Hunger (Intermittent Fasting) & Longevity

[dado potato]

David Sinclair adheres to an epigenetic theory of aging, and that theory seems plausible to me.

I watched a youtube of David Sinclair in which he talked about intermittent fasting, among other things.

I would ask about a lifestyle that knows hunger. Been there? In my experience over my past 50 adult years, I have had many days when "the flow" eliminated any desire to stop and take nourishment, so in effect I fasted. This was not a personal misfortune, nor a forced hunger.

Do any of you good people find that your "physical age" is 30 years less than the number of times you were a passenger on the earth's orbit around the sun? While I am kind of Epicurean about the pleasures of the table, I think it is acceptable to go to bed hungry two or three days of the week.

Thoughts?

[Yppej]

I am a grazer and eat every few hours, but occasionally I have gotten into the flow and gone all day without eating. If I had a more interesting job I would eat less, plus there is often free food out to tempt me at work. Right now it is Halloween candy.

[razz]

The human mind creates all sorts of regimes and extols their virtues. Others will condemn some regimes and promote their own.

I am very practical. My body requires basic nutrients to function just like any other operating machine. I supply my body the most unadulterated food to keep it appropriately supplied - not too much or too little - so that it is not struggling just like any other machine.

I keep it very simple and uncomplicated.

[catherine]

They have done a lot of studies on intermittent fasting and the science seems to hold up in terms of staving off many chronic diseases and supporting longevity. I was just reading The End of Alzheimer's by Bredesen, and fasting is part of the protocol recommended--in this case, it's a 12-hour nightly fast and a 3-hour fast before bedtime.

Dr. Fuhrman (Eat to Live) also recommends intermittent fasting and has his own protocol.

I kind of do the nightly fast thing naturally. I have no desire to eat after around 8pm, and I typically don't "break fast" until coffee and a banana around 8am the next day. I've never subscribed to the "constant fuel" eating methods. When I'm on the road, I have my colleagues practically forcing me to eat lunch during 12 hour days of work, but I swear not eating lunch has no impact on my cognitive abilities or my energy in the afternoon.

It's a very interesting theory. Fasting is a well-established discipline--medically and spiritually--so I'm also interested in hearing if anyone else does it on a regular basis.

[SteveinMN]

I swear not eating lunch has no impact on my cognitive abilities or my energy in the afternoon.

On the contrary, anyone who's attended a meeting scheduled shortly after lunch (especially a monotone Powerpoint presentation in a darkened room) can attest to the cognitive abilities of those who do eat lunch.

One of the advantages of a ketogenic way of eating is that one no longer needs to eat at specific intervals. There are days I've been so busy that hunger has not interrupted. I don't fast intermittently by intent but I seldom eat between 8 pm and 8 am (water is okay, though, and I do enjoy [black] coffee at 6:30 am). It seems to have no real effect on whether I feel hungry on a given morning. I'm not willing to fast any more than that, though, since my "numbers" are fine without fasting.

[Teacher Terry]

Being retired I eat when hungry. With my husband gone for 2 weeks I am eating yogurt in the morning, going out for lunch and then not eating again until about 10 am. If I eat a small lunch at home then I eat a small dinner. I am not nearly as hungry as when I was younger.

[JaneV2.0]

On the contrary, anyone who's attended a meeting scheduled shortly after lunch (especially a monotone Powerpoint presentation in a darkened room) can attest to the cognitive abilities of those who do eat lunch.

One of the advantages of a ketogenic way of eating is that one no longer needs to eat at specific intervals. There are days I've been so busy that hunger has not interrupted. I don't fast intermittently by intent but I seldom eat between 8 pm and 8 am (water is okay, though, and I do enjoy [black] coffee at 6:30 am). It seems to have no real effect on whether I feel hungry on a given morning. I'm not willing to fast any more than that, though, since my "numbers" are fine without fasting.

Ketogenic or time-limited eating both have the same effect--they minimize insulin secretion, thus limiting hunger and the damage that too much insulin does to one's body (heart and liver disease, type 2 diabetes, dementia, etc.). They also promote autophagy, the body's cellular cleanup system. (See Jason Fung, The Obesity Code)

[JaneV2.0]

...
Do any of you good people find that your "physical age" is 30 years less than the number of times you were a passenger on the earth's orbit around the sun? While I am kind of Epicurean about the pleasures of the table, I think it is acceptable to go to bed hungry two or three days of the week.
Thoughts?

I certainly don't feel particularly young but other than arthritis, I don't have many health issues, as far as I know. (Arthritis is enough. )

I've been fasting for a couple of years now, and haven't noticed any earth-shattering improvement, save losing ten pounds or so. It's easy to do, saves me time and money, and allows me to eat a varied diet while still benefiting from ketosis, so I have no plans to go back to eating multiple meals a day.

[iris lilies]

Someone said this recently or read it somewhere:


Japanese people don’t eat much individually, each person is always hungry. That contributes to their long long lives.

[sweetana3]

Sorry, but the story is pretty fake. They dont eat as much processed foods, carbohydrates, sugar, etc. I was always full with balanced meals of a reasonably small amount of protein, rice, vegetables, pickles and soup. Often not much difference between the 3 daily meals. Desserts are a special treat.

I would say they appear to eat less than an American diet with much higher quality ingredients.