Will fasting make me live longer?

Rayman79
Rayman79 Posts: 2,009 Member
edited December 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
Maybe not, but some interesting insights into the potential benefits of fasting can be found here. No medical jargon here, an easy read.

I don't post this to push IF, though I do think it has its benefits for many people. Just putting it out there for discussion.

http://www.livestrong.com/blog/the-truth-about-cleansing-and-fasting/

Cheers,
Ray

Replies

  • Kymmu
    Kymmu Posts: 1,650 Member
    Thanks Ray another great article to back us intermittent faster's up- :)
  • JennieAL
    JennieAL Posts: 1,726 Member
    Thanks for sharing! :)
  • chrisdavey
    chrisdavey Posts: 9,834 Member
    interesting stuff.

    Certainly not my main aim with fasting though but any additional benefits are awesome :)
  • hedgiie
    hedgiie Posts: 1,226 Member
    good read, thanks
  • jnhu72
    jnhu72 Posts: 558 Member
    bump for later =)
  • djkshdfd
    djkshdfd Posts: 443 Member
    Thank you!
  • slkehl
    slkehl Posts: 3,801 Member
    One thing to note: at the time Huntington's and Alzheimer's start to become an issue, calorie restriction is one of the worst things you can do. Even if it does actually repair mitochondrial damage, during senescence, the body absolutely needs a decent amount of calories to maintain body mass. Without it, all systems head rapidly toward collapse. So don't be recommending caloric restriction to your grandparents to help them stick around longer ;)
  • TanyaCurtis
    TanyaCurtis Posts: 630
    Yes, it gives ur body a break; or rest! But... U can't do it for losing weight purposes, and it shouldn't go longer then 3 days, maybe every 1-2 months. Or a couple days month
  • clobercow
    clobercow Posts: 337 Member
    IF does give then benefits of fasting. There is no "stress" on the body. Fasting is a normal function of the body. IF is just a method of optimizing fat-loss and hormones.

    Edit: IF has no negative heath side effects to otherwise normal humans. It has nothing but health benefits. There is TONS of information out there on intermittent fasting.
  • atjays
    atjays Posts: 797 Member
    IF does give then benefits of fasting. There is no "stress" on the body. Fasting is a normal function of the body. IF is just a method of optimizing fat-loss and hormones.

    Edit: IF has no negative heath side effects to otherwise normal humans. It has nothing but health benefits. There is TONS of information out there on intermittent fasting.

    I know you have some knowledge, so I know you know eating 6x a day DOESN'T speed up your metabolism.

    It doesn't speed it up because if you eat 2,000 calories in 1 meal or 10 meals, it's still 2,000 calories, you still have to digest the same food.

    When you break your fast with IF, you STILL have to digest those 2,000 calories, you still put the same amount of stress on your body. Stress meaning, digestive stress.

    This is true but what your body does with the calories is entirely different in each situation.
  • clobercow
    clobercow Posts: 337 Member
    IF does give then benefits of fasting. There is no "stress" on the body. Fasting is a normal function of the body. IF is just a method of optimizing fat-loss and hormones.

    Edit: IF has no negative heath side effects to otherwise normal humans. It has nothing but health benefits. There is TONS of information out there on intermittent fasting.

    I know you have some knowledge, so I know you know eating 6x a day DOESN'T speed up your metabolism.

    It doesn't speed it up because if you eat 2,000 calories in 1 meal or 10 meals, it's still 2,000 calories, you still have to digest the same food.

    When you break your fast with IF, you STILL have to digest those 2,000 calories, you still put the same amount of stress on your body. Stress meaning, digestive stress.

    Ohh I misunderstood.
  • mfpcopine
    mfpcopine Posts: 3,093 Member
    Maybe not, but some interesting insights into the potential benefits of fasting can be found here. No medical jargon here, an easy read.

    I don't post this to push IF, though I do think it has its benefits for many people. Just putting it out there for discussion.

    http://www.livestrong.com/blog/the-truth-about-cleansing-and-fasting/

    Cheers,
    Ray

    When I've read about programs to increase longevity, the discussion has been about extreme "Calorie Restriction" (CR) programs, not Intermittent Fasting (IF). In most forms of IF, people eat their normal amount of calories, but they eat only during a limited window or do one or two 24-hour fast a week. I've read that fasting does help reduce inflammation.

    I don't think I could ever do CR. The people on it are usually hungry and the planning involved in getting adequate nutrients into so few calories would be more than I'd be up for.
  • MinMin97
    MinMin97 Posts: 2,674 Member
    I have water-only fasted many, many times. It is very rejeuvenating! It is best to learn about it, though, because there is a lot of misinformation causing people to jump to alarming conclusions about it. One great source of information on it is from Dr. Shelton, an experienced, methodical MD who conducted many, many fasts, and documented them! I have his book, and always skim through it when I do a fast (just occasionally for me).
  • mfpcopine
    mfpcopine Posts: 3,093 Member
    Yes, it gives ur body a break; or rest! But... U can't do it for losing weight purposes, and it shouldn't go longer then 3 days, maybe every 1-2 months. Or a couple days month

    Lots of people do Intermittent Fasting to lose weight. IF, combined with slightly lowering my calorie max, is the reason I've lost weight. People on IF typically do not do multi-day fasts. They either eat within a prescribed window, say, 5 to 10 hours, or they do up to two 24-hour fasts each week. They eat whatever amount of calories is required by their diet in their window or for the 24-hour fasters, during the rest of the week.

    Many people do the window version of IF every day, or several times a week. Or they do the 24-hour fasts every week.
  • SerahLaffere
    SerahLaffere Posts: 223 Member
    I done a 12 day water fast. I suffered from Kidney problems and it's helped it a lot! And (TMI LOOK AWAY!) I poop daily now! Use to go once every few days.. Haha. Good for ridding addictions to junk food, Gives your taste buds a full reboot :)
  • jg627
    jg627 Posts: 1,221 Member
    I try to fast every day, preferably at night when I sleep.
  • Rayman79
    Rayman79 Posts: 2,009 Member
    I didn't read it, I have a good idea what it's going to say. This entire thing with IF. It's very similar to the "eat 6 meals a day to speed up your metabolism"

    I don't think IF will give you the benefits of fasting, unless you do something like ESE(Eat Stop Eat) method. The leangains style, or warrior diet style... you're still having to hit the same number of calories, you still put the same total stress on your body, and you still have to process it as if you ate all day.

    So did you ever end up reading it, or are you just going to theaorise some more about its content and judge it based on that?? :ohwell:

    For the record it does reference Eat Stop Eat as the type of fasting protocol, not pushing VLCD's.
  • SherrysLife2012
    SherrysLife2012 Posts: 53
    Has anyone bought the Eat Stop Eat e-book by Richard Pilon?? I'm interested, but money is tight, so I'm wondering if its worth the $37.00??

    Thanks,
    Sherry
  • mfpcopine
    mfpcopine Posts: 3,093 Member
    Has anyone bought the Eat Stop Eat e-book by Richard Pilon?? I'm interested, but money is tight, so I'm wondering if its worth the $37.00??

    Thanks,
    Sherry

    I haven't read it, but I've heard good things about it. You might want to look for responses in the Intermittent Fasting group here. Fast-5, another IF method is available for free download on the web.

    http://www.fast-5.com/
  • Rayman79
    Rayman79 Posts: 2,009 Member
    Sherry, as a first stop, I would recommend checking out the Leangains website. That will arm you with most of what you need to know about IF and you can decide whether you want to pursue it from there :)
  • wackyfunster
    wackyfunster Posts: 944 Member
    http://www.ted.com/talks/cynthia_kenyon_experiments_that_hint_of_longer_lives.html

    Interesting Ted talk on the role of FOXO in lifespan. Interestingly, fasting stimulates FOXO production. Seems like a probable mechanism for extended lifespans seen on calorically restricted diets.

    There is also an increase in HGH levels, but their effect on people with already healthy levels is probably minimal from a life-extension standpoint.

    It doesn't seem 100% medically proven at this point, but the preponderance of evidence suggests that intermittent fasting will reduce rate of senescence.
  • SherrysLife2012
    SherrysLife2012 Posts: 53
    Thanks guys, I will check out those websites.



    Thanks again,
    Sherry
This discussion has been closed.

Categories