FMD diet that mimics fasting reduces risk of aging and disease

A diet similar in its effects to fasting reduces risk factors for diseases and reduces a person’s biological age.

A University of South Carolina study shows how fasting-mimicking diet cycles reduce insulin resistance, fatty liver, immune system aging, and biological age in clinical trial patients.

Fasting-mimicking diet cycles reduce signs of immune system aging, as well as insulin resistance and liver fat in people, leading to lower biological age, according to a new study from the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology.

The study, published in the journal Nature Communications, adds to the body of evidence supporting the beneficial effects of fasting-mimicking diet (FMD). FMD is a 5-day diet that is high in unsaturated fat and low in calories, protein and carbohydrates. It is designed to mimic the effects of a water-only fast, while providing essential nutrients and making it easier for people to complete the fast. The diet was developed by the laboratory of USC Leonard Davis School professor Valter Longo, the lead author of the new study.

“This study is the first to show evidence of biological age reduction from two different clinical trials, accompanied by evidence of rejuvenation of metabolic and immune function,” Longo said.

Previous research led by Longo has shown that short intermittent courses of treatment for foot-and-mouth disease are associated with a number of beneficial effects, including promoting stem cell regeneration, reducing the side effects of chemotherapy and reducing signs of dementia in mice, as well as reducing risk factors. for cancer, diabetes, heart disease and other age-related diseases in humans. Longo’s lab had also previously shown that one or two 5-day-per-month cycles of FMD increased healthspan and lifespan in mice on a normal or Western diet, but until now the effects of FMD on aging and biological age were unknown. liver fat and the aging of the human immune system.

Lower risk of disease and younger cells

The study examined the effects of diet in two clinical trial groups, each consisting of men and women aged 18 to 70 years. Patients randomly assigned to a fasting-mimicking diet underwent 3-4 monthly cycles, following FMD for 5 days and then following a normal diet for 25 days. FMD consists of vegetable soups, energy bars, energy drinks, potato chip snacks and tea in portions for 5 days, along with supplements that provide high levels of minerals, vitamins and essential fatty acids. Patients in the control group were advised to follow a regular or Mediterranean diet.

Analysis of blood samples from study participants showed that patients in the FMD group had lower diabetes risk factors, including lower insulin resistance and lower HbA1c results. The MRI also revealed a decrease in the amount of abdominal fat as well as liver fat, improvements associated with a reduced risk of metabolic syndrome. In addition, FMD cycles appeared to increase the ratio of lymphoid to myeloid cells, an indicator of a younger immune system.

FMD participants reduced their biological age by an average of 2.5 years.

Further statistical analysis of the results from both clinical studies found that FMD participants reduced their biological age—a measure of how human cells and tissues function, as opposed to chronological age—by an average of 2.5 years.

“This is the first study to show that a diet-based intervention that does not require chronic changes in diet or lifestyle can biologically rejuvenate people, based on both changes in risk factors for aging and a validated method developed by Lewin’s group to estimate biological age “Longo said.

The study, conducted by first authors Sebastian Brandhorst, a USC Leonard Davis research assistant professor, and Morgan E. Levine, a founding principal investigator at Altos Labs and a former USC Leonard Davis postdoctoral fellow, further supports the potential of FMD in the short term. an intermittent dietary intervention that can help people reduce their risk of disease and improve their health without major lifestyle changes, Longo said.

“Although many physicians already recommend FMD in the US and Europe, these results should encourage many more health care providers to recommend FMD treatment cycles to patients with higher-than-desirable levels of disease risk factors, as well as to the general population who may be interested in increasing their function. and age younger,” Longo said.

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The fasting-mimicking diet causes changes in liver and blood markers, indicating a decrease in biological age and disease risk.

Source: USC