Horizon Eat, Fast and Live Longer

"Michael Mosley has set himself a truly ambitious goal: he wants to live longer, stay younger and lose weight in the bargain. And he wants to make as few changes to his life as possible along the way. He discovers the powerful new science behind the ancient idea of fasting, and he thinks he's found a way of doing it that still allows him to enjoy his food. Michael tests out the science of fasting on himself - with life-changing results."

Eat, Fast and Live Longer - Horizon from Steve Hartman on Vimeo.

7 ways fasting can rev up your fat burning furnace

By Brad Pilon, from eatstopeat.com via fatlossdoneez.com

1. Increases Fat Burning Hormones

Hormones are usually at the root of most of your metabolic functioning, and fat burning is no different. Growth Hormone is the most important fat burning hormone in your body. Fasting pushes growth hormone production into high gear and this makes your fat burning furnace start to work overtime. Fasting also decrease your insulin levels, which ensures that you burn body fat instead of storing it.

2. Increased Fat Burning Enzymes

Fat burning hormones need the help of fat burning enzymes to get their job done. Fasting will sky rocket the activity of two of the most important fat burning enzymes in your body. Adipose tissue HSL (Hormone Sensitive Lipase) is the enzyme responsible for allowing your fat cells to release fat so it can be burned as energy in your muscles. Muscle tissue LPL (Lipoprotein Lipase) is the enzyme responsible for allowing your muscle cells to take up fat so it can be burnt as a fuel. Fasting increases both of theseenzymes to optimize fat burning – A perfect combination.

3. Burn More Calories

Short term fasting (12-72hrs) actually increases your metabolism and adrenaline levels. This causes you to increase calorie burning during the fast period. The more calories you burn the faster you can lose weight. The extra energy you get from the fast might actually help you through a workout or get more work done at work or around the house. When I did my first fast I was shocked at how awake and energetic I was. My fasting days are now my most productive days of the week.

4. Burn Fat Instead of Sugar

Fasting shifts your metabolism from burning blood sugar to burning mostly body fat. When you eat a meal your body likes to burn carbs first, then the fat from your food. Any extra fat that your body can’t burn in the few hours after you eat get stored as body fat. When you fast your body has no choice but to burn stored body fat. By the end of a 24 hour fast your body is burning way more fat than it would during a regular day of eating.

5. You’ll Find Out Why You Eat

The most surprising benefit people report back when they start fasting is a new found awareness of what causes them to eat. When you make a conscious decision to fast for a day your less than flattering eating motivations become painfully obvious. This is the first and most effective step to getting rid of bat habits for good. Knowing what your motivations are for poor eating choices is essential before you can change them and build better habits.

6. Builds Positive Attitudes Towards Yourself and Food

Each short fast is an accomplishment that can build self confidence and gratitude. At the end of a 24 hour fast you can feel good about your accomplishment and start feeling good about your relationship with food again. The positive empowerment from each fast builds on the last until you feel completely in control of your food choices.

7. Eat All The Foods You Love Guilt Free

Short term fasting allows you to lose weight and burn fat without restricting any of the foods you love to eat. With this style of eating you can consume any and all of the foods you like whenever you choose without feeling guilty about it and still lose weight. You will never again have to be sitting in a restaurant picking at a salad while everyone else at the tables indulges in their favorite entrée and dessert.

Eating for fat loss doesn’t need to be complicated and food should never be a source of anxiety or guilt. Mixing in a few 24 hours fasts to your week can liberate you from the dieting prison and allow you to enjoy food again.

Improvements in body fat distribution and circulating adiponectin by alternate-day fasting versus calorie restriction

Varady KA, Allister CA, Roohk DJ, Hellerstein MK (2009) Improvements in body fat distribution and circulating adiponectin by alternate-day fasting versus calorie restriction.J Nutr Biochem. Epub

Abstract
Calorie restriction (CR) and alternate-day fasting (ADF) beneficially affect several aspects of adipose tissue physiology, but direct comparisons between regimens have yet to be performed. The present study evaluated the effects of ADF versus CR on body fat distribution and circulating adiponectin levels and examined the kinetic mechanisms that underlie changes in fat distribution. Thirty female C57BL/6J mice were randomized to one of five groups for 4 weeks: (a) CR-25% (25% energy restriction daily), (b) ADF-75% (75% restriction on fast day), (c) ADF-85% (85% restriction on fast day), (d) ADF-100% (100% restriction on fast day) and (e) control (ad libitum fed). Body weights of the CR mice were lower than that of the ADF and control groups posttreatment. After 4 weeks of diet, the proportion of visceral fat decreased (P<.001) and the proportion of subcutaneous fat increased (P<.001) similarly in ADF and CR animals. Adiponectin increased (P<.05) by 62-86% in the ADF groups and by 69% in the CR group. Triglyceride (TG) synthesis and de novo lipogenesis were augmented (P<.05) in the subcutaneous fat pad of ADF and CR animals, relative to control. No differences in net lipolysis were observed, resulting in greater TG accumulation in the subcutaneous fat pad, with a shift in the ratio of TG between depots. These findings indicate that ADF (both modified and true) produces similar beneficial modulations in body fat distribution and adiponectin levels as daily CR

Modified alternate-day fasting regimens reduce cell proliferation rates to a similar extent as daily calorie restriction in mice

Varady KA, Roohk DJ, McEvoy-Hein BK, Gaylinn BD, Thorner MO, Hellerstein MK (2008) Modified alternate-day fasting regimens reduce cell proliferation rates to a similar extent as daily calorie restriction in mice. FASEB J.(6):2090-6

Abstract
Calorie restriction (CR) and alternate-day fasting (ADF) reduce cancer risk and reduce cell proliferation rates. Whether modified ADF regimens (i.e., allowing a portion of energy needs to be consumed on the fast day) work, as well as true ADF or CR to reduce global cell proliferation rates, remains unresolved. Here, we measured the effects of true ADF, modified ADF, and daily CR on cell proliferation rates in mice. Thirty female C57BL/6J mice were randomized to one of five interventions for 4 wk: 1) CR-25% (25% reduction in daily energy intake), 2) ADF-75% (75% reduction on fast day), 3) ADF-85% (85% reduction on fast day), 4) ADF-100% (100% reduction on fast day), and 5) control (ad libitum intake). Body weights of the ADF groups did not differ from controls, whereas the CR-25% group weighed less than all other groups posttreatment. Epidermal cell proliferation decreased (P<0.01) by 29, 20, and 31% in the CR-25%, ADF-85% and ADF-100% groups, respectively, relative to controls. Proliferation rates of splenic T cells were reduced (P<0.01) by 37, 32, and 31% in the CR-25%, ADF-85%, and ADF-100% groups, respectively, and mammary epithelial cell proliferation was 70, 65, and 62% lower (P<0.01), compared with controls. Insulin-like growth factor-1 levels were reduced (P<0.05) in the CR-25% and ADF-100% groups only. In summary, modified ADF, allowing the consumption of 15% of energy needs on the restricted intake day, decreases global cell proliferation similarly as true ADF and daily CR without reducing body weight.

Effects of modified alternate-day fasting regimens on adipocyte size, triglyceride metabolism, and plasma adiponectin levels in mice

Varady KA, Roohk DJ, Loe YC, McEvoy-Hein BK, Hellerstein MK (2007) Effects of modified alternate-day fasting regimens on adipocyte size, triglyceride metabolism, and plasma adiponectin levels in mice. J Lipids Res 48(10):2212-9

Calorie restriction (CR) affects adipocyte function and reduces body weight. However, the effects of alternate-day fasting (ADF) on adipose biology remain unclear. This study examined the effects of ADF and modified ADF regimens on adipocyte size, triglyceride (TG) metabolism, and adiponectin levels in relation to changes in body weight and adipose mass. Twenty-four male C57BL/6J mice were randomized for 4 weeks among 1) ADF-25% (25% CR on fast day, ad libitum on alternate day), 2) ADF-50% (50% CR on fast day), 3) ADF-100% (100% CR on fast day), and 4) control (ad libitum). The body weight of ADF-100% mice was lower than that of the other groups (P < 0.005) after treatment. Adipose tissue weights did not change. Inguinal and epididymal fat cells were 35-50% smaller (P < 0.01) than those of controls in ADF-50% and ADF-100% animals after treatment. Net lipolysis was augmented (P < 0.05) in ADF-100% mice, and the contribution from glyceroneogenesis to alpha-glycerol phosphate increased in ADF-50% and ADF-100% mice, whereas fractional and absolute de novo lipogenesis also increased in ADF-50% and ADF-100% animals, consistent with an alternating feast-fast milieu. Plasma adiponectin levels were not affected. In summary, modified ADF (ADF-50%) and complete ADF (ADF-100%) regimens modulate adipocyte function, despite there being no change in body weight or adipose tissue weight in the former group.

Alternate-day fasting reduces global cell proliferation rates independently of dietary fat content in mice

Varady KA, Roohk DJ, Bruss M, Hellerstein MK (2009) Alternate-day fasting reduces global cell proliferation rates independently of dietary fat content in mice. Nutrition. 25(4):486-9

ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: Cell proliferation rates represent a central element in the promotional phase of carcinogenesis. Modified alternate-day fasting (ADF), i.e., a partial 24-h fast alternated with 24-h ad libitum feeding, reduces global cell proliferation rates on a low-fat (LF) diet. Because the majority of Americans consume a diet that is high in fat, testing the antiproliferative ability of ADF on a high-fat (HF) diet is important in terms of diet tolerability in humans. Accordingly, we examined the effects of 85% restriction on the fast day (ADF-85%) with an LF or HF background diet on proliferation rates of various tissues.

METHODS: In a 4-wk study, male C57BL/6J mice were randomized to one of three groups: 1) ADF-85%-LF, 2) ADF-85%-HF, or 3) control.

RESULTS: Body weights of the ADF mice were similar to that of controls throughout the study. A hyperphagic response (P < 0.001) was noted only in the ADF-85%-LF group ( approximately 55% more food consumed on the feed day than controls). No differences were noted for mean energy intake between ADF groups on feed or fast days. Equivalent reductions (P < 0.01) in epidermal, prostate, liver, and splenic T-cell proliferation rates were observed in both ADF groups versus controls. Plasma insulin-like growth factor-1 levels decreased (P < 0.05) similarly in both ADF groups. Insulin-like growth factor-1 mRNA levels were not affected by either treatment.

CONCLUSION: These findings indicate that ADF has an antiproliferative effect over a wide range of fat intakes, which may enhance adherence to ADF in humans.