Our Longevity Diet

Monday we took the old jalopy (it really is old — old enough to drink in most states) to town (Tecoman) for our weekly shopping trip. Isabel also had a doctor’s appointment.

Halfway there the red battery light came on, though the car kept running OK. Clearly, the battery was no longer charging however, so I pulled it over to the shoulder (the Cerro to Tecoman road is one of the few Mexican roads that actually has a shoulder) and looked under the hood. The belt to the alternator was broken. So we also stopped at a mechanic’s — he could sell us a used belt from a car he had there, or we could wait an hour or two while he sent someone to pick up a new belt at the auto supply — either way it would cost the same, about $10 US. We took the used one.

Our tasks all complete, we headed home. About 3/4 the way home a front tire blew. I pulled over and tried to change it. I had a spare, two 4-way tire wrenches and a jack, so it seemed simple. The car, however, would not cooperate. There were little metal caps on the wheel nuts. They were metric sized, and all the tire wrenches were not. None fit quite right — either it would almost fit, but slip when heavy pressure was applied, or it wouldn’t go over the cap. One cap came off, getting stuck inside the wrench.

I ended up putting Isabel on a bus back home, with instructions to send the local mechanic out to help change the tire. I sat on the curb for an hour, very grateful that our shopping included cold beer. A police truck drove past, but didn’t even stop to help.

Anyhow, it seemed a fairly terrible day — except for that Doctor’s visit part — the doctor confirmed our suspicions, Isabel is pregnant. So, to be fair the title of this post should really say Isabel suspends her participation in the Intermittent Fasting, for the duration of her pregnancy. We don’t recommend this diet for pregnant women or growing children.

Well, it has been almost a year since we began intermittent fasting. Looking over the weight records for the past few months, it looks like we have stabilized in that regard. I’m still about 5% above my ideal weight, and Isabel is closer to her ideal weight (according to the charts) but still slightly above. I guess that is testimony to how well we eat, regardless of the schedule. My weight has been fluctuating between 94 and 95 kilos, while Isabel is consistently between 60 and 62. We have been within that range for the past five months. Isabel’s chart-weight is 60 kilos, mine 90.

So, I see little reason to continue posting our weights here — if we go outside that range for some reason, I’ll mention it — otherwise just assume we are in that area. Of course that means I won’t have a reason for these monthly postings, and need to find some better motivation to keep this blog active. If I can find relevant new research information I’ll post that, otherwise perhaps I’ll stray into other general health and longevity matters.

One recent study claimed that the hundreds (or thousands?) of calorie restriction studies that preceded it were wrong, and calorie restriction does not really lead to longer lifespans. Instead, they claim, the mice used in the studies were fat, because they were allowed to eat all they wanted.

Well either way, the under-fed mice live longer, and we need to under-feed ourselves if we want optimal health and longevity. The study I mentioned was referring to calorie restriction, not intermittent fasting. Other studies have shown intermittent fasting to be equally effective as caloric restriction. So we can indulge in eating as much as we want, so long as we restrict that indulgence to 24 out of every 48 hours (more or less, we eat 25 and fast 23).

If I recall correctly (and I’ll have to go back and make sure, but for now take it as given) the intermittent fasting studies resulted in animals that had higher body weight than the calorie restricted animals, yet they lived just a long. So clearly, there is more at work here than mere body weight.

I’ll have to look into that further, and post a more detailed analysis here in the coming days…