Research hints at fast way to long life

People have been fasting for years to lose weight, but what if we told you that the longer you fast, the longer you can live?

The idea may be hard to stomach, but a new study by the U.S. National Institute on Aging suggests that intermittent fasting could be the key to longevity.

A group of scientists from the NIA, the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Louisiana found that increasing time between meals improved the overall health of male mice and lengthened their lives compared to mice that ate more frequently. Perhaps even more surprisingly, the health benefits were seen regardless of what the mice ate or how many calories they consumed.

“This study showed that mice who ate one meal per day, and thus had the longest fasting period, seemed to have a longer lifespan and better outcomes for common age-related liver disease and metabolic disorders,” said NIA director Richard J. Hodes.

He said that the “intriguing results” in the animal model deserve a closer look. What could be learned? The researchers suggest that the findings could translate into longer, healthier lives for people.

“Prolonged, daily fasting times could help improve health and survival for humans,” said the study’s lead author, Rafael de Cabo. “But scientists are working to find out how long you need to fast every day to see some of the benefits seen in the animals. That’s the next big question to answer.”

To reach their conclusion, the experts studied 292 mice, separating them into two groups and closely monitoring the rodents’ diet. One batch was fed a lowfat and naturally sourced diet. The other group’s diet was higher in protein and fibre.

Each of the two groups was then split into three sub-groups — one with access to food 24 hours a day and another with 30 per cent fewer calories per day. The third group only had access to food once per day. The results? “We think what’s going on is when you stop eating for Xnumber of hours, your metabolism goes into standby mode. Your body fixes and removes all the garbage during this time,” de Cabo said. “When the next feeding comes, you are better prepared for the energy you’re about to consume.”

He said that when continuously eating, or snacking periodically throughout the day, your metabolism doesn’t have time to readjust or rest.

The scientist also said that there were no obvious negative side-effects to the rodent fasting and that the mice who chowed down once a day lived up to 40 per cent longer than the ones that had access to food around the clock.

According to de Cabo, the next steps for this research include expanding these findings to other strains of mice and other lab-animal species, using both sexes to identify the exact translation in humans.