fasting mimicking diet Archives

Oct

2024

Cardiovascular Risk Markers Predict Heart Attacks and Strokes

By Ray Schilling | blood test, Cardiovascular disease, cholesterol, diet, fasting mimicking diet, Fitness, heart attack, Heart Disease, Mortality, Stroke, Weight loss

An article in The New England Journal of Medicine stated that cardiovascular risk markers predict heart attacks and strokes. A summary of this study was also published by NBC News.

30-year follow-up of the Women’s Health Study

This is based on a 30-year follow-up study of the Women’s Health Study. In the beginning of the study all women had blood tests taken. In the beginning none of the women had cardiovascular disease. The blood tests were LDL cholesterol, lipoprotein(a) and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (CRP). When either of these markers was high at the beginning of the clinical trial, it turns out that 30 years later the person either was dead from cardiovascular disease or had a heart attack or stroke.

More details of the study

In the beginning of the study 27,939 initially healthy U.S. women had 3 of the mentioned blood tests taken. If only one of them was elevated, there was a risk in the next 30 years to get a myocardial infarction, coronary revascularization, stroke, or death from cardiovascular causes. The initial age of the patients was 54.7 years. During the next 30 years of follow-up 3662 cardiovascular events took place. Hazard ratios for the primary end point in a comparison of the top with the bottom quintile were calculated. The following hazard ratios were derived:

70-fold for high-sensitivity CRP
36 for LDL cholesterol
33 for lipoprotein(a)

Each biomarker showed an independent contribution to the overall risk. The risk of developing cardiovascular disease was highest when all three biomarkers were elevated.

Traditional risk calculation

Cardiologists calculated risk for cardiovascular events by the traditional 10-year estimates of risk. The authors suggest that physicians should do screening blood tests with these three biomarkers. If any of the biomarkers is elevated, measures to reduce cardiovascular risk should be initiated. This will be very effective to prevent cardiovascular events for the next 30 years.

Be proactive, prevent heart disease

As we get older, many people develop elevations of high-sensitivity CRP, LDL cholesterol and lipoprotein (a). But don’t wait for this to happen. Here are 9 steps you can follow to prevent it.

Maintain a healthy weight
Quit smoking
Choose good nutrition
Be physically active
Treat hypertension adequately
Manage diabetes, if you have it
Stress management
Limit alcohol intake
Get enough sleep

Comments to the steps you can take to prevent cardiovascular disease

The ideal body mass index is between 21.0 and 22.0. I found that the fasting mimicking diet helps me to stay in that BMI range. Good nutrition eliminates red meat and emphasizes vegetables and salads. Fish, lean chicken and turkey meat are healthy. Avoid all processed meats like sausages. Watch your calorie intake to keep your body mass index stable. In addition, avoid excessive salt and sugar intake. Avoid highly processed carbohydrates and processed food. Eliminate fried fast food, chips and baked goods from your diet as they contain trans fats. Trans fats cause hardening of the arteries.

Aim to get 30 to 60 minutes of daily activity. Do two or more strength training sessions a week. This raises the protective HDL cholesterol and prevents cardiovascular disease. Excessive alcohol intake leads to cardiovascular disease and high blood pressure. Limit your alcohol intake, if you find it hard to eliminate it altogether.

Cardiovascular Risk Markers Predict Heart Attacks and Strokes

Conclusion

A unique 30-year follow-up study of the Women’s Health Study identified three risk factors that a doctor can be determin from a blood sample. They predict whether a person will develop cardiovascular disease 30 years down the road. The three risk factors are high-sensitivity CRP, LDL cholesterol and lipoprotein (a). The best approach to prevention of heart disease is to adopt the approach of the Mayo Clinic described above. It comes down to the basics of good nutrition, regular exercise, maintaining a healthy weight, limiting excessive alcohol intake and stress management.

Sep

2024

Ozempic and Wegovy can Lead to Blindness in one Eye

By Ray Schilling | fasting mimicking diet, Nutrition, Obesity, Weight loss

Shocking medical news found that Ozempic and Wegovy can lead to blindness in one eye. Ozempic was approved by the FDA for treatment of diabetes. Wegovy, which is the same drug, got FDA approval for treatment of obesity. The pharmacological name of the drug is semaglutide. Both brand names of the drug are very popular, but they have side effects.

List of side effects of Ozempic and Wegovy

Physicians noted the following side effects of semaglutide. Nausea and vomiting, diarrhea, constipation, gas and bloating, stomach pain, fatigue, burping and changes to your face (Ozempic face). In addition, headache, rebound weight gain, low blood glucose, vivid dreams, hair loss, pancreatitis, gallbladder disease, kidney damage. Finally, there are also allergic reactions, thyroid tumors and stomach paralysis (gastroparesis) that are listed as side effects.

Rare side-effects of Ozempic and Wegovy

There is one side effect of Ozempic or Wegovy, namely a higher risk of developing a rare form of blindness. This has the name “Nonarteritic Anterior Ischemic Optic Neuropathy” or “NAION”. Only 10 out of 100,000 people in the general population may experience it. But patients who take Ozempic or Wegovy get this more often. People who took Ozempic for diabetes were 4-times more likely to develop blindness in one eye from NAION. And people who took Wegovy for obesity were 7-times more likely to get blind on one eye from NAION.

Alternative measures to treat diabetes and obesity

The question is whether you really need Ozempic or Wegovy to achieve control of your blood sugars or control of your body weight.“A crossover study showed that a fasting-mimicking diet is benefitting cardiovascular health. This new study was done by Dr. Valter Longo et al. from the University of Southern California. It compared the effect of two diets. They were the fasting-mimicking diet versus an unrestricted diet. In other studies Dr. Longo compared the fasting-mimicking diet (FMD) with a Mediterranean diet. He said: “The significance is that fasting-mimicking diet cycles were able to decrease fat mass without reducing muscle mass and without requiring changes in the subjects’ preferred diet for 25 days a month. In contrast, the everyday Mediterranean diet required a change in everyday dietary habits and had an association of 5 pounds loss of muscle.” It makes sense to use the FMD instead of the potentially dangerous Ozempic or Wegovy.

Effects of the fasting mimicking diet

The fasting mimicking diet consists of 5 days of a calorie reduced diet (500 to 600 calories per day) once a month. This helps you to reduce your weight and maintain it subsequently. Weight loss and control of diabetes are the main effects.

Ozempic and Wegovy can Lead to Blindness in one Eye

Conclusion

A rare complication of the popular medications Ozempic and Wegovy is the development of a rare form of blindness. This has the name “Nonarteritic Anterior Ischemic Optic Neuropathy” or “NAION”. Only 10 out of 100,000 people in the general population may experience it. But patients who take Ozempic or Wegovy get this more often, namely 4-times more often with Ozempic and 7-fold more often with Wegovy. On the other hand, weight loss can be achieved with a simple fasting mimicking diet, where you consume 500-600 calories for 5 days in a row per month. The rest of the month (25 days) you take in a normal diet. This helps you to slowly shed weight and maintain your reduced weight.

Fasting mimicking diet much safer than Ozempic or Wegovy

In my opinion the fasting mimicking diet is much safer than taking Ozempic or Wegovy. Current mainstream medicine claims that the likelihood of developing one-sided blindness from NAION is “negligible”. However, I prefer the FMD over Ozempic or Wegovy. It is important to me to maintain vision in both of my eyes.

Jun

2024

Metabolism Can Vary in People

By Ray Schilling | Cancer, Cardiovascular disease, cholesterol, Diabetes, diet, exercise, fasting mimicking diet, Fitness, green tea, Hormones, lifestyle, mitochondria, Obesity, Smoking, Weight loss

Weight loss is easier for some than others, because metabolism can vary in people. In the following I will outline this in more detail. A biochemist recently published an article in “the conversation”, which is the basis for my review.

Everybody has their own metabolism

It is important to realize that everything that our body comes in contact with influences our physical characteristics like our blood pressure and our energy. Together all the biological characteristics have the name phenotype. The most important factor that influences our phenotype is our metabolism. It matters what you do like eating, whether you are taking medication, smoking, or exercising. This all influences your metabolism. On a molecular level it starts when your digestive system breaks nutrients down into each component: carbohydrates, fats and protein. When your digestive juices break down these food components, electrons are released from chemical bonds. These are transferred to the mitochondria, the energy packages in all of our cells. It is important to note that we do not all have the same metabolism as our neighbour. There are different types of metabolism.

Metabolism of an elite athlete

Elite athletes are not born that way. They have to practice hard physically for many hours a day and do that over several years. Their bodies adapt to the regular training by creating extra mitochondria in every cell of their body. Their body also learns how to burn fat, carbs and amino acids into chemical energy effectively. The elite athlete has superior energy production.

Metabolism of a Covid-19 patient

At the other end of the spectrum is the metabolism of a Covid-19 patient. Researchers found by examining patients who got sick from Covid-19 that their fat metabolism was impaired. This inability to burn fat persists in long Covid patients. The fatigue from long Covid is due to a dysfunction of the mitochondria. The mitochondria are not producing enough energy.

The in-between metabolism of blood donors

Travis Nemkov is an assistant research professor at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. His team investigated blood from 13,000 blood donors. They found that the metabolism of blood donors placed between the metabolism of elite athletes and that of Covid-19 patients. They also found a lot of variation of a metabolite by the name of kynurenine, which is due to a breakdown of the amino acid tryptophan. The researchers found that blood from donors with higher kynurenine levels was unable to restore blood levels of blood recipients. In addition, they found that kynurenine levels were higher in older donors and also in patients with obesity (higher BMI’s). Kynurenine was also a strong predictor for Covid-19 severity.

Weight loss problems when the metabolism is slow

We all know people who have a problem shedding their weight compared to others who loose weight with only a few days of food restriction. “People might have fast, slow, or average metabolism, regardless of their body size and composition,” says Dr. Chih-Hao Lee, professor of genetics and complex diseases at Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health. This Harvard University website explains this in detail. How do we speed up a naturally slow metabolism? We can exercise a bit more, and watch the quality of our food intake. This means cutting out added sugar, too much fat, too many carbohydrates and processed foods. The Harvard website says: “Studies have found green tea contains a compound called epigallocatechin gallate, which may increase the calories and fat you burn. “By making these small changes mentioned you can rev up your metabolism.

Hormones and body weight

Our metabolism and body weight depend on a number of hormones: leptin, insulin, estrogens, androgens and growth hormone play a crucial role in weight control. Additional hormones, such as the thyroid hormones are involved in maintaining our weight in a healthy range. Researchers have noticed that patients with hypothyroidism gain weight and burn less calories in their mitochondria. On the other hand, patients with hyperthyroidism stimulate their metabolism, lose weight and burn more calories. The exact mechanism of how thyroid hormones interact with the other hormones is unknown.

Metabolism Can Vary in People

Conclusion

I came across a review about metabolism and weight control, written by a biochemist. He pointed out that different people have different metabolisms. Examples he gave were the metabolism of elite athletes and the metabolism of Covid-19 patients, who are at the low end. His team investigated the metabolism of 13,000 people who were blood donors. He called them people with an in-between metabolism.

How to speed up naturally slow metabolism

How do we speed up a naturally slow metabolism? We can exercise a bit more, and watch the quality of our food intake. This means cutting out added sugar, too much fat, too many carbohydrates and processed foods. Your physician can also tell you whether your thyroid hormones and your human growth hormone are adequate. Other hormones that regulate your metabolism are leptin, insulin, estrogens and androgens. When you look at the factors that are responsible for your metabolism, the genetic factors come first. Your hormone status, eating pattern and exercise status come second. But by making small changes to the factors mentioned you can rev up your metabolism significantly.

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Jun

2024

About Aging and a Prolonged Life

By Ray Schilling | alcohol, andropause, Cancer, Cardiovascular disease, Diabetes, diet, exercise, fasting mimicking diet, Fitness, heart attack, High Blood Pressure, Hormones, Menopause, Mortality, Obesity, Prevention, sleep

The topic “about aging and a prolonged life” is always popular with people. CNN recently discussed this topic with the Nobel prize winner and molecular biologist, Professor Venki Ramakrishnan. He shared the 2009 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Thomas A. Steitz and Ada Yonath for research on the structure and function of ribosomes. Ribosomes are sub particles in the cell responsible for making proteins. In the following I will summarize this interview.

What is aging?

150 years ago, people lived only about to 40 years. Today we can live up to 84 years in most countries. It is because medicine has learnt a lot about the reasons why diseases occur and how they can be cured. Physicians have a number of antibiotics available for those who suffer infections. Heart bypass surgeries and stents can prolong a person’s life when there is hardening of the coronary arteries.

Aging processes

The following aging processes occur all our lives:

DNA breaks happen in our cells, but repair mechanisms are in place that deal with this. With older age repair mechanisms are more sluggish.
Faulty proteins form inside cells, however, we have mechanisms to take care of that.
Chemical damage to molecules in our cells accumulates. The cells can only partially eliminate these.
Hormone disbalances occur during menopause and andropause. But anti-aging physicians can correct this by doing hormone tests and ordering bioidentical hormone supplements.
There are limits of what anti-aging medicine can do: osteoarthritis affects our joints; our muscles are aging and with it our heart muscle. Degenerative neurological diseases like multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease and dementia occur frequently as we get older with no effective therapies.
The immune system weakens with age. To a certain extend vitamin D3 and other supplements can strengthen it, but only to a certain extent.

Systems working together in our body

Dr. Ramakrishnan said that our bodies work like cities. In it are various systems that need to work together to keep us alive. If a major system fails, we die. Some of the essential organ systems are the heart, the brain, kidneys, our gut, the lungs, the bone marrow and all our hormone glands. If one of these organs breaks down, we are in trouble. If an organ donor is not available, we perish. But even when everything is working together well, we are limited reaching a maximal lifespan of about 120 years. This has to do with limits of our cell metabolism and the aging processes mentioned above. Science has not found a way to prolong our maximal lifespan and likely will not find one soon. But there are various lifestyles that can prolong life as I mentioned here before.

Genetic effect on our lifespan

CNN asked Dr. Ramakrishnan what genetic effects there are that would transmit longevity from a parent who lived until 95 or older to a child’s lifespan. He answered the following: “There is a correlation between the ages of parents and their children, but it’s not perfect. A study of 2,700 Danish twins showed that heritability — how much of our longevity is due to our genes — only accounted for about 25% of lifespan. Still, researchers have found that mutation in just a single gene can double the lifespan of a certain type of worm. Clearly there’s a genetic component, but the effects and implications are complex.”

Relationship between cancer and aging

The same genes are involved for the growth of the body at a young age, and the older person who comes down with cancer. In old age the same genes can cause cancer and dementia. Dr. Ramakrishnan said: “Our risk of cancer increases with age because we accumulate defects in our DNA and genome, which sometimes cause gene malfunctions that lead to cancer. But many of our cellular repair systems that seem to be designed to avoid cancer early in life also cause aging later.”

Apoptosis (programmed cell death) and senescent cells

The body has two mechanisms in place that counter the danger of developing cancer cells. Dr. Ramakrishnan explained: “For example, cells can sense breaks in our DNA that might allow chromosomes to join in an abnormal way, which could lead to cancer. To prevent that joining, a cell will either kill itself or enter a state called senescence, where it can no longer divide. From the perspective of an organism like us, which has trillions of cells, this makes sense. Even if millions of cells are destroyed this way, these actions protect the whole organism. But the buildup of senescent cells is one of the ways we age.”

Lifestyle changes that help you live longer

Dr. Ramakrishnan said that our grandmothers knew what a healthy lifestyle was. The following is a list of what science now confirms adds years to your life:

Don’t be gluttonous. Eating a variety of healthy foods in moderation can prevent the health risks of obesity.
Get exercise: this helps us regenerate new mitochondria, which are the powerhouses of our cells providing energy.
Avoid stress, which creates hormonal effects that change our metabolism and can accelerate aging.

More life prolonging points:

Get enough sleep. This allows our bodies to do molecular-level repair.
One of the newer findings is Dr. Longo’s fasting mimicking diet. Do a semi-fast once a month for 5 days with 500 to 600 calories per day. This helps you to shed 0.5 to 0.7 units of body mass index. It also stimulates your immune cells, your stem cells and elongates your telomeres. Long telomeres make you live longer.
Replacing missing hormones with the help of an anti-aging physician will add about 10 years to your life. I mentioned this earlier.

A few more points about longevity research

Dr. Ramakrishnan said: “Already the top 10% of income earners in both the US and the UK live more than a decade longer than the bottom 10%. If you look at health span — the number of years of healthy life — that disparity is even greater. Poorer people are living shorter, less healthy lives.” He said further about the concept of “immortality”: “I think this quest for immortality is a mirage. One hundred and fifty years ago, you could expect to live until about 40. Today, life expectancy is about 80, which, as author Steven Johnson has said, is almost like adding a whole extra life. But we’re still obsessed about dying. I think if we lived to be 150, we’d be fretting about why we’re not living to 200 or 300. It’s never-ending.”

About Aging and a Prolonged Life

Conclusion

CNN discussed the quest for longevity with Nobel prize winning Dr. Ramakrishnan. He pointed out that the aging process is due to a number of factors that work together. There are DNA breaks, faulty proteins, chemical damage to molecules, hormone disbalances and degenerative changes. We need to watch that we do not overeat, get regular exercise and eat a variety of healthy foods. In addition, we need to avoid stress, get enough sleep and replace missing hormones with bioidentical hormones. A newer boost to your health is the fasting-mimicking diet (FMD) from Dr. Valter Longo that helps you keep your weight in the lower body mass index range. Dr. Longo showed in animal experiments and with humans that the FMD elongates telomeres, which directly prolongs life.

Apply what helps your longevity

While it is far-fetched to believe that we now have a ticket to live for 120 years or longer, it is more important to know that we can do our part to spend our golden years in health and wellness.

Jan

2024

Fasting-Mimicking Diet Is Benefitting Cardiovascular Health

By Ray Schilling | diet, fasting mimicking diet, food, Heart Disease, Nutrition, Weight loss

A crossover study showed that a fasting-mimicking diet is benefitting cardiovascular health. This new study was done by Dr. Valter Longo et al. from the University of Southern California. It compared the effect of two diets. They were the fasting-mimicking diet versus an unrestricted diet. In other studies Dr. Longo compared the fasting-mimicking diet (FMD) with a Mediterranean diet. He said: “The significance is that fasting-mimicking diet cycles were able to decrease fat mass without reducing muscle mass and without requiring changes in the subjects’ preferred diet for 25 days a month. In contrast, the everyday Mediterranean diet required a change in everyday dietary habits and was associated with a 5 pounds loss of muscle.”

Findings of the effects of 5 days of the fasting mimicking diet per month

3 cycles of 5-day FMD per month showed the following effect. Fasting-mimicking diet patients experienced a remarkable decrease in trunk fat mass. Dr. Longo also showed in a previous study that the FMD reduces the circulating insulin-like growth factor 1. In addition, blood sugar, triglycerides, LDL and total cholesterol were reduced. In short, cardiovascular markers showed a protective effect in the FMD group.

Comments of a cardiologist to fasting mimicking diet

Dr. Rigved Tadwalkar is a cardiologist at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, CA. He was not involved in the study by Dr. Valter Longo. He said: “When we look at different sorts of diets, we really want to get down to what sort of health benefit they actually provide. It was nice to see that both the fasting-mimicking diet and Mediterranean diet – which is almost like the mainstay of recommended diets right now – both led to weight loss and improvements in blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar. These are all very important cardiometabolic parameters that lead to cardiovascular disease, so it’s nice to see that both are able to do so.”

Fasting-mimicking diet reduces abdominal fat

He went on to say: “What was interesting about the fasting-mimicking diet is that it had the added benefit of reducing abdominal fat, which was really important because that is a big reason why a lot of people diet. Not to mention it’s still important even from a medical standpoint because abdominal fat is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease.” He continued to point out that it will be important to show the long-term effect of the FMD. He suggested to have observations over several month and years. Also, he stressed the importance of showing the direct effect of the FMD on the reduction of cardiovascular disease. This would be in comparison to controls. All this requires much larger clinical trials with longer follow-ups.

Advantage of fasting-mimicking diet

The FMD is easy to follow. You only have to reduce your daily calorie intake for 5 days out of a month. The remaining 25 days they eat their normal diet. People are often unwilling to change their diet. With the FMD they only have to reduce their calorie intake to 500 to 600 calories per day. And this is only for 5 days in a row once per month. They will lose 0.5 to 0.7 units of body mass index (BMI) once a month. Compare the first day of your 5 day FMD with the day after your last FMD.

My experience with the fasting mimicking diet

I have done this for 6 years. In December of 2017 I listened to a lecture by Dr. Valter Longo at a conference in Las Vegas. Immediately after I started dong monthly FMD for 5 days. This kept my BMI within 21.0 to 22.0, because I use the FMD to correct any weight gains. Whether you want to adopt a DASH diet or a Mediterranean diet is another issue. This is eventually desirable to solve. But in the meantime stay in a healthy range with your BMI with the help of the FMD.

Fasting-Mimicking Diet Is Benefitting Cardiovascular Health

Conclusion

The fasting-mimicking diet (FMD) is a tool to reduce your abdominal fat. At the same time you improve your blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar. You can achieve that by reducing your daily calorie intake. With the FMD you aim for between 500 and 600 calories for 5 consecutive days every month. With body composition scales you can see how your weight, fat percentage and body mass index reduce from before. These are all very important cardiometabolic parameters. If you allow them to get out of control they lead to cardiovascular disease. Start adopting the FMD to keep your weight the same or reduce it slightly. Worry about a possible diet change to a Mediterranean diet at a later point and introduce the beneficial changes. This makes dieting easier.

Jan

2024

Backup your New Year’s Resolutions by looking at short-term Consequences

By Ray Schilling | alcohol, Anxiety, Cancer, Cardiovascular disease, Diabetes, exercise, fasting mimicking diet, Health, heart attack, Insomnia, Smoking, sugar

In the New Year it pays to backup your New Year’s resolutions by looking at short-term consequences. An article in “the conversation” explains how you can keep yourself motivated to stick to healthy habits. The alternative would be to fall back into unhealthy habits, which lead to various disease conditions. Traditional thinking centered around keeping long-term outlooks in front of your mind when tempted by the smell of doughnuts. In these cases, you think that the long-term consequences of eating doughnuts or consuming sugary drinks result in diabetes and obesity. But the smell or taste of unhealthy foods can be so overpowering that the long-term consequences of potential diseases is forgotten. This is the point when your New Years resolution may fade away in favor of falling back to unhealthy eating habits.

Think short-term to resist temptation

The new approach is to replace the thinking of long-term outlooks by short-term outlooks. The authors cited an example of 4000 participants in 7 separate studies. When the short-term consequences of anxiety and a sugar and caffeine crash were explained for caffeine containing sugary drinks, 25% of participants were able to abstain from the energy drinks in comparison to those who were informed about long-term consequences.

Another experiment

A similar experiment involved the consumption of sugar in the form of cookies. One group of participants read about the short-term effects of eating sugar. A second group read about the long-term effects of eating sugar. A third group did not get any information about the effect of sugar. There was also a “reward system” for all the participants: they had to decide between receiving a tote bag or eating cookies. Those who had read about the short-term effects of sugar were 30% less likely to choose cookies than the ones who read about the long-term effects. The ones who read the short-term effects were 45% less likely to choose the cookies than the ones who read nothing about the effects of sugar.

Verbalizing short-term consequences

Here are some thoughts that help to verbalize short-term consequences:

For alcohol: excessive drinking can lead to poor sleep and hangovers.
Fast food can make you feel bloated or give you indigestion.
Sugar and starchy meals: make you bloated and give you an acidy stomach, also will lead to rapid weight gain.
Focus on the good taste of apples and carrots. People will eat more of it and get the health benefits without mentioning it.

You can keep your goals easier when you combine them with small rewards here and there. When you have achieved one thing, you could watch your favorite TV show. Another reward could be a brief visit to the gym that makes you feel more fit. Or go and buy yourself a new pair of shorts for the gym. The authors of this article provide evidence from studies that showed that several mini rewards distributed throughout the day are more effective than big rewards at the end of the day.

Measurements of weight fluctuations

I found that body composition scales are very useful to monitor your diet intake. Here is an example how I use this device. My weights, fat% and body mass index for a number of days is listed below. The first line shows the baseline measured in the morning. On Saturday lunchtime I was invited to a Christmas family dinner. I ate more than I should have had. You can see the results on the Sunday readings: weight up, fat up and BMI up. I watched my calorie intake throughout Sunday.

Weekday Weight (KG) Fat % Body mass index

Saturday: 63.6 13.2 21.7

Sunday: 64.0 14.2 21.9

Monday: 63.4 14.3 21.7

It took another two days (Wednesday) before the fat percentage was down to 12.9.

There is another powerful tool, Dr. Valter Longo’s fasting mimicking diet. I reported about this under this link. Briefly, once a month I eat only 500 to 600 calories daily for 5 days. This helps me to lose my body mass index from 21.8 down to 21.1 or 21.2. After that I can eat a normal diet until the next month when I do the fasting mimicking diet again. It is an easy way to keep my body mass index in the 21.0 to 22.0 range. My wife and I prepare our own 500 to 600 calorie diet with natural food.(No, you do not get much, but it can taste good!) We do not buy Dr. Longo’s expensive diet boxes.

Backup your New Year’s Resolutions by looking at short-term Consequences

Conclusion

Focusing on short-term goals and consequences increases the percentage of success for those who have New Year’s resolutions. You can use this for many different approaches: eating less sugar, losing weight, getting regular exercise, reducing your alcohol intake, cutting out fast food and increasing your healthy vegetable and fruit intake. I also added a description of what I do with the help of body composition scales to control my weight and body mass index. I also use Dr. Longo’s fasting mimicking diet once per month for 5-days. Since December 2017 (for 6 years) I practiced this. I find it extremely useful to maintain my body mass index in the 21.0 to 22.0 range. Medicine knows that it is important to keep your body mass index below 25.0. This will prevent heart disease, type 2 diabetes and cancer. It also helps to look forward to a healthy New Year.

May

2022

What Works for Permanent Weight Control

By Ray Schilling | diet, exercise, fasting mimicking diet, stem cells, Weight loss

A recent publication examined what works for permanent weight control and what not. The study came from the Queen’s University in Kingston, Ont., AdventHealth, Fla. and the University of Alabama, Birmingham, Ala.

320 sedentary adults who were overweight or had obesity were treated by monitoring alone or by doing “small change approaches”. Both groups were observed for 3 years. The “small change approach” consisted of increasing their activity by 2000 steps per day and by limiting their food intake by 100 kcal per day. The researchers measured the weight, waist circumference and cardiorespiratory fitness of all the subjects.

The results at 3, 6, 12 and 15 months from the start showed significant reductions in weight. However, by 24 and 36 months the subjects had regained body weight.

Results of the study

Results from both groups, the non-intervention group and the small change group, were stacked against each other. There was no significant difference in terms of weight loss between 24 and 36 months into the trial. The researchers concluded that the approach of small change interventions failed.

Another approach to permanent weight loss

Valter Longo, a professor at UCLA, California has established that the fasting mimicking diet can help people to lose the last pounds that are difficult to lose. Patients do a 5 day semi-fast for 5 consecutive days, once per month. They eat three meals per day, but the total daily calorie consumption is only 500 to 800 calories. The calorie deficit leads to a reduction in body mass index between 0.3 and 0.9 for every monthly fasting mimicking diet. I have followed Dr. Longo’s fasting mimicking diet since December 2017. This allows me to keep my body mass index between 21.0 and 22.0.

Conditions that respond to the FMD

The following list shows some of the conditions that respond favorably to the FMD.

Obesity, because of the weight loss effect
Diabetes: insulin resistance becomes lower and blood sugar levels drop.
High blood pressure reduced: many patients were able to reduce their medications or discontinue them
Prevention of heart attacks and strokes
Pain conditions improve as all kinds of pain disappears, an effect for which there is no explanation at this point
Autoimmune diseases like MS and rheumatoid arthritis improve, likely because of the effect of increased stem cell circulation
Prevention of heart attacks because of reduction of LDL, triglycerides and CRP
Cancer cure rates improved by protecting normal cells and bone marrow function
Longevity improved in mice with a 3-fold increase of their life span. Telomere length in humans was increased. Increased stem cells will find defective areas that need repair. This effect opens up a new chapter in medicine.

The above was previously published here.

Discussion

The 3-year study that I mentioned at the beginning of this article showed that for the group that made “small changes” for 2 years there was a slight weight loss with a reduction of 100 calories per day. However, the patients got tired of dieting and regained their lost weight between 2 and 3 years. In contrast, the fasting mimicking diet requires a 1200 to 1500 calorie reduction for 5 days of each month. After a few months the patient becomes highly aware what leads to weight gain and what not. I use electronic body composition scales daily where I can determine weight, fat percentage and muscle percentage. It also records calories consumed and the body mass index (BMI).

Watching your fat percentage and BMI

I record all this data in a little booklet. Once per month I see that the fasting mimicking diet lowers my body mass index by 0.3 to 0.9 points. There is the negative experience of eating ice cream or a New York cheesecake that within one day shows as an increase in fat and the BMI. On the other hand, it is encouraging to see your elevated BMI melt away in only a few days every month. This motivates you over the years to cut out the big diet offenders and to keep your eating portions smaller. Also, you value the neutral effect of berries and vegetables.

What Works for Permanent Weight Control

Conclusion

An interesting diet study of 3-year duration showed that small caloric reductions of 100 calories per day are ineffective over a longer period of time. In this study the effect of small caloric reductions wore off after two to three years. On the other hand, I experienced the effects of the fasting mimicking diet (FMD) of Dr. Longo for more than 4 years. This helps me to keep my body mass index (BMI) in the 21.0 to 22.0 range. Without the FMD I would slowly slip into the overweight category. Following the FMD every month and recording the body composition scale values daily keeps me motivated to watch what I eat resulting in persistently low BMI values. Knowing that this is also a key to health keeps should keep anybody motivated.

Mar

2022

Adolescents’ Lifestyles Are Linked to Faster Aging in Adulthood

By Ray Schilling | diet, fasting mimicking diet, Mental Health, mitochondria, Mortality, Obesity, Smoking, Vitamins and supplements

A longitudinal study found that adolescents’ lifestyles are linked to faster aging in adulthood. The study started with a baseline examination in a group of adolescents around the age of 15. 30 years later doctors examined the same individuals again. The researchers found that smokers, obese people and people with untreated emotional problems were aging faster than controls who did not have these problems. CNN discussed this study as well. A fourth condition, asthma was also included in the study. Indeed, adolescents who suffered from asthma in their mid-teens were not more biologically aged at age 45 when compared to controls who never had asthma. The authors concluded that treated asthma did not prematurely age a person. However, lifestyle habits like smoking, excessive weight and untreated mental illness contributed to accelerated aging.

Does having a healthy lifestyle lower your risk of developing medical conditions and diseases?

It must be remembered that anti-aging medicine is watching out for new treatments that can prolong life. However, this is not just one “breakthrough”, but rather a number of factors that in combination lead to longevity.

Resveratrol

Resveratrol, the supplement from red grape skin can stimulate your mitochondria metabolism. Exercise more and regularly as this will also stimulate your mitochondria to multiply similar to the effects of PQQ, a supplement. I take 500 mg of resveratrol concentrate once daily.

Exercise regularly

The first thing to remember is that regular exercise will prevent about 50% of chronic diseases (diabetes, heart failure, arthritis). Consequently, this prolongs life: Lack of exercise is a major cause of chronic diseases.

Replacing missing hormones with bioidentical hormones

When you enter menopause or andropause replace missing hormones with bioidentical hormones. This will add 10–15 years of good life. This information comes from the anti-aging medicine circles and European studies of women on bioidentical hormone replacement. Here is a more conservative opinion from a US review: Counseling Postmenopausal Women about Bioidentical Hormones: Ten Discussion Points for Practicing Physicians.

Abandon sugar, starchy foods

Starchy foods (potatoes, pasta, rice, pastries and bread) and processed food accelerate aging. Avoid these foods for a healthier heart – Harvard Health. Many studies have confirmed that a Mediterranean diet is anti-inflammatory and prevents premature aging.

Are you deficient in human growth hormone?

Find out whether you are deficient in human growth hormone or not by taking an IGF-1 blood test. Dr. Hertoghe, an endocrinologist from Belgium said at various anti-aging conferences that HGH by itself prolongs life by about 15 to 20 years or more. I am deficient in HGH and I am injecting HGH myself regularly. My anti-aging physician orders my IGF-1 level three to four times per year to monitor the right dosage of HGH replacement. But it is crucial that the physician supervise the patient. This involves giving the patient only minimal amounts of HGH, which keeps IGF-1 levels in the high normal range. This is also re-emphasized in this review: Growth Hormone and Aging: Updated Review. When you overdose HGH, you lose all of the beneficial effects that HGH replacement brings.

Fasting mimicking diet (FMD)

Fasting for Longevity: 9 Questions for Dr. Valter D. Longo. When you consume only 500 to 600 calories daily for 5 days out of every month you are stimulating your telomeres (the caps on your chromosomes) to grow a little bit longer. Longer telomeres translate into longer life expectancy. In addition, your stem cells anywhere in your body also undergo stimulation. Here is more information: fasting mimicking diet for 5 days every month.

Lifestyle factors

It is best not to smoke. Keep your body mass index in the 21.0 to 22.0 range. Get enough sleep (7–8 hours every night). Use a form of relaxing exercise (yoga, self-hypnosis, meditation, Tai-Chi). This will keep the stress hormone cortisol under control; if it is constantly high from ongoing stress, it leads to premature deaths. The Science of STRESS – SLMA

Take key vitamins and minerals

When you take key vitamins and minerals every day you can add another 5 to 10 years of disease-free life to your life expectancy. Ray Schilling’s answer to Is taking vitamin supplements helpful or quackery?

All of these factors taken together help you to not age prematurely. A healthy lifestyle elongates your telomeres, which prolongs your life without diseases. It also prevents heart attacks and strokes, which again prolongs your life. And a healthy lifestyle prevents Alzheimer’s disease, so you can turn old and not have to worry about memory loss. I cannot overemphasize how important a healthy lifestyle is!

Conclusion

As summarized above, a recent study going on for about 30 years showed that premature biological aging occurs in adolescents who smoked, were obese or had untreated mental illness. On the other hand, treated asthmatics did not show this biological aging effect. I summarized what factors contribute to slowing down aging. It is a combination of proper diet, regular exercise, hormone replacement as you age and taking some supplements. One key to slower aging is to be aware of how important a healthy lifestyle is for you.

The section about having a healthy lifestyle was published previously here: Ray Schilling’s answer to What are the most exciting breakthroughs in longevity research?

Feb

2022

How healthy are Carbohydrates?

By Ray Schilling | diet, fasting mimicking diet, heart attack, Inflammation, lifestyle, Nutrition, Processed food, Stroke

A recent review article asked: how healthy are carbohydrates? The three food components that occur in natural food are carbohydrates, fats and protein. Among the carbohydrates it is important to distinguish between simple carbohydrates (such as sugar) and complex carbohydrates. Simple carbohydrates are readily absorbed into the blood, which causes an insulin peak. After a few hours the peak is gone, and there is a “crash”. You will know the feeling of feeling hungry just a few hours after eating doughnuts! Complex carbs like peas, beans, fruit and vegetables take longer to get digested. The final breakdown product of the digestive process is sugar as well. But this process takes longer meaning that the concentration of sugar in the blood is much lower. There is also no “crash”. The result is that complex carbs cause less insulin secretion into the blood.

Long-term effect of eating too much sugar

Integrated over several decades of life, this means that a person who constantly consumes beverages with sugar and snacks containing sugar is at a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes. In contrast, a person who eats well balanced meals where the insulin secretion is low, will not develop diabetes and have much less hardening of the arteries. This translates into a lower risk to develop heart attacks and strokes.

The types of carbohydrates

Before I discuss the health effects of various carbohydrates, we need to look at the types of carbohydrates.

Simple carbohydrates

Table sugar is a disaccharide, which consists of one molecule of glucose and one molecule of fructose.

The enzyme amylase very quickly breaks down the chemical bond between fructose and glucose and creates these monosaccharides in the small intestine from which they are rapidly absorbed. Milk sugar is a disaccharide, which consists of a molecule of glucose bound to a molecule of galactose. Milk contains 2 to 8% of milk sugar. We have to watch these simple carbs, because they trigger insulin production and lead to accelerated hardening of the arteries, heart attacks and strokes.

Complex carbohydrates

In contrast, complex carbs are healthy, because they take some time to be digested in the digestive tract. They consist of polysaccharides, long chains of sugar molecules. Both starches and dietary fiber consist of complex carbohydrates. They often are present in vegetables and many fruit. Complex carbs slow down the absorption of their breakdown products and minimize the insulin response. Dietary fiber is the indigestible part of fruit and vegetables. It contributes to good gut health as the beneficial gut bacteria can multiply on the fibre particles.

Healthy carbs

When simple carbohydrates dominate in our food intake, we are in trouble because they are loaded with calories. Overconsumption of them leads to weight gain and obesity, to diabetes, heart attacks, strokes and even cancer. On the other hand, consumption of complex carbohydrates is healthy. We get them from eating apples, bananas, berries, vegetables like spinach, tomatoes and carrots. Other healthy complex carbs are whole grain flour, quinoa and brown rice. Black beans, lentils, peas and garbanzo beans are also healthy complex carbs. Dairy products like low fat milk, yogurt and ricotta cheese are healthy as well.

Mediterranean diet as an example of a healthy, balanced diet

In 2019 a study was published where women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) were either put on a Mediterranean diet or not. This study showed that a Mediterranean diet was anti-inflammatory, reduced insulin resistance and reduced testosterone levels in PCOS patients. But the same is true in a general population. The Mediterranean diet is one example of a healthy, balanced diet with complex carbohydrates. It prevents insulin resistance, inflammation and hormone disbalance. Other diets have similar effects like the DASH diet, the Zone diet and the Pritikin diet.

Quantity and quality of your food intake matters

A 2018 study from India showed that it matters how many carbohydrates we consume. On average Indians eat a diet with 65-75 percent of calories coming from carbohydrates. Many of these carbs are the unhealthy simple carbohydrates. How healthy are carbohydrates? The authors recommended to reduce complex carbohydrates to 50-55% and to add 20-25% protein, mostly from vegetable sources and add 20-30% from fat. The fat consumption needs to include monounsaturated fats (e.g., olive oil, nuts and seeds). Among the carbs a lot of green leafy vegetables help to balance the diet. This prevents the development of type 2 diabetes, heart attacks and strokes.

The above addresses the issue of quality of food. But it is also important what quantity of food we are eating. This is where counting or estimating calories comes in. If we overeat, we will very quickly gain weight and eventually can develop obesity.

The glycemic index and glycemic load

In order to help you with the choice of right carbohydrates the glycemic index was developed.

Here is another reference about the glycemic index/glycemic load.

In table 1 towards the end of the last link you find a column designated “GI” for glycemic index. All the foods that have a value less than 55 are foods that you can eat freely.

Problematical carbohydrate foods

Baked russet potatoes and boiled potatoes are very high on the GI index list. Puffed rice cakes, doughnuts, jelly beans and corn flakes measure high on the glycemic index list. But water melons, dried dates, white bread and white rice are also items to be avoided.

You best avoid anything with a glycemic index above 55. The column to the right of GI shows you a serving size and the last column on the right the glycemic load. The lower the glycemic load per serving, the better it is for your health. The glycemic index and the glycemic load are useful concepts of helping you to sort out your diet items.

My wife and I used this in 2001 to shed weight. We both lost 50 pounds (=22.72 kilograms) each in a period of 3 months.

Fasting mimicking diet (FMD)

According to Dr. Longo intermittent fasting stimulates the stem cells of the bone marrow. This leads to new clones of lymphocytes (B cells and T cells), which are part of the immune system. Your immune system becomes stronger from this.

Dr. Longo has done detailed mouse experiments, which inspired him to develop a new diet plan. Patients would receive a fasting mimicking diet (FMD) on 5 consecutive days per month. The rest of the month consists of a normal, balanced diet. 5 days of the month the person consumes a low 600-800-calorie diet. This reduced calorie intake is enough to ensure adherence to the diet, but low enough to lead to enormous positive metabolic changes including youth-preserving stem cell stimulation.

I am following the FMD

I have followed a FMD since December 2017. It helps me to keep my weight (BMI) in the 21 to 22 range. I feel more energetic and have managed to stay in good health.

The above chapter on the FMD was previously published here.

How healthy are Carbohydrates?

Conclusion

Healthy eating consists of 50-55% calories from complex carbohydrates; add to this 20-25% protein, mostly from vegetable sources and add 20-30% of total calories from fat. The fat consumption needs to include monounsaturated fats (e.g., olive oil, nuts and seeds). Unfortunately, most “convenience foods” (=processed foods) are incompatible with a healthy lifestyle. They contain too much simple carbs (sugar). Many people live on 65-75 percent of calories coming from simple carbohydrates, which are too many carbs. It should be complex carbs that digest slower and that do not induce insulin resistance. The glycemic index and glycemic load are useful concepts to help you chose the right foods that keep you healthy. The fasting mimicking diet can help you to take the last few pounds off that may be difficult to shed. Weight loss and weight maintenance are possible when you choose the right foods.

Nov

2020

Antibody Treatment for Rheumatoid Arthritis Was Superior

By Ray Schilling | autoimmune disease, fasting mimicking diet, immune system, Inflammation, psoriasis

Researchers found that antibody treatment for rheumatoid arthritis was superior to conventional therapy. In particular, rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease where autoantibodies attack the synovial lining of joints. In this case, subsequently macrophages are activated, which attack joint surfaces. As an illustration, this process leads to crippling joint deformities.

The original study was published in June, 2019, but this is difficult to understand. The magazine Sciworthy published a review article on August 24, 2020 with more understandable language.

To emphasize, in mouse experiments the researchers found that only a small subfraction of activated macrophages caused symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis. They were folate receptor beta (FR-β) positive macrophages. It is important to realize that the researchers found them both in mice with rheumatoid arthritis and in man. The evidence in humans were the same findings in human tissue samples of people with autoimmune diseases.

Details of mouse experiments

Folate receptor beta (FR-β) positive macrophages are key in mouse model of RA

Explicitly, the researchers started experiments with a mouse model of rheumatoid arthritis, because it is easier to do than human research. They found that the key to developing rheumatoid arthritis was the presence of folate receptor beta (FR-β) positive macrophages. Chiefly, macrophages remove cell debris, bacteria or viruses from the blood. However, once they are activated and they carry FR-β receptors on their surface, they destroy joints. Certainly, in the mouse model monoclonal F3 antibodies were developed that kill activated macrophages. On the contrary, the human equivalent for the F3 antibodies is monoclonal antibodies with the name m909. They are directed at the FR-β receptors on the surface of activated macrophages. But first to the mouse experiments.

Inflammation from intraperitoneal injection of thioglycollate

In the first place, the researchers created an inflammatory condition by injecting thioglycollate into their peritoneal cavity. They could demonstrate that inflammation did occur. With this in mind they found macrophages in the peritoneal fluid. There were a lot of activated macrophages in it. Histological slides were analyzed with the help of F3 antibodies. In this case they visualized the activated macrophages. Subsequently the researchers treated mice with varying concentrations of monoclonal F3 antibodies. They found that the higher concentrations cured intraabdominal inflammation of the mice.

Researchers used monoclonal F3 antibodies to treat mouse model of RA

The researchers treated collagen-induced arthritis next in a number of experiments. Several concentrations of monoclonal F3 antibodies were given to these mice. Other experiments showed that monoclonal F3 antibodies specifically attacked only the activated macrophages and killed them. The killing of the activated macrophages in the mouse model of rheumatoid arthritis cured the arthritis. Fig. 5 shows this.

Mice treated with maximum concentrations of monoclonal F3 antibodies showed decrease in bone density

Next the researchers treated rheumatoid arthritis mice with maximum concentrations of monoclonal F3 antibodies to treat the arthritis. The swelling of their paws went down completely. CT scans of the bone in the paws showed decrease in bone density, while untreated controls showed significant loss of bone density. Monoclonal F3 antibodies were indeed a cure for RA in mice (Fig. 6).

Human experiments

Researchers confined human experiments to tissue samples from patients with various autoimmune diseases. Skin biopsies from patients with psoriasis, scleroderma, and sarcoidosis showed the distribution of FR-β-positive macrophages by special staining. This staining technique used human monoclonal antibodies (m909) against human FR-β receptors on activated macrophages. The publication depicts images that show abundant activity in all three autoimmune diseases (Fig. 1).

Researchers examined tissue samples from other autoimmune diseases with monoclonal antibodies (m909) against human FR-β receptors. The activated macrophages including rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis lit up on fluorescence microscopy. In addition, nonspecific interstitial pneumonia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, systemic lupus erythematosus, psoriasis, and scleroderma tested positive as well.

Future therapy possibilities of rheumatoid arthritis with monoclonal antibodies

A series of experiments showed that two mechanisms can eliminate FR-β-positive macrophages: complement-dependent cytotoxicity and antibody-dependent cell cytotoxicity. It means that there is a strong possibility that autoimmune diseases may be treatable with monoclonal antibodies. Fig. 2 summarizes these experiments.

Conventional therapy for rheumatoid arthritis

To explain, the conventional treatment approach of rheumatoid arthritis is to induce a disease remission with drugs. To this effect doctors use anti-inflammatory drugs like ANSAIDs, disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs). For example, drugs like methotrexate and sulfasalazine belong into this category. Unfortunately, the conventional drugs have many serious side effects that often make the rheumatoid arthritis patient’s condition worse.

In contrast, the integrative medicine approach to rheumatoid arthritis is to use dietary measures to reduce the inflammation. The fasting mimicking diet is able to reduce the severity of the inflammation in RA patients.

Other authors described the use of the Mediterranean diet to reduce inflammation. In addition, there are a number of regenerative methods that help improve the condition of RA patients. Research described here proved that antibody treatment for rheumatoid arthritis was superior to conventional therapy in a mouse model.

Discussion

Monoclonal antibodies (m909) against human FR-β receptors targeting activated macrophages opened up a new therapy method against rheumatoid arthritis. The equivalent F3 antibodies in mice were a useful tool to expedite research in this field. The publication that I reviewed here was able to combine mouse experiments and work on human tissue samples essentially showing the same results . Monoclonal antibodies (m909) against human FR-β receptors work potentially like a broad-spectrum anti-inflammatory drug. The monoclonal antibodies reduce the accumulation of inflammatory immune cells, which treats the cause of rheumatoid arthritis. This will likely be the future cure of rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune diseases. We urgently need clinical trials to prove in humans that the findings from a mouse model and human tissue samples are correct.

Antibody Treatment for Rheumatoid Arthritis Was Superior

Conclusion

Researchers recently showed in a mouse model that a small portion of activated macrophages cause rheumatoid arthritis (RA). But they also examined many biopsies from patients with autoimmune diseases. The findings in human tissue samples were identical to the findings in a mouse model. Activated macrophages are sensitised to attack the linings of joints as is the case with rheumatoid arthritis. These macrophages develop special receptors, called folate receptor beta (FR-β), and the macrophages release cytokinins. The cytokinins (TNFα, IL-1, IL-6, IL-12 and others) cause inflammation and make the RA worse. They also recruit more neutral macrophages and convert them into activated macrophages. The research group found that monoclonal antibodies against human or mouse FR-β receptors killed the activated macrophages. This alleviated the arthritic symptoms and after enough antibody treatments cured the RA. There were no negative effects on the rest of the immune system.

Physicians will cure human autoimmune diseases with monoclonal antibodies in the future

Researchers demonstrated this mostly in a mouse model. But the authors have manufactured human monoclonal antibodies against the FR-β receptors of activated macrophages. This has set the stage for curing human autoimmune diseases with monoclonal antibodies as well. At this point there is a need for clinical trials with various autoimmune diseases including rheumatoid arthritis with monoclonal antibodies against activated macrophages.