A diet that mimics the effect of fasting without starvation can extend your life by years, a study suggests.
The researchers found tPeople who followed the fasting-mimicking diet (FMD) for 15 days reduced their biological age by more than two years on average.
Tests also showed they had a lower risk of diabetes, heart disease and stroke, based on biomarkers in their blood.
The FMD diet involves consuming around less than 1,000 calories, made up of low-fat foods, soups, energy drinks and supplements.
It is said to trick the body into thinking it is fasting, releasing enzymes and other chemicals into the body that have been linked to longevity.
Participants ate an FMD consisting of plant-based soups, energy bars, energy drinks, snacks with chips and tea in portions for five days, as well as a supplement providing high levels of minerals, vitamins and essential fatty acids.
Professor Valter Longo, a biologist at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, who developed the diet in the new study and is the lead author, said: “This is the first study to show that a food-based intervention that does not require Chronic changes in diet or lifestyle can make people biologically younger.’
The diet used in the study involved three five-day cycles of the FMD diet.
On day one, participants ate 1,100 calories, while on days two to five they consumed about 720 calories daily.
His diet during these days also consisted of healthy snacks and tea.
The diet is made up of 34 percent carbohydrates, 10 percent protein and 56 percent fat on the first day, and then seven percent carbohydrates, nine percent protein and 44 percent fat on the remaining days. .
Participants then followed their usual diet for 25 days.
Both groups consisted of men and women between 18 and 70 years old.
After three months, the researchers analyzed blood samples from the participants, which showed that patients in the FMD group had lower risk factors for diabetes, including less insulin resistance and lower blood sugar levels.
Chronological age is how long you have been alive, while biological age is how old your cells and tissues are. It’s an important metric because it shows how susceptible you may be to disease.
MRI scans also showed decreased abdominal fat and liver fat, which are associated with a reduced risk of metabolic syndrome, which increases the risk of heart disease, stroke and diabetes.
Previous research has suggested that FMD cycles may even reduce cancer risk factors.
FMD cycles also appeared to increase participants’ lymphoid-to-myeloid ratio, which is an indicator of a younger immune system.
Further analysis revealed that participants with FMD had reduced biological age (a measure of how well cells and tissues function, as opposed to chronological age). in 2.5 years on average.
Researchers believe that FMD has “rejuvenating effects on the immune system.” In previous studies in mice, the diet caused a “rejuvenation of the blood profile.”
The FMD diet also shifts cells throughout the body into a protected “anti-aging mode,” an effect that lasts beyond fasting.
The body has what are known as “nutrient sensing” pathways, which control autophagy, a kind of “cleansing” of the body’s cells.
It is constantly happening in the body and removes unwanted byproducts of cellular processes.
The more autophagy produced, the better you will feel and the lower your risk of future health problems.
The FMD diet accelerates autophagy, so more byproducts and “bad” cells that cause disease and aging are removed from the body.
The study was published in the journal Nature Communications.
It is supposed to mimic the effects of a water-only fast while also offering essential nutrients.
A water-only fast is one in which you drink only water for a period of time and do not eat any other food or drink. People drink water on an empty stomach to lose weight or lower blood pressure.
