When the forties hit, I wasn’t recovering from injuries like in my younger days, and getting illnesses/problems that “older people get”, like weight gain, started to become a common occurrence.
Being a science geek (my degree is in biology), I started researching and educating myself on methods to maintain my performance, and increase longevity and optimal health.
Two strategies I learned about for maintaining my performance, health and fitness levels is intermittent and prolonged fasting, so I started fasting and here was all the proof I needed that it was working: After about eight months of fasting, I went to the doctor for my annual physical. When I was called back for my results, the doctor commented that my numbers were better than most 20-year-olds (I’m in my fifties now), and asked what I was doing. I told him a healthy diet and exercise. Looking puzzled, he asked if there was anything else I was doing, so I told him about my fasting regiment. With that he nodded and smiled.
Some benefits of fasting include:
Fasting increases human growth hormone, induces cellular/muscular repair, and reduces inflammation. These benefits are ideal for performance and is being used professional athletes.
Fasting helps you lose weight and belly fat - (helps you eat fewer calories, while boosting your metabolism).
Fasting can reduce insulin resistance, and lowers blood sugar levels, lowering your risk of Type 2 Diabetes.
Fasting can reduce oxidative stress and inflammation in the body which provide benefits against aging and the development of numerous diseases.
Fasting is beneficial for heart health - by improving numerous risk factors for heart disease such as blood pressure, cholesterol levels, triglycerides and inflammatory markers.
Fasting induces various cellular repair processes and triggers a metabolic pathway called autophagy, which removes waste material from cells.
Fasting may help prevent cancer and has been shown to reduce side effects caused by Chemotherapy.
Fasting is good for your brain - it can increase the growth of new neurons and protect the brain from damage, and may also help prevent Alzheimer’s disease.
Fasting changes the function of cells, genes and hormones - Your cells change which genes they express. Also, when you fast, your insulin levels drop.
Fasting can extend your lifespan, helping you live longer. Fasting has become very popular among the anti-aging crowd.
Given the known benefits for metabolism and all sorts of health markers, it makes sense that fasting would help you live a longer and healthier life. Fasting has tons of physiological benefits, it truly is the fountain of youth.
A few types of fasting include:
Prolonged Fasting (more than two days)
The 16/8 Method.
The 5:2 Diet.
Eat, Stop, Eat.
Alternate Day Fasting.
While all these methods can help somewhat, prolonged fasting has been shown to help you reap all of the benefits of improved performance, health, and longevity as mentioned above. Prolonged fasting has also been studied the most, and clinically proven to help you reach those benefits.
What is prolonged fasting?
Prolonged fasting is when you fast for a minimal of 48 hours (two days). The sweet spot to get the most benefits is a five day fast. However, not eating for five days has been proven very difficult for most people, and there are also potential side effects.
To get all the benefits that a five day fast can provide without the misery of not eating, or the side effects, the fasting mimicking diet was created. It was scientifically developed and clinically tested, at the University of Southern California by Dr. Valter Longo, who received his PhD in Biochemistry from UCLA.
Dr. Longo is the Professor of Gerontology and Biological Sciences and Director of the Longevity Institute at the University of Southern California – Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, Los Angeles, one of the leading centers for research on aging and age-related disease.
He is also the Director of the Longevity and Cancer Program at the IFOM Institute of Molecular Oncology in Milan, Italy.
You can learn more about him at https://www.valterlongo.com/biography/
About the fasting mimicking diet program:
The fasting mimicking diet is a method of fasting where you eat very small quantities of specialized foods which cause your body to go into a fasting state. It’s been shown to increase longevity, and prevent various diseases like cardiovascular disease, cancers, diabetes, obesity, neurodegenerative diseases (like Alzheimer’s), and auto-immune diseases. It does this by causing autophagy (body eating old, damaged cells), and stimulating stem cell regeneration.
I have just completed Dr. Longo's fasting mimicking diet for the past 5 days. While I did it to help promote my performance, health and longevity, an additional benefit I got was losing 7 lbs. and 2% body fat, and I can see my abs again!
You can learn more about the fasting mimicking diet program at
If you decide you want to purchase it, here is a link to save 15%
(Disclaimer: Speak to your doctor before beginning any fasting program, especially if you have any medical conditions.)
Below is some research that has been done on the benefits of fasting:
Fasting triggers stem cell regeneration of damaged, old immune system:
Fasting boosts stem cells’ regenerative capacity - age-related loss of stem cell function can be reversed by a 24-hour fast:
Prolonged Fasting reduces IGF-1/PKA to promote hematopoietic stem cell-based regeneration and reverse immunosuppression:
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