davester

I've been intermittent fasting for about 18 months. I started doing this after learning of all the research findings regarding it's apparent success at reducing susceptibility to a host of age-related diseases. I typically restrict eating to the 1pm to 8pm window and have also tried a couple of 2-day fasts to try to kick my cells beyond ketosis and into autophagy mode. I used to be a big breakfast lover so I thought I wouldn't be able to do this. However, after a month or so I found it relatively easy, and now I can't really imagine any other way of eating. Nowadays I can set out in the morning on a 50 to 70 mile hilly bike ride and be perfectly fine for most or all of the ride with a zero calorie intake. At the same time as starting intermittent fasting I also drastically cut my simple carb intake (i.e. sugar, white bread, white rice, potatoes, etc). I've lost about 15 lbs which is now easy to maintain and I feel overall much better than I used to. Also on the longevity science side of things I started participation in a rapamycin dosing medical trial (rapamycin being the most successful of the longevity drugs so far tested) so part of my good feeling may be due to that, although it's a placebo controlled trial so I may not be getting any rapamycin at all

fat biker

The Obesity Code, by Drr. Jason Fung

I lost the ten pounds I had decided I would never lose. From 195 to 185.
Similarly, my wife has lost ~20 pounds.

fat biker

RH Clark

I forget the exact numbers, but I've read several studies that indicate just one 3-day water only fast can reduce cancer risks a very significant amount.

Jtmav

I’ve been intermittently fasting for over 10 years. I eat in an eight hour window daily and it has been an overall health boost. I lost about 20 lbs ten years ago and have kept it off ever since. This is the longest, by far, I’ve been able to maintain a healthy weight. My GP is also a regular faster and was supportive of the effort. I’ll be 71 in a few weeks and, for the most part, feel great. Some nagging arthritis and I have a life long challenge with spinal stenosis, but both are manageable so far. This is all I’ve tried, I have never done a “cleanse” or anything like that, just this is a way of life after all these years and rarely do I feel overly hungry.
YMMV

RB1-luvr

approx. 13 years ago, for about a year, I did not eat between 8 PM and 1 PM the following day and I weened myself off caffeine. I felt and looked great. Apparently, it was not sustainable, cuz I'm a caffeinated sugar-eating load now that places last in every cx race I do (Masters 50+).

the reason I tried this approach, is that I read 15 hours without eating was the minimum qualification for intermittent fasting. I shot for 17 hours, and almost always lasted at least 15.

Biker395 

That's me too. I eat regularly and often when I ride and people ask me how I can eat so much. My question to them is how can they NOT eat when riding.

I also have to say I am generally resistant to anything that smells like a fad diet. I'm reasonably healthy, and I'd rather not eff that up tying to get 0.01 percent more healthy than I already am.

davester

From my own experience and from reading the research, I think the answer to that question is that it takes a while for your body to adapt to ketosis (fueling your cells primarily from ketones derived from fat reserves) as a replacement for blood sugar (glucose) that's either circulating or stored in the liver. The reason for this is that our modern american diet is extremely heavy on essentially nonstop carbohydrate consumption (which provides glucose) so we lose the ability to easily switch into ketosis. Once adapted to ketosis, you tend not to get hungry any more because you've got plenty of fuel (fat) to access.

rsbob 

My wife has also moved us pretty much to a vegetarian diet which also helps with weight control as well as keeping my HDL andLDL, BP all in the normal range.

jackb

For me, living as long as I can is not as important as living as well as I can. I like to eat and se no reason to alter my eating habits. I'm fairly trim, in good health, and enjoy physical activity. I like to drink as well. Life is good. It will end for me when it does.

davester

This is a common misconception of the longevity science and the reasons for intermittent fasting. It is not clear that intermittent fasting extends ultimate lifespan, but it is pretty clear that it helps extend your "healthspan", which is the part of your life that you are free from age-related diseases such as arteriosclerosis, various cancers, alzheimer's, etc. A large fraction of people these days die after long periods suffering from one of these debilitating diseases. The goal is to avoid that and live well during the last part of your lifespan.

Also, I am very much a foodie and my personal view is that enjoyment of food is not changed by going to intermittent fasting. In contrast, I'd say that it is somewhat enhanced since I tend to savor my less frequent meals more.

Biker395 

All good if true, but why adapt myself to ketosis?

davester

As noted above by myself and others, there are ample research findings showing that being in ketosis (and autophagy) substantially reduces susceptibility to a host of debilitating age-related diseases. Want to be healthy in your old age?

freeranger

I don't consider myself fast on a bike, and with food, I definitely don't fast (lucky?-I have an impossible time gaining weight-stay slim no matter what!)

rsbob 

From what I have read, and I won’t provide documentation, is that if you stay fit, and eat a relatively healthy diet, you may improve your longevity, as well as mental abilities, and when you die (unless you have preexisting co-morbidities) it should be relatively fast compared to those who do the converse. A fast death sounds good to me.

Biker395 

I’m already healthy in my old age.

Color me skeptical. Have you links to some of that evidence? I’d like to read it for myself.

Hermes

I watched the video but also, I watched Sinclair’s at Google Talk (one hour video) that is more comprehensive and I read his book. I think the Google Talk video was enough to get Sinclair’s theory of aging and etc. and the book was too much into the political aspects of people living longer and other matters. I like Sinclair a lot and follow his research.

I intermittent fast from time to time and I can do an endurance or HITT ride when fasting. In some respects I prefer the empty stomach.

davester

There is in fact an overwhelming amount of data on this and many books and scientific research publications. Just google "fasting and longevity" to get an idea of how much has been done. Here's one very succinct summary with some useful links: https://www.bluezones.com/2018/10/fa...on-cell-aging/

On the subject of longevity science in general, including intermittent fasting, I'd suggest that you listen to this lecture. It's long, but he summarizes the main points in about the first 10 minutes and then provides some interesting conclusions at the end. Watch those parts to get the main ideas. The intervening material is a very intensive review of the molecular biological mechanisms of aging.

RH Clark

From my understanding, you get into Autophagy much faster and more thoroughly when in ketosis. You can do it on high carb, but you may need to stop all calories longer than 24 hours. Autophagy is what you want because the body literally eats itself during this time. Researchers have found that the body is smart enough to eat the less optimally functioning cells first. That's why it greatly reduces the risks of cancer and certain disease.

Please understand also that much of this is very recent groundbreaking research. The Nobel Peace prize was awarded as recently as 2016 for Autophagy research.

Carbonfiberboy 

Hilarious. I just did The Google, except I googled "fasting and longevity studies". No human studies came up, just fruit flies and mice.

I followed all four study links for "Sources Cited" in the bluezones article. The only one which led to a human study was titled: "Exercise-induced BCL2-regulated autophagy is required for muscle glucose homeostasis" Nothing to do with fasting. Autophagy is a natural process which happens to everyone. It just means "cell turnover". Cell turnover means cells are removed and new cells created.
More about cell turnover here: » How quickly do different cells in the body replace themselves?

So please post links to the human studies showing that fasting increases longevity, as published in peer-reviewed journals. Period.

Alzerbster

I have been doing intermittent fasting for almost a year now. I don't eat anything after 6:00pm then I don't eat until about 11:30am the next day. I have definitely lost some weight from doing it. Although when going for a ride in the morning I do eat something beforehand. Studies have proven that fasting/intermittent fasting has many health benefits. Anyone interested here is a video of Dr. Ekberg talks about it. With the obesity running rampant in this country it would help if more people practiced the 2 meals a day or 1 meal a day intermittent fasting.
I have told people that I think biking causes me to gain weight, because after a 25 to 30 mile ride. I am so hungry I eat like a horse.

MoAlpha

Well you may ask!

To my knowledge the only data on diet, fasting etc. and human longevity come from observational studies on the so-called Mediterranean diet, but it's hard to separate diet from genetics and culture in that kind of work. I eat pretty Mediterranean and look, I'm still alive!

Intermittent fasting is almost certainly good for you and reduces markers of metabolic disease, but it's impossible to compare to other forms of calorie restriction in humans because the non-fasting group would have to be maintained "iso-caloric" and for that, you would need tight control of lots of peoples' diets over a matter of years. Ain't happening.

The autophagy thing comes up because mTOR pathway activation inhibits it and fasting turns off mTOR signaling. It's a purely theoretical benefit.

davester

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Controlled human research studies of fasting and longevity don't exist because : 1) They would require extremely long study durations, approaching or exceeding lifetimes; 2) they would require the subjects to be under extremely tight dietary control for the length of the study, something which is completely impractical. Also, such studies would have to have been started long ago, before concepts such as ketosis or autophagy were understood.<br /><br />The research that has been done is primarily on a variety of animal models in which cellular mechanisms are similar to those that are known to also occur in humans. As MoAlpha noted, the only human data is based on observational studies in so-called blue zones, where there do appear to be benefits to fasting, though difficult to isolate from other lifestyle factors. If that's not good enough for you then feel free to ignore the research that is available..

davester

I've never heard of this guy before but that is an excellent summary of the New England Journal of Medicine article on intermittent fasting benefits. For anybody with questions or skepticism regarding this topic I highly recommend watching this relatively short video. It's much more informative than the OP video.

RH Clark

Absolutely. I too often watch Dr. Ekberg. The OP video was only intended as something short enough that would be watched, sparking further investigation. I think it's a subject well worth researching.

wolfchild

It is biologically impossible to reverse an aging process....My deepest sympathies for all the people who listen and believe and follow all the BS that these longevity charlatans preach on youtube.