Our Longevity Diet

On Wednesday we will be going to Colima for a few days, traveling by bus. This will be our first major break in routine since starting the fast. I must admit, we live a very routine life, and have the luxury of doing the same things at the same times (because we want to, not because we must). I work on-line, so in fact we can be very flexible with our schedule, but we prefer to follow a predictable, enjoyable routine — broken only occasionally by circumstances. Once during the first month of our fasting regime, and once this month, we went to parties, which required minor adjustments. Two other times we went on car trips to nearby places, which meant I had to skip my wine (both were breakfast days), but no other difference, since we took food with us to eat. So this is the first major change of routine, and I’m interested to see how we will deal with it.

The trip begins while we are in the end stages of a fasting period, so we are not supposed to eat anything until between 2:00 and 3:00 pm — when we will be on a bus somewhere between Guadalajara and the city of Colima. I’ve suggested Isabel carry some sweet snacks in her purse, since she sometimes feels dizzy or weak if she exerts herself too much toward the end of the fast. Myself, I’m content to wait until whenever we get into Colima to eat, since the last time we were there I had a very tasty sandwich in the bus station, and so can look forward to another of the same. Our destination is another hour beyond the city, but still in the state of Colima, near the coast.

Obviously, my next post will be after we return on May 4th, and I’ll let you know how we fared. I can appreciate the fact that for many people, such trips and other schedule-changing circumstances are almost constant events (I lived like that when I was younger) — so it may be easier for me to recommend means of dealing with such a lifestyle while maintaining a fasting regime after we go through this experience. I’m looking forward to it.

A note about weight, as someone asked (off-line). We only weigh ourselves about once per week — any more often is too subject to fluctuations to have much meaning. We only report our weight on this blog once per month. Our last weigh-in shows we continue to lose weight, though we each have had one week (and different weeks for each) when our weight went up instead of down. Unless that sea-food from the coast creeps up on us, we expect to report lower weights for this month than last, though perhaps not as low as they are now … before the trip.

It was a study released five years ago that inspired us to try intermittent fasting. I looked into the scientific literature behind life extension in 2002-2004, and came away with the conclusion that the only certain road to a longer, healthier life was to cut caloric intake drastically. To me, that seemed far to ascetic an approach to life. Even if it didn’t make you live longer, it would sure seem longer. I want to enjoy life, not suffer through it.

Then while browsing the web looking for something else entirely, I came across a reference that led me to a study called (oh so succinctly) Intermittent fasting dissociates beneficial effects of dietary restriction on glucose metabolism and neuronal resistance to injury from calorie intake. The abstract was a bit more clear:

Dietary restriction has been shown to have several health benefits including increased insulin sensitivity, stress resistance, reduced morbidity, and increased life span. The mechanism remains unknown, but the need for a long-term reduction in caloric intake to achieve these benefits has been assumed. We report that when C57BL/6 mice are maintained on an intermittent fasting (alternate-day fasting) dietary-restriction regimen their overall food intake is not decreased and their body weight is maintained. Nevertheless, intermittent fasting resulted in beneficial effects that met or exceeded those of caloric restriction including reduced serum glucose and insulin levels and increased resistance of neurons in the brain to excitotoxic stress. Intermittent fasting therefore has beneficial effects on glucose regulation and neuronal resistance to injury in these mice that are independent of caloric intake.

Note that last line. Glucose regulation is a very important health factor, that leads to diabetes when it goes awry. Neuronal ‘resistance to injury’ is basically saying that the brain deteriorates more slowly — so Alzheimer’s and Alzheimer-like diseases are held at bay for a longer period. This was enough to spark my interest. I began to read about the effects of intermittent fasting, and found other benefits cited, some of which I’ll mention in future posts.

When it comes to implementing the fast, I found several schools of thought. Some people fast the same time every day, so they have 20 hours fasting and four hours eating, for example. Others skipped breakfast and lunch one day, and skipped dinner the next — leading to an imbalanced pattern of more calories one day and fewer the next. Others practice ‘alternate day fasting’ and eat normally one day, then either nothing the next, or a very small meal of 300 to 500 calories. Again, a very imbalanced pattern that seemed like it would be difficult to follow.

Luckily, since we live in Mexico, we were already used to eating our main meal in the early afternoon — much earlier than the typical Euro-American diet. So our solution, which I’ve described in other posts, came as a natural approach that more nearly simulates what the experimental mice experienced. Remember: “their overall food intake is not decreased and their body weight is maintained” — so they were not calorie restricted, but stilled showed the health benefits (including, in other studies, longevity). We want that! We are not obese, so while a little weight-loss would be nice, the extreme restrictions of alternate day fasting are just too difficult to maintain for the rest of our lives. Our style of intermittent fasting works. We have lost some weight, and only time will tell if that continues (we only report our weight in this blog monthly, to avoid the confusion of minor fluctuations). But we feel better, and have no qualms about keeping this lifestyle for many, many years to come.

For several years I have suffered from frequent cramping of my leg and foot muscles. Only very rarely did I have a full-blown ‘charlie horse’ where the big thigh muscle cramps, but almost every night I’d get cramps in the calf muscles or in my feet — either just before I fell asleep, or (much worse) waking me up from a sound sleep. I tried to solve this problem by drinking lots of water, and that was semi-successful — I had about half as many leg cramps as previously.

Since beginning this intermittent fasting regime, the leg cramps have disappeared completely. I haven’t had one in weeks. Not expecting this benefit, I didn’t notice when they stopped — it is only in hind-sight that I noticed. Am I drinking more water? Probably, since that is all I can ingest for about half of each day. Or is the fasting contributing to the cessation of cramps? That may be a factor too. Fasting clears out toxins and accumulated waste products, making the biological functions more efficient. Cramps are usually attributed to a deficiency in specific minerals (magnesium, potassium, calcium, or sodium). Since I am not eating any differently than before beginning the intermittent fasting regime, I’m certainly not ingesting any more of those minerals. But it may be that my body is more efficient at absorbing and using the needed minerals. I really don’t know.

All I’m sure of is that it works. The cramps are gone. I’m getting the same exercise, the same diet, and everything else in my life seems about the same. Only the timing of WHEN we eat has changed. We fast 23 hours out of every 48. We are also still losing weight — but I’ll leave that discussion for a future post.

The first two weeks of this intermittent fasting routine were a bit difficult. We were not used to going without food for any longer than a good night’s sleep. Thirty years ago, when I was in college, I went three days without consuming anything but water — so I knew 24 hours wasn’t going to kill us, but it still came as something of a shock to our systems. My stomach was grumbling so loud on fasting nights that it nearly woke the neighbors.

But it wasn’t too difficult. Just strange, and slightly uncomfortable. We felt a bit lethargic on fasting mornings, and Isabel claims I was a bit grumpy (who me? …  I’m sure she was right). But with time we grew more accustomed to our strange 48 hour time cycles. Yes there was a slight tendency to eat more during our first meal after fasting, because we were ’so hungry’ — and another tendency to eat a bit more at our last meal before a fast (i.e. the next main meal) because we knew it would be our last for a while — but the uncomfortable feeling of being ’stuffed’ broke us of that bad habit within the first week.

Also, as time went on, it didn’t seem so long between meals when we were in a fast period. My stomach still grumbles a little, but not so alarmingly loud as before. A big glass of water will usually quiet both the grumbling and slight tinges of hunger. By the time my stomach realizes it has been tricked, I’m either asleep or it is time for our next meal.

There is also a psychological effect. We no longer feel like slaves to our appetites. Missing a meal or two is no longer a big deal, in fact it is an everyday occurrence. We walk to town and see people eating while they walk, and notice how fat they are. Those poor people! Don’t they know they can get along just fine without food for a few hours? How can you possibly enjoy that ice-cream cone while walking down a busy street, talking to friends and dodging obstacles (Mexican sidewalks are filled with obstacles, from candy vendors and telephone poles, to huge piles of construction material and crowds of people standing around chatting)?

That reminds me of another benefit from this fast — when we do eat, especially that first meal after our fast — food tastes so good! I have always enjoyed Isabel’s cooking, but now I seem more aware of the subtle spices and can savor the rich flavors with greater appreciation.

Life is short, so we need to live with joy while we can. I can not imagine suffering through a 40% caloric restriction diet for the rest of my life — I would be miserable. What is the point of living a long time if you can’t enjoy it? This intermittent fast is so easy it is enjoyable. I feel stronger and healthier, have fewer of the age related aches and pains I’ve grown to expect, and I’m more aware — more awake — I feel more alive! I certainly never expected it to be like this.

So far, I have not found any clear description of who came up with the idea of intermittent fasting in the first place. Apparently, it was used with lab rats in dietary studies going back at least to the early 1980s, and probably earlier.

Studies as far back as the 1930s demonstrated the effects of caloric restriction:

McCay, C. M., and M. F. Crowell. 1934. Prolonging the life span. Science Monthly 39:405–414

I haven’t been able to find a copy of that study on-line, but it sparked subsequent research which confirmed that some animals fed 40% to 60% of their normal diets lived as much as twice as long as those that ate normally. Almost all animals lived longer on restricted diets, though the specifics vary from one species to another.

Who it was that jumped from those findings to demonstrate that intermittent fasting could be just as beneficial, I have yet to discover. The earliest reference I have noticed so far dates from 1983:

Goodrick C. L., Ingram D. K., Reynolds M. A., Freeman J. R., and Cider N. L. (1983) Differential effects of intermittent feeding and voluntary exercise on body weight and lifespan in adult rats. J. Gerontol. 38, 36–45.

This article is also elusive on-line, though it is available for purchase. The abstract, however, is widely available, and speaks of alternate day feeding as it were nothing novel:

Effects of intermittent feeding upon growth, activity, and lifespan in rats allowed voluntary exercise.
Goodrick CL, Ingram DK, Reynolds MA, Freeman JR, Cider NL.

From weaning until death, male Wistar rats were housed in activity-wheel cages with one group maintained on an ad libitum (AL) diet and another provided the diet every-other-day (EOD). EOD-fed rats had a mean lifespan of 124 weeks compared to 103 weeks for AL-fed rats. While post-weaning body weight and growth rates were reduced among the EOD-fed animals compared to AL-fed animals, there was no significant difference in growth duration. Positive correlations were observed between lifespan and estimates of growth rate and duration in the AL group but not in the EOD group; thus, little evidence was produced to support the hypothesis that growth rate is inversely related to longevity. While the EOD feeding regimen resulted in higher activity levels later in life, wheel activity levels were actually lower in this group in early life compared to the AL group. The observation of reduced wheel activity among young rats fed EOD was replicated in a second experiment. Thus, little support was obtained for the hypothesis that increased activity mediates the beneficial effects of dietary restriction on longevity, unless this mechanism is active late in the lifespan.

Interestingly, this study only showed a 20% increase in longevity — well below the results demonstrated by some of the subsequent research.

It was not until the 1990s that humans began getting interested in trying caloric restriction. The intermittent fasting alternative doesn’t seem to have occurred to the public at large until the early 2000s, even though it was known to researchers.

Follow the link in the right hand column, just under our picture, labeled ‘April Meals’ and you will find listed our daily meals and snacks for the month. We are not fanatical about diet, but try to get varied and healthy foods. Isabel does all our cooking, and she doesn’t seem to know what a can-opener is for. Almost all the food is fresh, made from ’scratch’, and prepared with loving attention to detail.

Unfortunately for many people, such a time-consuming preparation is not always possible for them, and the talent to produce healthy and delicious foods may be lacking as well. I wish I could offer a simple solution for them, but there is really no substitution for quality. Restaurants are not the answer, even good restaurants. If your food was prepared the way Isabel prepares ours, it would take at least an hour from the time you placed your order before you could eat. Restaurants can rarely operate that way and stay in business; today’s lifestyles are too hectic to allow people the luxury.

Here in Mexico, people are accustomed to readily available fresh foods. Most people shop daily, buying the food a few hours before they consume it. That food was probably brought to the market early the same morning, and may only have been harvested the day before if it is local produce. Of course a wide variety of imported foods are also available, and we must assume those are not as fresh, but still they are kept in good condition.

It is easy to gain weight, even when fasting 24 out of every 48 hours, if you eat junk foods. A few years ago a man made himself sick (he developed a fatty liver) just by eating nothing but McDonalds food for 30 days. Fast food is like television, it caters to the mass appetite with trash. To say that ’sugar is bad’ or ‘fat is bad’ is to miss the point — a little sugar, and a healthy proportion of fat will do no harm — it is the overindulgence in these things that leads to obesity. Even a McMucker burger won’t kill you if you eat only one per month.

Food proportions are also an important factor. It is easy to over-eat, especially when the food tastes great. There are two techniques I’ve found helpful to overcome this natural tendency — first, drink plenty of water before your meal (and pretty much all other times too!) — second, eat slowly. Gobbling down food allows you to eat well past the ‘full’ feeling and into the unhealthy ’stuffed’ range. If you eat slowly you can enjoy the food better, and your body has time to develop the chemical signals that tell your brain you are full. Most weight-loss diets fail because they ordain fixed amounts of food, and leave you feeling unsatisfied. Intermittent fasting allows you eat until you are full (but not beyond!) and places no restrictions on what you eat, so long as it is healthful food.

Hi, I’m Andrew — that’s me in the picture at upper right. And standing next to me is my beautiful wife Isabel. I have lived in Mexico since 2000, and married Isabel in 2001 — she is a native of Guadalajara, Jalisco.

As you can see, neither of us are obese. In fact we both are just about 10% over our ideal weights, according to the charts. I’m 6′ 3″ (191 cm) tall and in my mid-50s. Isabel is 5′ 4″ (162 cm) and recently turned 40 — but don’t tell anyone that, it’s a state secret. When we were married in June 2001 we were both near our ideal weights, I was 197 pounds (89.5 kilos) and she was 126 pounds (57 kilos). ‘Scuse me if I don’t give the weights in pounds (or how about stones?) from here on — you can always convert those yourself if you are metric impaired.

A couple years ago I got up to 104 kilos and Isabel was just over 67 kilos. She is just too good of a cook! We tried a version of the Atkins diet, but actually gained a little weight. After that, I eschewed specific diets, but Isabel tried several others. I tried to eat a bit less and exercise more. Isabel tried several very restrictive diets, hated them all and lost very little weight. I refused to follow any diet that I could not see myself following for the rest of my life — so none of the one’s she came up with fit the bill.

As of March 5th, 2008 — the day we began this intermittent fasting — I weighed 99.2 kilos and Isabel was 65.9 kilos. She had just completed two months on a very restrictive diet, and had lost .3 kilo in those months. I recommended the intermittent fast for its health benefits, I didn’t really expect to lose any weight since we made no attempt to cut down on total calories. I was never much of a breakfast eater, so two meals a day was normal for me. Isabel was still concerned with losing weight, so tried to avoid snacking and limited the portions of high-calorie foods she ate.

Now, at the end of our first month with the intermittent fast, I weigh 97.7 kilos (a loss of 1.5 kilos, or 1.5% of my body weight) and Isabel weighs 63.6 kilos (a loss of 2.3 kilos, or 3.5% of her body weight). We were both amazed at that. I hadn’t expected to lose anything, and she felt like she was eating so much more than on that previous diet that she was afraid she would gain, rather than lose. That weight loss, plus the fact that this diet is so easy I can see it lasting a life-time with no qualms; caused me to start this blog to share with others this amazing discovery.