Chuck Bednar for redOrbit.com – @BednarChuck
A four-day, low-calorie diet that mimics fasting has been found to improve metabolism and cognitive function, decrease bone loss and cancer incidence, and extend longevity in mice, the authors of a research published Thursday in the journal Cell Metabolism reported.
In the new study, University of Southern California biogerontology professor Dr. Valter Longo and his colleagues showed that cycles of this four-day diet cut visceral belly fat and elevated the number of progenitor and stem cells in several organs of old mice – including the brain, where it increased neural regeneration and improved learning and memory.
The mouse studies were part of a three-tiered study on the effects of periodic fasting which also involved yeast and humans, the researchers explained in a statement, and a pilot study involving people found evidence that the findings were also applicable to men and women.
Three-tiered study shows fasting diet benefits in mice
Studying yeast allowed Longo and his colleagues to discover the biological mechanism triggered by fasting at a cellular level, they explained, while the relatively short life spans of the rodents let the study authors observe the lifelong effects that this type of fasting had on the creatures.
During their research, they found that bimonthly cycles including four days of fasting-mimicking calorie restriction (for a total of eight days per month) beginning at middle age extended the lifespan of the creatures while also reducing cancer incidence, improving their immune systems, and reducing inflammatory diseases.
It also slowed bone mineral density loss and improved cognitive function in older mice the research team said. The total monthly calorie intake was the same for both the fasting-mimicking group and the control diet group, they added, indicating that the benefits were not the result of an overall reduction of caloric consumption.
Diet submitted to FDA for approval after pilot trial success
In the pilot human trial, 19 subjects were given three cycles of a similar diet once per month for the given days. In those individuals, the fasting-mimicking diet was found to reduce the biomarkers and risk factors for aging, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer with no major significant negative side effects.
“Strict fasting is hard for people to stick to, and it can also be dangerous, so we developed a complex diet that triggers the same effects in the body,” said Longo, who is also the director of the USC Longevity Institute. “I’ve personally tried both, and the fasting-mimicking diet is a lot easier and also a lot safer.”
This diet also decreased a person’s caloric intake down to 34 to 54 percent normal levels while making sure that they consumed specific amounts of proteins, carbohydrates, fats, and nutrients. It also decreased amounts of IGF-I, a hormone linked to aging and cancer susceptibility, while reducing risk factors linked to diabetes and heart disease without having a negative impact on a person’s muscle or bone mass.
In a separate statement, Longo said that this was “arguably the first non-chronic pre-clinically and clinically tested anti-aging and healthspan-promoting intervention shown to work and to be very feasible as a doctor or dietitian-supervised intervention.” He added that his team planned to submit the concept of the fasting-mimicking diet to the FDA for approval, which would require additional expanded tests followed by a trial involving 500-1,000 patients.
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