Fasting and longevity -
The researchers suggest that circadian-regulated autophagy could be stimulated not just by intermittent fasting, but by pharmaceutical interventions. According to the study, the Columbia researchers used a convenient model, the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster , to develop an intermittent time-restricted feeding iTRF dietary regimen that robustly extended fly lifespan and delayed the onset of aging markers in the muscles and gut.
She added that fruit flies are an excellent model for aging because fruit flies and humans age in similar ways. Fruit flies live only two months, so aging experiments are more technically feasible in fruit flies than in humans. To explore this possibility, Shirasu-Hiza and colleagues put their flies on one of four different schedules: hour unrestricted access to food; hour daytime access to food; hour fasting following by hour unrestricted feeding; or iTRF 20 hours of fasting followed by a recovery day of unlimited feeding.
And the timing of the hour fast was critical: Lifespan increased only for flies that fasted at night and broke their fast around lunchtime. The lifespans of flies that instead fasted all day, eating only at night, did not change.
For the researchers, the role of time was a big clue to how fasting is linked to longevity. They found that autophagy, a cell-cleaning process, kicks in after fasting, but only when fasting occurs during the night.
Autophagy Greek for self-eating is known to slow aging by cleaning up and recycling damaged components of the cell. Human cells use the same cell-cleaning processes, so the findings raise the possibility that behavioral changes or drugs that stimulate the cleaning process could provide people with similar health benefits, delaying age-related diseases and extending the lifespan.
Unlike dietary restriction, which reduces caloric intake, intermittent fasting does not. It merely limits feeding to specific hours of the day. Nonetheless, intermittent fasting is far from effortless. It would be much easier to get the same health benefits if we could enhance autophagy pharmacologically, specifically at night.
The potential for pharmacological applications may be realized if researchers continue to study how circadian regulation and autophagy control aging and lifespan.
In the current study, the researchers identified circadian clock components Tim, Per, Cyc, and Clk and essential autophagy components Atg1 and Atg8a as both necessary and sufficient for the anti-aging, lifespan-extending benefits of iTRF. Facebook Linkedin RSS Twitter Youtube. There are as many ways to fast as there are Fast and Furious movies.
So which one should you choose? A review showed that the main outcome of an TRE eat for 8, fast for 16 hours protocol was weight loss 4. Twenty-four hour fasts, on the other hand, have been linked to increased human growth hormone levels 5 —some studies suggest growth hormone may help boost memory and increase bone density, but further research is required.
Australian-American biologist David Sinclair, Ph. is known for his research on epigenetics and aging. I need to build survival mechanisms. Sirtuins are metabolism-regulating proteins that may help aid longevity by delaying cell aging, death, and regulating cellular stress response 6.
Instead of squeezing multiple meals into his eating window, Sinclair told The Knowledge Project that he tries to consume one big meal around dinner time. And this meal contains the same number of calories that he would have eaten throughout the day. Plant-based meals , heavy on polyphenol-rich foods like berries, beans, spinach, and artichokes, are thought to help activate sirtuins 7.
If a four-hour eating window feels too narrow, extend it. Peter Attia, M. At the end of he quit multi-day fasts to prioritize muscle preservation, which can be a key to extending healthspan.
These days, Attia prefers shorter, more frequent fasts. To build muscle, Attia packs as much protein as possible into his non-fasting window in order to establish an eating pattern that allows him to eat enough to maintain lean mass and long-term activity patterns.
Protein provides your body with amino acids, which act as the building blocks for lean muscle growth and maintenance 8. Functional medicine practitioner Mark Hyman, M. He has blogged that he fasts between dinner and breakfast, usually for hours.
A post shared by Mark Hyman, M. Not only can snacking pack on additional calories, but even a small handful of chips can prevent you from reaping the benefits from your fasting window by causing blood sugar and insulin levels to rise, which can suppress autophagy 9.
And I think the two things people can do to dramatically improve their health is to get rid of liquid sugar calories and not snack. Cell biologist Rhonda Patrick, Ph. told podcaster Tim Ferriss that she practices time-restricted eating.
Animal studies suggest that fasting may offer brain-boosting benefits like increased resistance to stress, improved memory, and reduced risk of neurodegenerative disease According to research published in , a intermittent fasting schedule may help reduce the risk of developing chronic conditions such as cancer, diabetes, and cognitive decline In the study, healthy participants were asked to fast for 14 hours from dawn to sunset for 30 consecutive days.
Plus, researchers found the day fast was associated with a serum proteome—a complete set of proteins—that is protective against cancer. Patrick thinks coffee may break your fast —even if you just drink it black. But the amino acids in coffee may interrupt those processes, says Patrick.
Fasting deactivates growth pathways like IGF-1 and mTOR, which are activated by amino acids. Once you consume amino acids, she says, those pathways reactivate. As part of his longevity-boosting routine , Andrew Huberman, Ph. On the Huberman Lab podcast, he frequently discusses the benefits of time-restricted eating and fasting like aiding weight loss, boosting mental clarity, and improving focus.
When you eat carbs, your body converts them into glucose—a type of sugar that your body burns for energy Huberman told Derek Cole that he almost always opts for steak or ground beef with Brazil nuts and sometimes vegetables to break his fast. How Longevity Experts Use Intermittent Fasting.
Which expert's fasting schedule will reign supreme? By Rebekah Harding Fact-checked by Joy Ferguson June 14, David Sinclair Australian-American biologist David Sinclair, Ph.
Pro tip: Tweak your timing If a four-hour eating window feels too narrow, extend it. MORE SINCLAIR. Peter Attia Peter Attia, M. Pro tip: Eat enough protein To build muscle, Attia packs as much protein as possible into his non-fasting window in order to establish an eating pattern that allows him to eat enough to maintain lean mass and long-term activity patterns.
Longecity Longo spent longevoty summers in Molochio, the village in Creating a positive environment Calabria region Fasting and longevity southern Italy where his Creating a positive environment were born. Llngevity happens to have a high concentration of centenarians. Longo grew up to earn annd Ph. in biochemistry and to study how food influences longevity. Although based in Los Angeles and Milan, he often returned to Molochio, hoping to discover the life-extending magic of the local diet. Not surprisingly, the village elders reported eating simply and sparingly: vegetables, beans, fruit, olive oil, pasta, and minimal meat. As a young laboratory researcher, Longo starved yeast to tease out how nutrient deprivation affects gene expression and other biological processes associated with longer life.
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