Not a day goes by for someone to invent a new diet. Without counting the most bizarre proposals by the stars of the moment, there are ‘experts’ who are born like mushrooms and who ride the wave of people’s desire to lose weight to make it a business. Often at the expense of the consumers themselves, who can indeed come out of it badly – and sometimes even risk their lives. Now, fortunately, not all diets are dangerous and without scientific basis, but knowing how to discern is sometimes not easy. Among the many proposals, here is also the fasting-mimicking diet. The fasting mimicking diet promises a lot
The one conceived by Dr. Valter Longo, is a diet that promises to offer the benefits of fasting, without fasting. This diet would not be the result of an impromptu, but the conclusion of about 25 years of studies carried out by Longo at the University of Southern California. Also called the ‘longevity diet’, mime-fasting was born as a result of the curiosity to discover what were the dietary secrets of over one hundred year olds in various parts of the world. These include residents in Okinawa, Loma Linda (near Los Angeles), in our Sardinia and Calabria, and then in Greece and Costa Rica. What unites those who follow special diets
To the question, what unites people who have managed to live for so long, despite living in places so distant from each other and following different diets, the learned Longo tried to answer during an interview conducted by Nadia Toffa of the ‘Hyenas’ for the service «A diet that extends life». These 100-year-olds, “tend to have a mainly vegan diet, with some fish and low protein levels,” said Dr. Longo. But the vegan diet is not the key to this. In fact, a study focusing on people living in Ecuador and suffering from Laron Syndrome reveals that they are unlikely to die of chronic disease or cancer or even cardiovascular disease. Yet, these individuals do not follow a vegan or animal-free diet at all. Furthermore, their lifestyle can be said to be anything but healthy: for example, they drink and smoke. From the observation of this phenomenon, the idea of ​​the fasting-mimicking diet was born, which manages to offer the effects of a water-only fast, while eating – albeit in a controlled manner.
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According to Dr. Longo, the benefits of the fasting-mimicking diet are different, for example, it protects the different cells of the body, rejuvenates them and eliminates damaged ones, replacing them with young cells. According to the expert, this process protects the body from cellular degeneration that can lead to the development of cancer. Other benefits would be a decrease in cardiovascular, diabetes and cancer risk factors. Animal model tests suggest that this type of diet can have positive effects on autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis.
Fasting mimicking diet Fasting mimicking diet also for chemotherapy
Dr. Valter Longo is also evaluating the effects of the fasting mimicking diet when combined with much-discussed chemotherapy. Tests conducted on brain cancer cells called glioma, it was observed that the combination of this diet with traditional anticancer therapies was able to arrest the progression of the disease as well as limiting the side effects of chemotherapy.
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According to the expert, the fasting-mimicking diet can also be followed once every 2, 3, 4 months depending on the case and needs. After a careful evaluation by a specialist, the diet should be followed for 5 days, the time necessary for the organs to eliminate a good percentage of damaged cells. It is vital to avoid doing it yourself and it is always necessary to consult an expert, as the diet is not free from possible side effects – and can even be dangerous for some. Nadia Toffa herself wanted to experiment with the diet for the canons for 5 days. With some difficulty, she did, and post-diet blood tests revealed that she had achieved several benefits. For example, some markers of cellular aging had dropped by 50%. After this,To whom the fasting-mimicking diet is not recommended
Since, as mentioned, the fasting-mimicking diet can still have contraindications, and is not recommended for weak or more fragile people. Among these, the elderly over the age of 70 and children under the age of twenty. Other contraindications are for patients with type 1 diabetes, people suffering from anorexia nervosa or those who are underweight.
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