Starving Yourself on Alternate Days Can Make You Live Longer
Want to know another secret to longer life? Starve yourself on alternate days! New study revealed that fasting on and off can improve brain function and promote weight loss.
Fasting has always been an integral part of different religions such as Islam, Christianity, and Judaism. Some people are still quite sceptical as to whether the psychological benefits of fasting are the same with its physical effects too. There are notions however, coming from alternative healers that fasting can be good for the health. There are claims that fasting can promote healing, detoxify the body, reduction of stress, and so on.
Dietary Restriction can make you live LONGER
A group of American researchers from the National Institute for Aging (NIA) investigated the effects of alternate fasting by conducting an animal study. They observed that by giving animals the minimum amount of calories they need to stay alive, their life span increased by 50%. Why is it so? According to Mark Mattson, neuroscience professor and the head of the laboratory of neurosciences at the NIA, dietary restriction extends an individual’s lifespan and protects his heart and brain from age-related diseases.
In their experiment, a group of mice were fed in alternate days while the rest were given food every day. The researchers found that the group of mice which were subjected to dietary restriction became more sensitive to insulin that they only need to produce less of it to meet their daily insulin requirements. Basically, whenever we eat, our body produces hormones which aid in regulating sugar levels after every meal or snack. The overproduction of insulin is linked to low mental performance and diabetes. The effects were the same on animals who during winter hibernation.
Restricting Calorie Intake Can Boost Brain Power
Professor Mattson and his co-researchers also examined the effects of alternate starving in the brain. They found that restricting calorie intake can enhance the function of brain synapses – the junctions between the brain cells that trigger the development of brain cells and make them less vulnerable to stress. The study also found out that by starving the body cells with the food they need activates the cellular stress responses, making them more resistant to cell damaging factors which help fight cancer.
Things to Consider
After reading this, you might be tempted to try fasting on alternate days to experience the health benefits it brings. There are associated risks however with fasting. People who have poor kidney and liver may run the risk of a compromised immune system functioning. While fasting has fat reduction effects, it should not be used as a primary weight loss tool. Starving yourself too much can result to poor metabolism and absorption of fats. It is also important that you do not deprive yourself of the essential nutrients that your body needs to stay healthy.
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