PERIODIC FASTING MIMICKING DIET, LONGEVITY, AND DISEASE

Abstract

Abstract Chronic dietary interventions have been known for decades to help prevent disease and extend longevity, yet most are difficult to adopt especially long-term. Brief periods of a diet that mimics fasting by regulating key starvation response genes including IGF-1, TOR-S6K and PKA lasting between 4 and 7 days and followed by long periods on a normal diet, are emerging as potentially effective pro-longevity interventions. These periodic fasting mimicking diets (FMD) provide low calories, sugars, and proteins and high levels of unsaturated fats. In mice, 4 day bi-monthly cycles of the FMD started at middle age extend longevity, reduce tumors by nearly 50%, reduce inflammatory diseases and increase cognitive performance at old ages. In humans, 3 monthly cycles of a 5 day FMD reduce markers or risk factors for aging, diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular disease including cholesterol, blood pressure, CRP, IGF-1, and fasting glucose, particularly in subjects with elevated levels of these markers at baseline. Here I will present our most recent mouse and clinical studies indicating that FMDs can help reverse insulin resistance, reduce risk factors/markers of aging and age-related diseases, and lower biological age.