Fasting, Anti Ageing, Keto, and Longevity
Channel: Daily Insight
Date: 22/11/2018

Is it possible to reverse ageing? Well, some proponents of fasting say that it is. I’m making it my mission to eat in a way that gives me the most chance of staying younger, for longer. Most of us in the Western world eat far too much. We have at least three meals a day plus snacks in between. We drink sugary drinks and juice, we eat far too many processed foods, and don’t eat enough wholefoods such as fresh fruit and vegetables.

Diabetes, obesity, coronary heart disease, hypertension, and some forms of cancer — the so called diseases of affluence — have become endemic. We are literally killing ourselves through our diet.

But all is not lost. With a little bit of willpower, we all have the ability to fight the harmful effects of the Western diet. Fasting has become the new craze to combat our terrible lifestyle. And all the evidence suggests that we may just be onto something.

First of all, how does our body deal with our normal diet? Well ordinarily, people eat lots of carbohydrate, some protein, and some fat. All three are important for health, but our bodies are equipped to use any one of them for energy if need be. Carbohydrate is the most efficient source of energy. It’s found in simple sugars, such as a cupcake or a piece of fruit, starchy foods like potatoes, grains, rice, and other vegetables.

When we eat a meal containing carbohydrates, or protein, blood glucose levels rise, and the pancreas secretes insulin. Insulin is a hormone that stimulates the action of several enzymes. This allows for excess glucose in the blood to be converted to glycogen and stored in the liver and muscles. Once those limits are reached, excess glucose is converted and stored as fat.

Our bodies are able to use our glycogen stores to regulate our blood glucose levels. If we keep eating all the time — as many of us do in the West — our bodies never have a chance to deplete our glycogen reserves.

When the body does use up all of its glycogen reserves, it goes into a state known as ketosis where the body starts burning stored fat for energy. It’s a very natural process. Research of late has shown that intentionally going into ketosis can actually be beneficial to the human body.

Autophagy basically involves the controlled degradation and destruction of cells. Sounds awful, but it’s actually a natural process where the body gets rid of dysfunctional components.

Mice that are intentionally given a low-calorie diet have been shown to live up to 40% longer and get less tumours.

So what’s the best way to achieve autophagy? To fast of course. To intentionally stop eating food. Intermittent fasting is where you stop eating for a certain number of hours in order to deplete your glycogen reserves and start using body fat as a fuel source.

The unnatural habit that most of us have formed in recent years, is the endless indulgence in food. We never give our bodies a break. Too much food is not good for us.

So what’s the best way to fast? It probably depends on your own lifestyle and work schedule, but for me, I’ve decided to only eat once a day, three or four times a week. That is, on my fasting days, I eat my dinner at around 6:00pm, and then don’t eat again until 5:00pm the next day. Of course, you can drink water, or green tea, or other zero-calorie drinks throughout the day, but you just don’t consume any food. On the days that I’m not fasting, I still try to only consume two meals a day with my first meal at around lunch time. When I do eat, I make sure to eat as many wholefoods as possible, that is, fresh vegetables, fruit, etc. I don’t eat meat, but you could certainly eat unprocessed meat, as opposed to bacon, sausages, or whatever.

You don’t have to start fasting with only one meal a day. If you’re already eating five times a day, try to cut down to four, then three, and so on. Do it in a way that is manageable in your life.

But certainly, there is plenty of evidence out there that fasting is a great way to improve your health.

I’m fast approaching 40, so the thought of ageing is in the back of my mind. I want to be active with my young children as they are growing up, so I think the best way to achieve this is to keep myself healthy and strong. So far, I feel pretty good while fasting. Of course, I get hungry, but I’m less tired than I used to be, and can walk a lot further and exercise a lot longer than in the past.

If you decide that fasting is for you, and you want to take your health into your own hands, why not start today? Let me know how it all goes. Cheers.

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MORE INFO
ABC Science: Is it possible to reverse aging?
https://youtu.be/5Whz431eJVI

IMAGE RIGHTS
Fasting - A glass of water in an empty plate
By Jean Fortunet [CC BY 1.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/1.0)], from Wikimedia Commons

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