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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsFasting at Least Twice a Week Seen as Alzheimer’s Hedge
Theres a virulent strain of madness running through my family, and I reckoned my chances of going down that route were pretty high, said Adams, 43, a freelance translator and interpreter in London who learned of a possible link between Alzheimers and diet while watching a BBC documentary last year. Anything that could help with that was of great interest.
Fasting two or more days a week is catching on as people seek ways to avoid a range of ailments linked to obesity from dementia to cancer. Building on promising findings in studies of mice by the U.S. National Institute of Aging, researchers are planning the first studies in humans of fastings potential to stave off the onset of Alzheimers. That disease is just one of many in which scientists are making progress understanding how fasting may help prevent illness.
Because there is no cure for Alzheimers, which afflicts more than 35 million people, any possibility of prevention holds huge potential. Adams was inspired to try the diet last year after the BBC documentary called Eat, Fast & Live Longer cited a study in mice that suggested intermittent fasting could delay the onset of cognitive disorders.
The study was led by Mark Mattson, professor of neuroscience at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and senior investigator at the U.S. National Institute of Aging. Mattson is planning a new project to measure how fasting twice a week for two months affects human brain function and early signs of Alzheimers.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-10-29/fasting-at-least-twice-a-week-seen-as-alzheimer-s-hedge.html
BuelahWitch
(9,083 posts)Shivering Jemmy
(900 posts)Early humans probably did not eat every day. And many animals operate such that they only eat when very hungry.
Fasting is probably one of a number of natural dietary modes.
BuelahWitch
(9,083 posts)When we go back to caveman ways I guess it will be ok. It is silly to suggest fasting two days a week would work for most people.
ronnie624
(5,764 posts)I work sixty hours a week at a very active job, and I work out five times a week. Fasting is not an option.
FarCenter
(19,429 posts)Intermittent fasting has been studied for at least a few years, and various health benefits besides the one in the story have been attributed to it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intermittent_fasting
Fasting as a religious discipline has been done for millennia, and there is no indication that fasting for a day is harmful.
The science indicates that fasting up-regulates the process of autophagy by which the body disassembles the proteins in cellular organelles that have become damaged or dysfunctional. It does so to scavenge amino acids to use for growth and repair. Unlike sugars and fats, the body doesn't store very much excess protein for later use.
BuelahWitch
(9,083 posts)I think that is excessive.
Bluenorthwest
(45,319 posts)Did you read the article? The 'fast' most often suggested is actually not a full fast but a day of 500-1000 calories with limited fat intake. An actual fast is zero calories.
Quantess
(27,630 posts)Restricted calorie diet on 2 days per week. Something like that sounds like a less confusing.
FarCenter
(19,429 posts)So you don't actually consume 0 calories on any given day, but you do go 24 hours without food.
You can also fast breakfast to breakfast or lunch to lunch depending on what suits you.
It is just that going 24 hours without food shifts your body into using stored resources, rather than what is entering your bloodstream and lymphatic system from your intestines.
Quantess
(27,630 posts)or an "apples only" day, while also drinking water and coffee. That works really well to keep your weight down, especially after a day of eating too much.
FarCenter
(19,429 posts)In spite of the hype about cleansing your body of "chemicals", etc., the common factor may be that they don't include much protein.
As a result, your body depletes its circulating store of amino acids and switches to breaking down damaged cellular components in order to get more.
BuelahWitch
(9,083 posts)Nor did I post the OP. But I guess you got your jollies enough to attack me, didn't you? That's what matters.
Quantess
(27,630 posts)2 days out of 7 seems like too much fasting, to me.
liberal_at_heart
(12,081 posts)fasting for 12 hours like in between dinner and breakfast.
BuelahWitch
(9,083 posts)Which does make sense, but it's not really "fasting."
liberal_at_heart
(12,081 posts)SalviaBlue
(2,917 posts)Why get all hung up on the terminology.
SoCalDem
(103,856 posts)Sometimes I fast accidentally.. When my husband is out of town, I often forget to eat..(appetite has slacked off a lot as I age)
WinkyDink
(51,311 posts)Last edited Thu Oct 31, 2013, 10:38 PM - Edit history (1)
Quantess
(27,630 posts)Pople? Pople John Paul?
(sorry just giving you a hard time.)
WinkyDink
(51,311 posts)Duer 157099
(17,742 posts)Resveratrol seems to induce the same biochemical events that occur with fasting.
FarCenter
(19,429 posts)But fasting may work directly via AMPK, and not via sirtuin.
upi402
(16,854 posts)youtube ' intermittent fasting '
or for a laugh ' fasting twins ' <- those guys are funny but not office friendly
Not catabolic if you eat in an 8 hour window daily. Hormonal response seems positive.