The Latest Research On (Meal Frequency &) Intermittent Fasting - The Diane Rehm Show
http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2014- ... -fasting-0Dr. Michael Mosley physician, science journalist and author. (5/2 Diet - Fasting 2 Non Consecutive Days Per Week Fasting)
Dr. Mark Mattson researcher, National Institute on Aging. EOD (Every Other Day or Alternate Day Fasting)
Dr. Valter Longo director, University of Southern California Longevity Institute. (4-5 Consecutive Days Per Month Fasting)
On their plans (Dr Fontana & Dr Varady are two other researchers in the field)
Luigi Fontana:
Advocates fasting (within the context of 24 hours) for as long as possible. He suggests that if you have to consume 5/600 calories then they should be consumed as one meal, very early in the morning so as to maximise the length of the fast.
Valter Longo:
With regard to IGF-1 reduction it is better to do 4 days of (consecutive) fasting every few months and then skip meals during the week to maintain weight and try to adopt a plant based low protein diet. An alternative to the 4 days fasting is just to fast on 2 days at a time as in the 5-2 plan but you must also try to move to a healthy diet, plant based and low protein.
Krista A. Varady:
With regard to how you should eat (if at all), on a fast day: So far, we have performed studies permitting people to eat 600 kcal bethween 12pm-2pm. We find that this strategy works well for most people (whereas a complete fast for 24 h does not). We have yet to run a study where we allow people to consume the 600 kcal as 6x100kcal (or 3 x 200 kcal) smaller meals throughout the day. However, we are planning to run this study within the next year. Krista Varady says ‘eating the 500 calorie allowance throughout the day would prevent a persons body going into a fasted state’. Since it is the fasted state that is so beneficial to us, this information is critical.
Mark P. Mattson:
1. A complete fast (no food) with hydration maintained with non-caloric beverages will be superior to consuming 600 calories on the fasting days.
2. Eating the 600 calories at one meal will be superior to eating several smaller meals spread throughout the day. By eating only one meal, the body goes essentially 24 hours with no food. This results in adaptive cellular stress responses which we believe is particularly good for the brain.
3. In the case of the 5:2 diet, we do not know whether better health benefits are realized with two consecutive days of fasting versus any two days of fasting during the week.
What I found most interesting is..., (all of which reinforce my comments in this thread)...
- all the versions worked with fasting being defined as a either a period of eating ~500 calories per day or total abstinence
- whichever routine implemented, the subjects adapted in about 2 weeks and rarely expeienced hunger, though this was hardest on the 5 days per month plan.
- as Dr Mosley said, the most important thing is for each individual to find the regime within the basic guidelines that works best for them.
I agree.
In Health
Jeff