Fasting and Longevity
After periods of stringent diets and rigorous workout routines, many people turned to fasting as a way to lose weight when the trend of Intermittent Fasting took over. Little did they know, in the shape of broken fasts and time-based eating, they had possibly found the elixir of life.
What is Intermittent Fasting?
First things first, to understand the vitality of intermittent fasting, the basics of this form of time-based eating must be understood.
Intermittent Fasting is an eating pattern that revolves around periods when you are observing a fast from eating, to the time when you break your volunteered fast to re-energize yourself with food.
Major Categories
Very different from dieting, Intermittent Fasting is patterned eating. Thus, it focuses on the cycle of eating followed by non-eating, and so on.
There are different methods of intermittent fasting. Some of the popular ones include:
- Alternate Day Fasts
Consider this like following a diet plan, with every other day being a cheat day. You can pursue a calorie-restricted diet on one day (fast), and then follow it up with a regular meal day.
- Time-Restricted Feeds
This involves restricting eating food to some limited hours of the day, while the remaining duration is spent as a fast. For example, the 16:8 intermittent fast plan involves 8 hours of eating followed by a 16-hour fasting window.
- Day Fasting Plans
These include a few days of the week when you can decide to fast or follow a stringent diet plan. While the remaining days are spent with regular meals. An example is the 5:2 intermittent fasting plan. This includes 2 days of the week for fasting while regular meals resume for the other 5.
Intermittent Fasting: The New Path to Longer Lives?
While intermittent fasting was known to reduce weight and help the digestive system; recent studies are saying it might just be the way to increased lifespans!
Yes, has been shown in several studies. An act as simple as fasting might just be what you needed to enjoy longevity. many factors contribute to this.
- Increased Antioxidants
A calorie restricted diet and intermittent fasting result in reduced oxidative stress, thereby slowing down the speed of the aging process.
Our body has free radicals, endogenous and exogenous, that wreak havoc by damaging cells, proteins, and DNA. In contrast, the antioxidants in our body assist in countering these damages and neutralizing the harm.
Reducing our regular calorie count by intermittent fasting helps increase antioxidants and reduce free radicals; thus, promoting health and longevity.
- Improved Cardiovascular Health
One way to a longer life is by straying far from illnesses. This is exactly what intermittent fasting achieves.
A study revealed that people who followed the 2:5 intermittent fasting plan (restricted calorie diet for 5 days of the week) for 3 months, witnessed improved cardiovascular health. This was due to lower blood pressure and cholesterol level, as well as a drastic decrease in blood sugar.
Reducing the probability of chronic diseases, as well as those related to aging, intermittent fasting promotes health.
- Induced Autophagy
While it may sound complicated, Autophagy simply refers to an inner cleanup in the body. Over time, our body’s cells accumulate many molecules inside them, several of which are damaged and/or harmful. Autophagy is when these damaged molecules are cleaned out.
A study in 2019 included 11 obese adults who followed the time-restricted feed method of intermittent fasting for 8 days. In the initial 4 days, they consumed food from 8 am to 2pm, while fasting the rest of the day. In the next 4 days, they ate during 8 am to 8 pm. The study concluded a positive relationship between intermittent fasting and autophagy.
Therefore, hinting that autophagy and an inner cleansing could be induced by intermittent fasting for healthier, longer living. In addition, autophagy also prevents against tumor development and several cancers.
- The transition to ketone-based energy
If you have ever pursued a ketogenic diet, you probably know the mechanics behind it. We limit consumption of carbohydrates and sugar, so the body begins to derive energy from ketones, instead of breaking down glucose, as its reservoirs diminish.
Similarly, intermittent fasting results in a transition from deriving energy from glucose to deriving it from ketones. A study included time restricted feed, observing 6 hours of food consumption followed by an 18 hour fast every day. It was found, that as the source of energy drifted to ketones, this enhanced longevity and prevented major illnesses such as cancer.
With several health benefits, perhaps it is not wrong to consider intermittent fasting as another resolution for the year, for longevity.
The Importance of a Suitable Calorie Restricted Diet
When you eat, matters; but what you eat, matters even more!
You may have realized that despite intermittent fasting being merely a cycle of food consumption, the emphasis lay on eating a low-calorie count meal. This means, if you fast an entire day and break your fast with 2 cheeseburgers and a molten lava cake later – maybe this might not be the right way to achieve longevity.
What you need is a good, filling, calorie-restricted diet that not only fulfills your nourishment needs, but also keeps you energized throughout the fasting period.
Protein is the Way to Go
Indulging on sugars and carbs is not as healthily beneficial as one would like them to be. Therefore, the safest (and most delicious!) bet is to go the protein way.
No, we don’t mean a run to the kitchen to whip up loads of bacon or other meats. Instead, the Non-GMO, Grass-fed and pasture raised whey protein, courtesy of Centenarius Nutrition is the way to go.
Not Just Another Protein Shake
Unlike the protein shakes filled with artificial sweeteners that you may find in the market; this Grass-fed whey protein powder is a wholesome meal to keep an intermittent fast. Clean, heavy-metals tested, and hormone-free, the Centenarius protein powder is synonymous to health and nutrition.
Get Your Protein Powder Today, and begin the Fasting Experience
If you are thinking of adopting intermittent fasting for longevity, get your Centenarius Whey Isolate today. Mix and match in a drink of your liking and enjoy something new, every time you fast.
Protein for health – Protein for Longevity!
