Dietary restrictions (RDs) have been used for thousands of years to cleanse the body internally and promote good health. They play a central role in many cultures and religions (such as Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism).
Fast, the most extreme form of DR, involves abstinence from all food but not water. It kills damaged cells, puts healthy cells into protected mode, and generates new young cells. Fasting has long been associated with a wide range of health benefits, including better blood glucose control, weight loss, heart health, brain function, and cancer prevention.
intermittent fasting (IF) is an eating pattern that alternates between fasting and eating periods. In humans, it has been shown to have beneficial effects on blood glucose levels, insulin, and blood pressure.
prolonged fast (PF) is fasting that lasts two or more days. When the extremes of fasting are separated by at least one week of normal diet (2:7 strategy), FP causes a decrease in blood glucose and insulin levels. In addition, FP is accompanied by autophagy (the cellular self-cleaning process that breaks down and recycles damaged molecules).
A PF 2:7 diet strategy has a growing reputation among medical scientists and dieticians as a highly effective strategy for protecting normal cells and organs from a variety of toxins and serious conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, high cholesterol, and liver problems , while increasing the death rate of many types of cancer cells.
The problem is that most people find a prolonged two-day (48-hour straight) water-only fast very difficult. Furthermore, its extreme nature could cause adverse health consequences, especially in the elderly and frail and in people with pre-existing medical conditions. A less severe diet with similar effects to a full body PF is needed.
HAS fasting mimicking diet (FMD) is a diet that mimics the effects of fasting. Experiments done a few years ago found that FMD cycles lasting four days followed by a normal diet could provide benefits similar to those of a 2:7 FP diet.
One of these studies was published in published in Cellular metabolism in July 2015. The investigation was divided into several parts.
Fasting Clinical Trial
In the animal studythe mice were fed a restricted diet for four days twice a month and were allowed to eat as much as they wanted in between.
After each cycle of FMD, the mice had lower blood glucose and insulin levels, and had reductions in certain inflammatory factors such as insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), which is associated with aging and cancer, compared to mice on an unrestricted regimen. diet.
At 28 months, the FMD mice had also lost weight and had less abdominal fat (which is associated with diabetes) compared to the other mice. Also, the fasted mice had longer lives.
In the human trials, 19 subjects underwent a special FMD for five days each month for three months. Another 19 participants acted as controls who ate their usual diet.
Test subjects followed a very specific diet designed to reduce the risks of fasting while providing essential nutrients and minimizing the psychological difficulties encountered during fasting. The special diet included vegetable-based soups, energy bars, energy drinks, chamomile tea, and a dietary supplement…designed to provide 44% fat, 47% carbohydrates, and 9% protein.
On the first day of the five-day diet they were limited to 1,090 calories, and then on the last four days to just 725 calories. Those taking FMD reduced their fasting blood glucose levels by an average of 11.3%… more than a type 2 diabetic would normally experience using a typical routine diabetes medication.
The study also found that IGF-1 was reduced by 24% (an advantage for cancer prevention) and levels of CRP, a marker of inflammation, were also reduced. Additionally, those taking FMD lost 3% of their weight and reduced abdominal fat, along with a variety of other health benefits.
The overall results suggest that partial fasting can help control diabetes.
However, this is just one study with only 19 test subjects, and more research is obviously needed to confirm the results… but it does give reason to hope that intermittent fasting can reverse type 2 diabetes. to try…
