What is the impact of fasting anti-aging on our health and what are its benefits? This article summarizes the observations made by fasting specialists. From the Orthopathy movement of the 1820s to the new emerging schools of thought. This article is not exhaustive but addresses the important general benefits. These benefits are only valid if fasting is well practiced, adapted, prepared, and under good conditions.
Renewal and regeneration (self-healing)
There are an increasing number of testimonies of healing after fasting for anti-aging. They prove that one of the fasting benefits is activating the organism’s regeneration. Moreover, “vis medicatrix naturea”, means the healing power of nature. It is one of the principles of medicine by Hippocrates. The great specialists in fasting affirm, through observation and experience, that fasting is an exceptional remedy for all types of illnesses. These diseases include diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, autoimmune diseases, Alzheimer’s, cancer, and psychiatric diseases.
Fasting for Healing
Without external support, the body would look to its resources to heal itself. Already 100 years ago, the academician Viktor Pasutin observed that the body uses its tissue stocks during fasting for anti-aging. He noticed that damaged tissues are consumed while healthy tissues are preserved and renewed. The ancients of the Orthopathy movement called this phenomenon autolysis. Thus, the consumption of the internal reserves of the different organs and tissues would not be homogeneous. Indeed, the more critical an organ or tissue is for vital functions, the less weight it loses and vice versa.
More recently, with the work of Mark Mattson in 2012, it has been observed that fasting leads to a drastic decrease in growth factors in the blood (the famous IGF-1 that nourishes cancer cells). At the same time, it sends a signal to the blood stem cells. Fasting anti-aging participates in the regeneration process.
Fasting and anti-aging of the body
“The physiological regeneration process of fasting allows the renewal of all cells, their molecules and their chemical substances. It is interesting to note that the biochemical changes that take place during starvation and a repair process are very similar. In both cases, there are 2 phases: destruction and repair. According to the doctrine of regeneration an increase in the destruction phase leads to an increase in the repair phase. Therefore, therapeutic starvation is a natural factor to stimulate physiological regeneration. Therapeutic fasting leads to tissue regeneration and rejuvenation throughout the body.” PR L. V. Polezhaev
Longevity, fasting and anti-aging
In 1934, two Cornell University researchers discovered the first link between fasting and anti-aging. Indeed, they observed that laboratory rats fed 30% less than their counterparts had a longer life expectancy. Moreover, this observation is confirmed in humans thanks to the recent work of Valter Longo on longevity. Furthermore, this gerontologist applies a diet that mimics the effects of fasting (Fasting Mimicking Diet) 5 days a month for a quarter on 19 volunteers. The results are very positive. Indeed, decreasing risk factors and biomarkers of aging, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer are among the benefits of fasting when it is well prepared and practiced.
Fasting anti-aging: a longevity diet
“We have shown that periodic fasting can promote the regeneration of the immune and nervous systems and the pancreas. It destroys many damaged cellular components and cells while activating stem cells. When the mice start to feed again, these stem cells become part of a program to regenerate organs and systems. The newly generated immune cells are fresher, more functional cells, indicating that the old, damaged, and new ones have replaced dysfunctional cells. In addition, a process called autophagy is actively involved in the elimination and recycling of pathogenic intracellular elements. It also participates in the reconstruction of cellular components, contributing to regeneration.” Valter Longo, The Longevity Diet (Actes Sud editions).
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To discover the incredible benefits of fasting on the human body, check the following articles:
- Fasting detox benefits based on evidence facts
- Health, fasting and the immune system: is there a correlation?
- Types of fasting & what’s right for you
- Regenere
- Jeûne & Sens
- The longevity Diet by Valter Longo, Ph.D
- Nutrition and fasting mimicking diets in the prevention and treatment of autoimmune diseases and immunosenescence, Molecular and Cellular Endocrinology (2017)
- Fasting for Health and Longevity: Nobel Prize Winning Research on Cell Aging
- The HYGIENIC SYSTEM By Herbert M. Shelton