Healthier you
Intermittent fasting and eight ways to support longevity.
Intermittent fasting, or fasting mimicking diet, has become a hot topic over the last couple of years. Fasting has been used for centuries for healing purposes and as part of religious or spiritual practices.
When we fast it gives the body a chance to heal and repair. For many, though, the thought of fasting seems challenging. It certainly takes a lot of commitment and support to do water fasting for three to five days. However, recent research shows that intermittent fasting creates similar results.
Simply reducing the period for eating during the day and increasing the fasting period overnight has a huge impact in longevity and optimal health. For intermittent fasting you fast for between 12 and 16 hours in a 24-hour period – this could look like stopping eating after dinner from 7pm until breakfast at 9am the next morning. This time period would be fasting for 14 hours.
The following top tips are based on the research from Dr Valter Longo, PhD, the director of the Longevity Institute USC:
· Eat a mostly vegan diet with some fish Minimise bad fats (from animal products and dairy) and sugars, and maximise good fats (such as nuts and seeds) and complex carbohydrates (such as vegetables, beans, lentils and wholegrains). During the eating window it is about getting optimal nutrition into the body that is easy to digest.
· How much to eat During the eating window it is best to eat twice plus a snack unless your weight or muscle mass is low – then it would be three meals plus a snack. During ageing the body requires more protein to maintain muscle mass.
· Exercise is also important for longevity Walking fast for one hour to get your heart rate up, alongside doing some sort of weight training can help to build bone density and maintain muscle mass especially as you age.
· Vitamins and minerals Supplements can be helpful as our soil no longer provides certain nutrients and minerals which are important for the body’s repair, replacement, and defence systems to boost immunity.
· Variety is key We often eat the same things from day to day. However, to provide the required nutrients for the body we need to eat a variety of seasonal foods. It is helpful to eat foods that are locally grown.
· Looking back Choose foods that would be common to your ethnicity. For example, Asian countries wouldn’t traditionally have a lot of dairy in their diet and when they try to follow a western diet it can cause health problems leading to autoimmune conditions.
· Time-restricted eating Restrict your eating to 11 to 16 hours. Shorter periods of feeding have been shown to have a positive effect in promoting health and longevity.
· Prolonged fasting For optimal health you can practice periodic prolonged fasting* – the more traditional way of fasting – by undergoing a water fast or calorie-restricted diet for five days. This can have remarkable effects on disease risk factors, optimisation of health and longevity.