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At my leanest, I ate twice a day within about a 6 or 7 hour window in the morning and afternoon. No snacks. In my experience, convincing people of the efficacy of CR and intermittent fasting is uniquely difficult. There’s a lot of propaganda out there telling people that they should be constantly snacking.
ReplyI humbly submit Folz’ Iron Law of Health Intervention:
The efficacy of an intervention is inversely proportional to its 3rd party financial benefit.
Fasting > Potato Hack > DIY Paleo (Full-fat dairy, eggs, gr. beef) > Weight Watchers & “diet bars”
Pull Ups > Dumb Bells > Treadmill/Stairmachine > Yoga Classes
Noon day sun > Vitamin D drops > Dietary Supplements (NAC/Glycine/Resveratrol/etc.) > Statin
Dennis, you want to make that yours on teh twatter, be my guest. It is my gift to you. 🙂
Mangan’s Iron Law of Health Intervention has a nice ring to it, if I do say so myself.
ReplyIron Law of Health Intervention:
If you say, “Don’t do X, it’s bad for you”, you will get one of the following responses:
1. My grandpa did X his whole life and lived to be 100.
2. Too hard, I can’t live without my X.
3. Gummint Science says X is good for you.
Thanks, Allan! Great formulation. I’ve said before that as regards supplements, a rule of thumb is the more expensive they are, the less you need them.
ReplyEven worse, most, if not all, nutritionists keep telling you the same. “Eat every three hours.”
ReplyHi P. D.
Can you still read French? I hope so. This article (see the link) agrees with your post on many points.
http://www.robertmasson.com/50-ans-dexperience/le-grignotage-mega-nuisance-alimentaire/
grignoter (French) = to graze (English)
ReplyThanks José Carlos. I could make out some of that, been a long time since I’ve read the language.
ReplyThe more I read, the more I think it’s all about AMPK. All the usual suspects activate AMPK – fasting, exercise, reservatrol, sulfarophane, curcumin etc, then AMPK in turn activates autophagy etc
ReplyI’ve done the intermittent fasting thing for a decade, and I’m slim and at 40 I literally look 10-15 years younger than I am. I don’t exercise much, except for cycling a few miles to work and some moderate lifting once or twice a week. I also smoke at least a pack of cigs a day and drink at least a 5-6 drinks, and eat pretty much whatever I like.
ReplyThat is kick ass Shitlord! Are you able to elaborate on your IF routine during a standard week? Also, I love and smash beers way too much. The 5-6 drinks you refer to, what type are they and is that daily consumption?
ReplyHi Dennis,
Given that, as you write, “our distant ancestors way back in the 1960s had a far lower rate of obesity while eating, in general, lots of crappy food”, how would you rate the importance of pursuing a low-carb diet combined with 12+ hr fasting periods as opposed to *just* not eating all the time with no regard for carb/fat/protein intake? How much of a difference does abstaining from crappy food actually make in either dietary context?
I”m a casual reader, so I apologize if this has been answered elsewhere.
ReplyCharles, that’s a good question. Some populations, e.g. in Japan and China, have subsisted on large amounts of white rice and were not fat. I really doubt they did a lot of midnight snacking. From that you could say that the fasting period is very important. On the other hand, some of the foods we have are so calorically dense that to my mind they all but negate fasting. A frappuccino, for instance, or mac and cheese, you get the idea.
ReplyWont there be any negative effects of autophagy? With billions of cells disgorging waste into the lymph system, then on to the kidneys, can’t it overload the system? The lymph system is a circulatory system – it just doesn’t have a dedicated pump.
Sure, we need lots of water, maybe one of those decongestants that make mucus more viscous. Theprogram has helped me drop a lot of fat, but I do wonder if there aren’t consequences.
BillyPilgrim
ReplyBilly, the waste from autophagy is recycled, e.g. protein is broken down to amino acids, cellular organelles to their constituent fats and proteins, etc. The components of what’s being broken down are therefore not waste products, in the sense that, say, urea is. From this fact you can see why fasting increases autophagy, since one of its main purposes is to supply the body with nutrients when it isn’t getting any from outside. Fat can be broken down, glycogen too, but to get amino acids — and the body always needs some minimal amount around — it must break down proteins.
ReplyHey PD,
I just wanted to get your thoughts on something that I’ve been pondering for a while regarding intermittent fasting.
I fast pretty much every day, as per your recommendations, on most days for something like 16 hours. Although some days it is more like 12. I don’t have any problems with hunger while fasting which is lucky and I enjoy doing it knowing that I am doing something good for my body.
I do however have relatively mild but persistent hayfever. What this means is that throughout the day I am often swallowing saliva and occasionally flem (sorry if this is making you feel a little nauseous). I wanted to have your opinion on whether you think this is likely to be having an impact on my levels of autophagy?
Obviously my aim when I fast is to induce autophagy, and to do so as strongly as possible. Ideally I would like to avoid anything that might hinder this aim. Not sure what I could really do to prevent this though if it is having an impact on my levels of autophagy. Thanks love the site.
ReplyHi Graham, I doubt that what you describe would hinder autophagy much, if any.
ReplyThanks for the reply. It was probably a stupid question but just something I had been wondering about.
ReplyPD said, “I really doubt they [Japanese and Chinese] did a lot of midnight snacking. ”
The Japanese have an old proverb, “Hara hachibunmeni isha irazu”, which means “Eat to 80% full and never need a doctor”.
In discussions on health blogs you’ll hear people abbreviate it to “Harahachibu”.
However a lot of modern Japanese don’t follow this advice and just like everywhere else, obesity rates are rising (though still way lower the US).
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ReplyDear Doctor Magnan,
I am a fan and convert to intermittent fasting.
I would be grateful to receive you guidance on the timing for consuming Nicotinamde Riboside when fasting. For example, do you recommend consuming NR at start of fast, middle of fast etc.
Best regards,
Christopher
Hi Christopher, I believe that NR may accentuate fasting benefits, as does niacin and nicotinamide. So go ahead and take it when fasting. (BTW, I’m not a doctor.)
ReplyHey PD,
Have you looked into capsaicin (found in pepper)? It has been shown to cure/reverse type 1 diabetes, improve insulin sensitivity, activate pAMPK, and kill prostate cancer cells:
” Prostate cancer tumors shrank by 80 percent when exposed to capsaicin. Another study found it to destroy lung cancer cells and pancreatic cancer cells without destroying nearby tissue. The capsaicin kills these cancer cells by triggering the mitochondria in the cells to undergo apoptosis, or cell-suicide. ”
A more comprehensive post on it might be interesting, I suppose you could add it to curcumin etc in the supplements box.
PS the comment window is too short, can only see 3 lines while typing so inconvenient.
Thanks for your work, loved the book on iron.
Capsaicin also helps with iron, like curcumin: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1742-4658.2006.05458.x/pdf
ReplyThanks, Johnny, I’ve only looked at capsaicin in passing, you’re right, I should look further.
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