified, it can't be called science, no matter how promising the study is when they run it.

Re: Diet that mimics fasting appears to slow aging

#37

Post by biomcgary » Thu, Jun 18, 2015, 9:10 PM UTC

reasonattlm wrote: post #27

There is much more background info on Longo and his work on intermittent fasting if you go digging. More interesting than this particular piece, which is very short on context and science relating to the study of intermittent fasting, calorie restriction as adjuvant cancer therapy, immune regeneration via fasting, etc. http://gero.usc.edu/faculty/longo/ http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-06/uosc-fts06021...…

I also recommend looking elsewhere since the OP is an example of terrible science. Due to the proprietary nature of the diet this study is impossible for an unbiased researcher to replicate.

Re: Diet that mimics fasting appears to slow aging

#38

Post by Rainymood » Thu, Jun 18, 2015, 9:11 PM UTC

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 bad, however, the next day my body went FULL berserk mode and I literally couldn't stop myself from eating. It was really weird and I never had such strong biological urges. That's when I decided I'd just stick to fasting until 5 pm when I eat diner.

Re: Diet that mimics fasting appears to slow aging

#39

Post by krmmalik » Thu, Jun 18, 2015, 9:15 PM UTC

Appropriate article since I just completed a fast of 19hrs. No water and no food. Muslims do this every year. Last year, on average our fast was just over 18hrs. We fast each day from sunrise to sunset for 30days. Of course, we as a group of people have been doing it for over a thousand years. Cant say we started it due to science, but cant say we noticed the lack of aging either. ;)

Re: Diet that mimics fasting appears to slow aging

#40

Post by heimatau » Thu, Jun 18, 2015, 9:16 PM UTC

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…

The first three days of 24 hour day fasts are (:edited:) mostly painful. Headaches, migraines, agitation, etc. They are not fun nor for the faint of heart. I'd suggest a five day, if you body can allow it. Days four through ten can be the most rewarding. This is all based on personal experience/opinion.