For thousands of years, fasting or calorie restriction has been used as a healing therapy to restore health and reverse the aging process. Animals abstain from food when sick or hibernating over the long winter months. The human body instinctively knows the importance of abstaining from solid food when ill, which is why you lose your appetite in order to abstain from food. Have you also noticed times when you want to eat less than usual? This is the body's way of saying that its time to take a break from eating because eating is energy intensive so energy can be put to good use such as healing and restoring health. 60 years of research reveals that lowering calorie consumption prolongs human life span.
Recent scientific studies suggest that short-term calorie restriction may actually slow down aging. Scientists have noted that reduced metabolic rate associated with calorie restriction reduces free radicals, thus contributing to anti-aging.
Many other metabolic alterations are associated with calorie restriction. It alters insulin sensitivity, excess hormone secretions, and the gene expression of the heart, muscle and brain, thus slowing down the aging process. (Dr Stephen R Spindler, PhD, Department of Biochemistry, University of California )
Studies have also shown that a drastically calorie-restricted diet not only reduces cholesterol, blood pressure, and other risk factors associated with heart disease, stroke and diabetes, but it also reduces risks of cancer and Alzheimer's. (John O Holloszy, Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis , Missouri )
A study that analysed a group of 15 healthy, non-obese volunteers on a one-week home-based modified fasting programme, concluded that quality of sleep, daytime concentration levels, vigour and emotional balance increased concurrently as a result. (A. Michalsen, F. Schlegel, A. Rodenbeck, R. Lüdtke, G. Huether, H. Teschler, G.J. Dobos, Annals of Health & Nutrition)
A 2002 study on mice by the National Institute on Aging in Baltimore revealed that the results of intermittent fasting met or exceeded those of calorie restriction, including reduced serum glucose, insulin levels, and increased resistance of neurons in the brain to excitotoxic stress.
So the good news is that short-term fasts which are much easier to build into your lifestyle actually yield more benefits than restricting calories on a daily basis.
Obese people have higher leptin levels, which in turn, affect the function of leptin in the body. Overweight girls tend to begin puberty at an earlier age, and higher levels of leptin increase the risk of diabetes and gynaecological and breast cancers. This is what happens: If you eat more, your weight increases. When your weight increases, leptin levels increase. When leptin levels increase, sexual hormones increase, thus increasing the risk of female cancers.
In a recent study, a 3-day fast conducted on lean females caused a 62% fall in leptin levels (Weigle DS). In the same study, a 700 calorie-a-day diet in obese men resulted in a 76% decrease in leptin levels, despite only a 21% weight loss over 3 months (Weigle DS). In another study, a 2½-day fast resulted in a 78% drop in leptin levels. (Bergendahl M).
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