The National Institute on Aging (NIA), working together with scientists from the Pennington Biomedical Research Center and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, has recently suggested that there could be some major benefits to reap from engaging in fasting.
According to the (NIA), they propose that fasting could be the secret to longevity. Their recent study results indicate that eating one meal a day might help to fuel a longer lifespan, as well as helping to influence better outcomes for metabolic disorders and other illness.
“This study showed that mice who ate one meal per day, and thus had the longest fasting period, seemed to have a longer lifespan and better outcomes for common age-related liver disease and metabolic disorders,” - NIA Director Richard Hodes, M.D."
What they will be working on next is investigating how long someone might need to fast before they could see the benefits that researchers have seen in animal tests. The researchers have asserted that over time, prolonged daily fasting could play a drastic role in influencing better health and survival.
“We think what's going on is when you stop eating for X-number of hours, your metabolism goes into standby mode. Your body fixes and removes all the garbage during this time,... When the next feeding comes, you are better prepared for the energy you're about to consume.” - Rafael de Cabo, Ph.D.
A Powerful Natural Healing Solution
This isn't the first study to suggest that fasting might help to influence better health. Other studies have also concluded the same, that intermittent fasting could help to fight obesity, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and more.
Fasting is something that people worldwide have practiced regularly for thousands of years, from various cultures, for a variety of reasons.
Fasting is quite different from starvation in that it is voluntary and controlled abstention from food. And you can find a variety of healthcare professionals today who are very passionate in suggesting that a genuine fast has tremendous health benefits in cleansing the body in a natural way.
After fasting for a certain amount of time, that's when you get into autophagy.
What Is Autophagy?
Further study on this concept managed to earn one scientist, Yoshinori Ohsumi, a Nobel Prize back in 2016 after he uncovered the underlying mechanisms of this natural recycling process.
Might autophagy be able to help fight against aging?
Short-term intermittent fasting has been shown to induce autophagy and researchers have previously speculated that sporadic fasting might be an effective means to promote neuronal autophagy.
There are some intermittent fasting proponents who have suggested that autophagy might not kick in until after fasting for at least 24-48 hours; however it varies from person to person. It's incredible to think that we have this natural, inexpensive, and truly profound healing mechanism available to us, that might bring more benefits than any other tool or supplement that we could try.
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The information that is posted above is not meant or intended to be used as any substitute for professional medical advice, or diagnosis or treatment. The above is posted for informational purposes only.
