Fasting has become very popular in recent times. Most people decide to fast as a quick way to lose weight. While this has become very popular as of late, how safe is fasting and what are the real benefits?

I had never considered fasting until I attended an afternoon full of lectures on fasting at The American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine (A4M) World Congress. After listening to several Researchers, MD’s and PhD’s speak on this subject, I had to take a much deeper dive and really take a look at this not only for myself, but for family, friends and patients.

The 5-day fasting mimicking diet (FMD) is by far the most beneficial. There is a multitude of fasting diet recommendations online these days. Which is the best, is the next logical question. Research performed at the University of Southern California (USC) Longevity Institute led by Valter Longo, PhD has shown the most beneficial fasting intervention is a 5-day fast with just enough controlled nutrition to avoid the negative side effects of a prolonged fast such as hunger, dizziness and sleeplessness.

Following are some of the reported benefits of a 5-day fasting mimicking diet. These benefits are achieved by switching all cells to a protective anti-aging mode. By promoting autophagy (the body’s process of cellular renewal) and replacing damaged cell components with newly generated functional ones, and by killing damaged cells and replacing them with newly regenerated cells from activated stem cells. It shifts the body into a visceral (abdominal) fat-burning mode. This last one is very important for several reasons, one is this benefit continues after returning to a normal diet (likely due to epigenetic changes, which are modifications of DNA and the proteins that bind to DNA).

Benefits:

• Weight loss
• Muscle mass increase relative to body weightAMerica
• Lowers blood sugar levels
• Lowers Blood pressure
• Lowers cholesterol
• Lowers triglycerides
• Lowers C-Reactive protein (CRP) an inflammatory marker associated with cardiovascular disease
• Lowers IGF-1 (associated with high cancer risk)
• Stem cell activation

Many also report glowing, younger-looking skin, increased mental focus and clarity.

I have started a private facebook group for those undergoing the FMD next week. We plan to share our progress on the Facebook group page. I will post our results here. To follow our progress sign up for my emails so you will know when I have posted the updates.

Much of the information in this blog is from Dr. Longo’s book The Longevity Diet. I highly recommend reading this book if you want to optimize your health and reduce the risk of acquiring many of the age-related diseases so many are suffering from because of poor diet choices.

The highest level benefits are achieved when the FMD is performed for 5 days for three consecutive months than every 6 months depending on an individual’s starting place and goals. You can do this on your own, or you can join us on our next group for free. I can tell you though that doing it with a group is much easier than by yourself. Another way to make your life and the next 5 days even easier is by buying the 5-day FMD kit from Prolon. Find us on Facebook and join our Echelon Group for the code.

Trying to navigate the long road of health choices is not easy with all the information out there right now. It can be a long and lonely road, join a group of like minded people to make your journey a long and enjoyable one.