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Mouse research indicates that “intermittent fasting” can prolong lifespan-the focus is not on total calories, the focus is on extending the meal interval! -PanSci

On October 18, 2021, the international journal “Natural Medicine” (Nature Medicine) A published research paper discussingThe relationship between eating patterns and improving physical health. The study divided the mice into five groups: (1) free access, (2) restricted 30% of calorie intake, but no fasting period, (3) restricted 30% of caloric intake, fed three times in half a day, and the other half day Fasting, (4) limit 30% of calorie intake, give food only once a day, fast for the other 21 hours, (5) the total calorie intake remains the same, but fast for 21 hours a day.

Research using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry), and transcriptome analysis (Transcriptional profiling) and other methods, found that only “fasting” without reducing the total calorie intake is sufficient to obtain a calorie-restricted diet pattern Most of the characteristics of metabolism and nucleic acid transcription that appear at the time, as well as health benefits such as extending lifespan and preventing debilitating.

The study concluded the following three major conclusions:

  1. In previous studies on the benefits of calorie restriction, it was impossible to distinguish whether the cause was “decreased total calorie intake” or “regular and long fasting”.This study helped clarify the reasons for the benefits of calorie restriction and foundSimply fasting without reducing total calorie intake is enough to achieve the health effects of helping metabolism and delaying aging.
  2. The research is a phenomenon observed under specific conditions. The effects of fasting are different for mice of different genders and strains.It cannot be broadly inferred to individuals of different species or different food cultures.
  3. Fasting is likely to be the key to improving health and longevity when restricting calorie intake.If it can be proved to be applicable to humans, it may help people in the futureWithout reducing the total calorie intake, it can also delay aging and promote health.

Is it healthier to eat big bursts and then intermittently fast?Still to be confirmed

Professor Wang Chongyang of the Institute of Brain and Mind Science at National Taiwan University School of Medicine pointed out that proper dietary restriction is well known for its benefits in promoting metabolism, preventing diseases, and prolonging life.However, in the early studies using yeasts, nematodes and fruit flies as experimental subjects, they were limited by the experimental mode, and most of them were to observe the benefits of dietary restrictions by diluting the nutrients in food and eating freely. [1][2][3]

In mammals, mice or monkey experiments are performed once to twice a day or once every few days, feeding 40-80% of normal food intake [4][5]Therefore, the benefits of dietary restrictions have always been considered to be caused by the reduction of the total calorie in the daily diet.However, these traditional views have been challenged in recent research. For example, the daily restriction of time or amount of food or fasting (free eating or eating a fixed amount of food within a few hours) can also be obvious. The benefits of achieving healthy and longevity [6]

So, what is important is calorie reduction or fasting? This study uses a specific strain of mice to systematically experiment with several dietary patterns and analyze various metabolic and physiological indicators. The results show that proper fasting may be the key to affecting health indicators, but does this mean that eating and drinking but intermittent fasting is a better choice than small and small meals? There will be more research evidence to explain in the future.

Fasting/eating regularly is more important than total calorie intake

Wang Cultivation also pointed out that this study only used male and female mice of two strains for the study, and it can be observed that dietary restrictions have caused many differences in the physiological responses of mice of different sexes and two strains. This shows that this study is existThe phenomena observed under certain conditions cannot be broadly inferred to individuals of different species or different food cultures.

This study provides an important concept. Proper fasting can achieve the health benefits of traditional dietary restrictions (fasting plus calorie reduction). Therefore, balanced nutrition and no need to care about calories can also lead to healthy and longevity.

Wang Chong pointed out that this study thoroughly compared the effects of long-term total calorie intake and intermittent fasting on metabolism, aging and life span. The results also show that regular intermittent fasting may be enough to bring us health. Various benefits. This tells us,What you eat and how much you eat is important, but when you eat and whether your diet is regular may be more important.. This result is the same as the one published last month in the journal Nature (Nature) The results of the intermittent fasting experiment on fruit flies coincided with each other [7]

This study provides an important concept that proper fasting can achieve the health benefits of traditional dietary restrictions (fasting plus calorie reduction). Photo/Pixabay

“Fasting” is the key to helping metabolism

Jiang Enpei, a distinguished professor of the Department of Food and Applied Biotechnology at National Chung Hsing University, pointed out that many studies in the past have found that “meal restriction” or “meal restriction” has metabolic benefits and prolongs the lifespan of mice. However, these findings cannot clarify which ones are purely due to the benefits of reducing calorie intake, and which ones are caused by imposing fasting because of experiments to control calories.

This study found in experiments in mice that a calorie-restricted diet promotes various improvements in glucose metabolism, weakness, and life expectancy, which actually need to be achieved through “fasting.”Research overturns long-held beliefThe calorie-restricted diet is beneficial to mammals only due to the view that total calorie intake is reduced, And emphasized that the “fasting behavior” is the important reason for the protection of metabolism (such as improving insulin sensitivity) and delaying aging.

The results of the study reveal when and how much food we eat, how to regulate metabolic health and longevity, and prove that prolonging daily fasting, not just reducing calorie intake, may be the reason why calorie restriction diets improve metabolism and delay aging. Past studies have shown that extending the interval between meals is beneficial to health, and the results of this study are also quite consistent with past studies.

Jiang Enpei said,The degradation process and diseases that accompany the human aging process have many variables. In addition to food intake, dietary patterns, and types, genes, environmental factors, and even intestinal microflora may all play a role, which is far more complicated than experimental animals. However, it is certain that calorie restriction can provide metabolic benefits and may slow down aging and prolong life.

This article is compiled from a scientific journal article, the source of the full article:

Reference materials:

  • [1] Longo, Valter D., Shadel, Gerald S., Kaeberlein, M. & Kennedy, B. (2012) “Replicative and Chronological Aging in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.” Cell Metabolism 16, 18-31, doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cmet.2012.06.002.
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  • [6] Regmi, P. & Heilbronn, L. K. (2020) “Time-Restricted Eating: Benefits, Mechanisms, and Challenges in Translation.” iScience 23, 101161, doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2020.101161.
  • [7] Ulgherait, M., Midoun, A.M., Park, S.J. et al. (2021) “Circadian autophagy drives iTRF-mediated longevity.” Nature 598, 353–358, doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-03934-0.