48 replies to this topic

[APBT]

STORY LINK: http://www.scienceda...50618134408.htm

 

FULL TEXT OF STUDY:  http://www.cell.com/...4131(15)00224-7

 

Diet that mimics fasting appears to slow aging Benefits demonstrated in mice and yeast; piloted in humans

 

 

Want to lose abdominal fat, get smarter and live longer? New research led by USC's Valter Longo shows that periodically adopting a diet that mimics the effects of fasting may yield a wide range of health benefits.

 

 In a new study, Longo and his colleagues show that cycles of a four-day low-calorie diet that mimics fasting (FMD) cut visceral belly fat and elevated the number of progenitor and stem cells in several organs of old mice -- including the brain, where it boosted neural regeneration and improved learning and memory.

 

The mouse tests were part of a three-tiered study on periodic fasting's effects -- testing yeast, mice and humans -- set to be published by Cell Metabolism on June 18.

 

 Mice, which have relatively short life spans, provided details about fasting's lifelong effects. Yeast, which are simpler organisms, allowed Longo to uncover the biological mechanisms that fasting triggers at a cellular level. And a pilot study in humans found evidence that the mouse and yeast studies were applicable to humans.

 

Bimonthly cycles that lasted four days of an FMD which started at middle age extended life span, reduced the incidence of cancer, boosted the immune system, reduced inflammatory diseases, slowed bone mineral density loss and improved the cognitive abilities of older mice tracked in the study. The total monthly calorie intake was the same for the FMD and control diet groups, indicating that the effects were not the result of an overall dietary restriction.

 

In a pilot human trial, three cycles of a similar diet given to 19 subjects once a month for five days decreased risk factors and biomarkers for aging, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer with no major adverse side effects, according to Longo.

 

'Strict fasting is hard for people to stick to, and it can also be dangerous, so we developed a complex diet that triggers the same effects in the body,' said Longo, Edna M. Jones professor of biogerontology at the USC Davis School of Gerontology and director of the USC Longevity Institute. Longo has a joint appointment at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences. 'I've personally tried both, and the fasting mimicking diet is a lot easier and also a lot safer.'

 

The diet slashed the individual's caloric intake down to 34 to 54 percent of normal, with a specific composition of proteins, carbohydrates, fats and micronutrients. It decreased amounts of the hormone IGFI, which is required during development to grow, but it is a promoter of aging and has been linked to cancer susceptibility. It also increased the amount of the hormone IGFBP-, and reduced biomarkers/risk factors linked to diabetes and cardiovascular disease, including glucose, trunk fat and C-reactive protein without negatively affecting muscle and bone mass.

 

Longo has previously shown how fasting can help starve out cancer cells while protecting immune and other cells from chemotherapy toxicity.

 

'It's about reprogramming the body so it enters a slower aging mode, but also rejuvenating it through stem cell-based regeneration,' Longo said. 'It's not a typical diet because it isn't something you need to stay on.'

 

 For 25 days a month, study participants went back to their regular eating habits -- good or bad -- once they finished the treatment. They were not asked to change their diet and still saw positive changes.

 

 Longo believes that for most normal people, the FMD can be done every three to six months, depending on the abdominal circumference and health status. For obese subjects or those with elevated disease risk factors, the FMD could be recommended by the physician as often as once every two weeks. His group is testing its effect in a randomized clinical trial, which will be completed soon, with more than 70 subjects.

 'If the results remain as positive as the current ones, I believe this FMD will represent the first safe and effective intervention to promote positive changes associated with longevity and health span, which can be recommended by a physician,' Longo said. 'We will soon meet with FDA officers to pursue several FDA claims for disease prevention and treatment.'

 

Despite its positive effects, Longo cautioned against water-only fasting and warned even about attempting the fasting mimicking diet without first consulting a doctor and seeking their supervision throughout the process.

 

 'Not everyone is healthy enough to fast for five days, and the health consequences can be severe for a few who do it improperly,' he said. 'Water-only fasting should only be done in a specialized clinic. Also, certain types of very low calorie diets, and particularly those with high protein content, can increase the incidence of gallstones in women at risk'.

 

'In contrast,' he added, 'the fasting mimicking diet tested in the trial can be done anywhere under the supervision of a physician and carefully following the guidelines established in the clinical trials.'

 

Longo also cautioned that diabetic subjects should not undergo either fasting or fasting mimicking diets while receiving insulin, metformin or similar drugs. He also said that subjects with body mass index less than 18 should not undergo the FMD diet.

 

For the study, Longo collaborated with researchers and clinicians from USC as well as from Texas, Italy and England. The study was funded by the National Institute on Aging.

 

Story Source: The above post is reprinted from materials provided by University of Southern California. The original item was written by Robert Perkins. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.

 

Journal Reference: 1. Sebastian Brandhorst, In Young Choi, Min Wei, Chia Wei Cheng, Sargis Sedrakyan, Gerardo Navarrete, Louis Dubeau, Li Peng Yap, Ryan Park, Manlio Vinciguerra, Stefano Di Biase, Hamed Mirzaei, Mario G. Mirisola, Patra Childress, Lingyun Ji, Susan Groshen, Fabio Penna, Patrizio Odetti, Laura Perin, Peter S. Conti, Yuji Ikeno, Brian K. Kennedy, Pinchas Cohen, Todd E. Morgan, Tanya B. Dorff, Valter D. Longo. A Periodic Diet that Mimics Fasting Promotes Multi-System Regeneration, Enhanced Cognitive Performance, and Healthspan. Cell Metabolism, 2015; DOI: 10.1016/j.cmet.2015.05.012

 

Edited by APBT, 20 July 2015 - 07:29 PM.

[HaloTeK]

Does anyone know if bimonthly was twice a month or every 2 months?

[niner]

From the paper's experimental section:

 

The control group continued normal food consumption and returned for a follow-up examination 3 months after enrollment. Subjects in the FMD cohort consumed the provided experimental diet consisting of 3 cycles of 5 continuous days of FMD followed by 25 days of normal food intake.

 

 

That was for humans.

[nickdino]

Can anyone provide Valter Longo's official or other correct protocols of one or more of the variations of fasting mimicking diets please? Especially the more intense ones.

[mccoy]

Can anyone provide Valter Longo's official or other correct protocols of one or more of the variations of fasting mimicking diets please? Especially the more intense ones.

 

Valter Longo's book on his longevity diet and Fast Mimicking Diet (FMD) ha just been published in Italy. I recommend the book which I don't know if is presently available in other languages (until a short while ago it was only available in the Italian language).

 

 

I'm very interested in his FMD and planning to start one as soon as I'm over with my present weight-gaining scheme (hope it won't take too long).

 

I posted an exceprt of his FMD in the CRSociety forum

 

https://www.crsociet...ing/#entry19401

 

We are currently discussing some practical details of the FMD.

 

I'm willing to discuss the practicalities in any of the fora though. It appears a very promising strategy to pursue longevity and healthspan.

 

He only describes 2 protocols in his book:

 

1- Longevity diet: to be followed every day, it's a vegan + pescetarian diet based on vegetables, legumes, cereals.

2- FMD: it's a 5 days scheme totally vegan with caloric, proteic, carb restriction. Based on non-starchy vegetables.

[nickdino]

Thanks mccoy, does it say anything about the amount of calories being relative to weight or is it the same amounts for any person which i think is very weird.
Thanks mccoy, does it say anything about the amount of calories being relative to weight or is it the same amounts for any person which i think is very weird.

[tunt01]

Can anyone provide Valter Longo's official or other correct protocols of one or more of the variations of fasting mimicking diets please? Especially the more intense ones.

 

This is from a Longo paper, but I don't know which one because I was lazy and didn't write it down on my notes.  Longo has a company selling the things you need to do a FMD regimen.

 

 

 

 

The FMD diet provides high micronutrient content mostly (i.e., greater than 50 percent by weight) from natural sources including:

 

Kale, Cashews, Yellow Bell Pepper, Onion, Lemon Juice, Yeast, Turmeric. Mushroom, Carrot, Olive Oil, Beet Juice, Spinach, Tomato, Collard, Nettle, Thyme, Salt, Pepper, Vitamin B12 (Cyanocobalamin), Beets, Butternut Squash, Oregano, Tomato Juice, Orange Juice, Celery, Romaine Lettuce, Cumin, Orange Rind, Citric Acid, Nutmeg, Cloves, and combinations thereof. ... 

 

FMD includes the following micronutrients (at least 95% non-animal based):

 

• over 5,000 IU of vitamin A per day (days 1-5);
• 60-240 mg of vitamin C per day (days 1-5);
• 400-800 mg of Calcium per day (days 1-5);
• 7.2-14.4 mg of Iron per day (days 1-5); 200-400 mg of Magnesium per day (days 1-5);
• 1-2 mg of copper per day (days 1-5);
• 1-2 mg of Manganese per day (days 1-5);
• 3.5-7 mcg of Selenium per day (days 1-5);
• 2-4 mg of Vitamin B1 per day (days 1-5);
• 2-4 mg of Vitamin B2 per day (days 1-5);
• 20-30 mg of Vitamin B3 per day (days 1-5);
• 1-1.5 mg of Vitamin B5 per day (days 1-5);
• 2-4 mg of Vitamin B6 per day (days 1-5);
• 240-480 mcg of Vitamin B9 per day (days 1-5);
• 600-1000 IU of Vitamin D per day (days 1-5);
• 14-30 mg of Vitamin E per day (days 1-5);
• over 80 mcg of Vitamin K per day (days 1-5);
• 16-25 mcg Vitamin B12 are provided during the entire 5-day period;
• 600 mg of Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, algae-derived) are provided during the entire 5-day period.

[niner]

I'm quite surprised to see Orange Juice in the FMD cupboard.  Kind of a fructose bomb...

[Iporuru]

I'm quite surprised to see Orange Juice in the FMD cupboard.  Kind of a fructose bomb...

 

Maybe because both fasting and fructose increase SIRT1 and NAD+/NADH ratio?

 

http://joe.endocrino...3.full.pdf html
 

[nickdino]

When i read that list i'm quickly thinking : forget about replicating that, just order the packages.

Unless members in here can figure out how to replicate it easily. There is one blog that says all you need to replicate the diet is to eat two avocados and 4 tablespoons of broad spectrum greens powder per day. I'd still prefer the prolon packages though.

https://thequantifie...mimicking-diet/

[mccoy]

There is one blog that says all you need to replicate the diet is to eat two avocados and 4 tablespoons of broad spectrum greens powder per day. I'd still prefer the prolon packages though.

https://thequantifie...mimicking-diet/

 

The tip about avocados is good, I've yet to check it though.

 

Very interesting report of a diet which is NOT the FMD, rather something very similar to a water only diet.

 

The macros are a basic ingredient of the FMD recipe, they serve the purpose to alleviate the psycological and physiological difficulties of a total fast.

 

It will be very interesting though to read about the results of a FMD proper.

[mccoy]

Thanks mccoy, does it say anything about the amount of calories being relative to weight or is it the same amounts for any person which i think is very weird.

 

Explicitly it does not relate calories to weight, I believe as a simplification. Also, it would have been impossible or very impractical to provide various packages for various weight ranges. The quantities most probably refer to an average weight of 75 kg (?).

 

However, there is an patent application pending for the FMD diet

Methods and Diets to Protect Against Chemotoxicity and Age Related Illnesses 

 

US 20140227373 A1)t:https://www.google.c...s/US20140227373

 

From the patent application details we can draw all the details to build up an operational custom-tailored scheme. I'm interested into building a mathematics of the FMD which is immediately applicable to every bodyweight. 

 

 FMD.JPG   49.85KB   4 downloads

 

 FMD2.JPG   23.6KB   2 downloads

 

 FMD3.JPG   91.7KB   2 downloads

Edited by mccoy, 07 November 2016 - 01:35 PM.

[nickdino]

Holy cows! Awesome mccoy, thanks. I will try to understand it and contribute to the goal of replicating the various fmd's.

[mccoy]

This is a preliminary method to custom-taylor calories according to the data (table 1) attached to the patent application. It is valid with good approximation only for the range 68 to 113 kg, then it is extrapolated, the farther away from the extremes, the lesser the precision. It is evident that calories/bodyweight are higher in individuals with lower bodyweight.

This is a plot built using the raw data from table 1, with an excel esponential trend and related equations:

 FMD1.PNG   26.82KB   3 downloads

 

Then, using the equations, the data range has been widened

 FMD2.PNG   31.34KB   3 downloads

 

It is so easy to calculate one's own Kcal/kg bodyweight for the 1st and successive days of the FMD (bodyweight units in kg)

Day1: Kcal/kg = 31.383*EXP(-0.01*bodyweight)

Days2 to 5: Kcal/kg = 20.212*EXP(-0.009*bodyweight)

 

Or the following table might be used. Pls. note, in bold are the data laying into the weight range of table 1.

 FMD3.PNG   31.53KB   3 downloads

 

Pls a word of caution: I do not know the rationale for a different Kcal/weight ratio in different bodyweights. For extreme bodyweights the extrapolated values above may not reflect the conceptual framework of the FMD, or they simply might tend to an unspecified asymptotic value different from the above.

 

The main reference to calculate the allowed kcalories in the FMD is table 1 in the patent application, already posted previously.

 

 

Edited by mccoy, 07 November 2016 - 05:23 PM.

[Darryl]

I'm quite surprised to see Orange Juice in the FMD cupboard.  Kind of a fructose bomb...

 

Both the low protein content of the FMD and the fructose would increase fibroblast growth factor 21.

 

Dushay et al, 2015. Fructose ingestion acutely stimulates circulating FGF21 levels in humans. Molecular metabolism, 4(1), pp.51-57.

 

Longo's FMD is unusual among calorie restricted diets in that its markedly protein restricted (most human CR diets use higher protein intake to suppress appetite), and Longo himself considers protein restriction important enough to practice personally. His occasional coauthor Luigi Fontana is more focused on protein restriction, and has recently highlighted its effect on FGF21. 

 

Fontana et al, 2016. Decreased consumption of branched-chain amino acids improves metabolic health. Cell reports, 16(2), pp.520-530.

We observed a doubling of levels of the insulin-sensitizing hormone FGF21 in subjects fed a protein restriction diet, with no change in FGF21 levels in the control group.

 

He's not the only one:

 

Gosby et al 2016. Raised FGF-21 and triglycerides accompany increased energy intake driven by protein leverage in lean, healthy individuals: a randomised trial. PloS one, 11(8), p.e0161003.

Twenty-two lean, healthy participants were fed ad libitum diets containing 10, 15 and 25% protein, over three, 4 d controlled, in-house experimental periods. Reduced dietary protein intake from 25% to 10% over a period of 4 d was associated with 14% increased energy intake, and a 6-fold increase in fasting circulating plasma FGF-21.

 

Some background:

 

Laeger et al, 2014. FGF21 is an endocrine signal of protein restriction. The Journal of clinical investigation, 124(9), pp.3913-3922.

Fazeli et al, 2015. FGF21 and the late adaptive response to starvation in humans. The Journal of clinical investigation, 125(12), p.4601.

Edited by Darryl, 07 November 2016 - 05:27 PM.

[Darryl]

And I was going to add, and yes, that's pretty much the only paper I've seen in 3 years that found a positive effect of fructose.

 

I suspect much of the issue with fructose (particularly with nonalcoholic fatty liver) is due to overloading the limited capacity of intestinal fructose transporters (we can absorb no more than around 25 g per meal), and subsequent small intestinal fermentation, dysbiosis, and transport of endotoxins. So while I personally don't consume fruit juices/honey/sweets, if the amounts were small or accompanied by enough polyphenols (which selectively inhibit bacteria and sometimes bind endotoxin), it probably doesn't present major issues. 

[mccoy]

And I was going to add, and yes, that's pretty much the only paper I've seen in 3 years that found a positive effect of fructose.

 

I suspect much of the issue with fructose (particularly with nonalcoholic fatty liver) is due to overloading the limited capacity of intestinal fructose transporters (we can absorb no more than around 25 g per meal), and subsequent small intestinal fermentation, dysbiosis, and transport of endotoxins. So while I personally don't consume fruit juices/honey/sweets, if the amounts were small or accompanied by enough polyphenols (which selectively inhibit bacteria and sometimes bind endotoxin), it probably doesn't present major issues. 

 

OK, 25 grams of fructose is the content of about one pound of apples or 2 pounds of oranges. It sounds a reasonable threshold.

From personal experience, I've ingested liberal amounts of fruit and honey in the last 40 years and health has been reasonably good. My n=1 sample must be taken at face value but many fruitarians thrive with huge amounts of fructose.

 

Re. Valter Longo's longevity diet, it has very little or no fruit. FMD has no fruit. The orange juice cited in the previous post was maybe some dressing or involved a modest quantity. I do nor share such a negative vision of natural fructose, nor many long-time health buffs do .

Edited by mccoy, 07 November 2016 - 07:57 PM.

[mccoy]

Sorry but I spotted a mistake in the last table I posted previously. I cannot edit that post any longer but hope some moderators will do that for me: pls substitute this table to the one already posted. Columns 4 and 5 (total calories) are wrong there and have been corrected here.

 FMD3.PNG   34.35KB   1 downloads

 

 

By he way, all Valter Longo shares of income from Prolon's packages sales will go to USC and NIH for research on longevity. All author's right for Longo's book ditto. I have this impression that Valter Longo is a genuine longevity enthusiast and above all he walks his talk. He personally tried 5-days water only fast and his own FMD. He eats the longevity diet described in his book and probably follows the related regime. I'm not being partisan here.

 

This is an excerpt of V. Longo's FMD as described in his book The quantities are coherent with the macros in table 2 of the patent application. The reference is an about 86 kg = 190 lbs individual. Again, I strongly suggest to buy his book when available in English, it describes in detail his suggested regime and his longevity diet as well.

 

VALTER LONGO

Fast Mimicking Diet (FMD)

·        Duration 5 days

·        Frequency once every 1 to 6 months

·        Day 1: 1100 kcal

o   500 kCal complex carbs (vegetables)

o   500 kCal healthy fats

o   Vitamins+minerals supplementation

o   Omega 3-6 supplementation

o   Unsweetened tea (3-4 cups per day)

o   25 grams vegetable proteins (mainly from nuts)

o   Water ad libitum

·        Days 2 to 5:

o   400 kCal complex carbs (vegetables)

o   400 kCal healthy fats

o   Vitamins+minerals supplementation

o   Omega 3-6 supplementation

o   Unsweetened tea (3-4 cups per day)

o   25 grams vegetable proteins (mainly from nuts)

o   Water ad libitum

·        Day 6: transition

o   ‘Complex’ carbs: includes vegetables, cereals, fruit, fruit juices, nuts....

o   Minimize fish, meat, saturated fats, cheese, milk...

 

At this point a preliminary personal scheme for the FMD is easily outlined and very easily implemented by those who use the cronometer app:

1. Determine your daily caloric intake from previous figures and tables (day 1 is different from successive days)
2. Set that figure as your target in cronometer
3. Make sure that your intake is no more than 10% proteins (plant based)
4. Make sure that about 45% is complex carbs (vegetables) and 45% is healthy fats (nuts, EVOO), very little sugars are allowed

Pls note that table 2 in the patent bears a mistake, the sum of all percentages is > 100 (110%). I believe that the sugar figures are wrong, judging from the book excerpt.

Edited by mccoy, 07 November 2016 - 07:59 PM.

[mccoy]

When i read that list i'm quickly thinking : forget about replicating that, just order the packages.

Unless members in here can figure out how to replicate it easily. There is one blog that says all you need to replicate the diet is to eat two avocados and 4 tablespoons of broad spectrum greens powder per day. I'd still prefer the prolon packages though.

https://thequantifie...mimicking-diet/

 

apaprently, Damien Blensinkopp's suggestion apparently would not meets the requirements of nutrients ratios.

 

I ran 500 grams of avocados thru the cronometer app. the result is:

 

• 800 Kcal  OK
• 77% fat   NO, too many, they should be about 45%
• 19% carbs - NO too few, they should be about 45%
• 4% proteins - marginally OK, they should be 10% but less is all right

 

What I'd do is to eat lots of vegetables, raw and cooked, use some EVOO and a few nuts, until the requirements are met.

[mccoy]

This is a practical example of day 2 to 5 on a FMD, my bodyweight, which means about 750 Kcal per day.

Incredibly, it just looks like a huge binge on vegetables. Micronutrients are relatively abundant as well (except of course B12) and essential aminoacids are not very low. Even proteins are just 50% of my usual target. Table salt has not been included.

I'm really wondering if I'd be able to eat all that bulk of vegetables. Maybe if I'm really hungry.

I cannot believe such a diet can yield the same benefits as a total fast. If so, Valter Longo and collaborators deserve a Nobel prize.

Carbs= 45%; Fats=45%; proteins= 10%

 FMD_example1.PNG   69.02KB   3 downloads

 FMD_example2.PNG   110.43KB   2 downloads

 

 

 

[nickdino]

Yup, the avocado shortcut is off.
Jeez, i'm not used to reading scientific papers but that is a long paper, informative but long.

Should i buy cronometer or is there a free app that can do the same in for this purpose?

[nickdino]

They don't give it away for free..

You have 2 options when it comes to accessing ProLon®: You can ask your HCP to register at www.prolonfmd.com and provide you with his code so you can register and buy ProLon from the same website. Or your HCP can write you a letter stating that you are healthy enough to participate in a 5-day low-calorie meal program; or your doctor can use the attached consent form. After that, please send the copies via email and you are ready to order ProLon®.


1-2 kit of ProLon - $299 each

3-6 kits -$250 each

7 kits or more $225 each.



1 kit of ProLon contains all the food you need for the 5 days.

[Darryl]

I think several of you are overinterpreting the nutrition design of the FMD. The literature favoring macronutrient ratios in animal longevity studies is sparse, and favors protein restriction and maybe lower glycemic indices. From this, the Longo lab developed their "very low calorie/low protein" rodent FMD. They don't seem to report exact composition anywhere.

 

The Prolon FMD is protein restricted (10% of energy, but hypocaloric), agnostic on carbs/fat (splitting the balance at roughly 45%/45%), and adequate in micronutrients. The bulk of calories appear to come from olives, nuts, quinoa, and pasta. These are fine, and have the positive popular connotations of Mediterranean and whole food plant based diets, and some (the nuts) have demonstrated benefits. But its primarily a product designed for shelf-life, palatability, and prescribability, rather than perfection.

 

Measure out 3-400 kcal in nuts, seeds, olives, or avocados, add any low calorie vegetable soup (minestrone, gazpacho, etc) for hunger suppression, and obtain the balance up to ~1100 kcal (day 1) or ~800 kcal (days 2-5) from starchy foods, and I'd expect similar benefits. Micronutrient (vitamin/mineral) content probably doesn't matter much for a 5 day regimen.

 

The Longo lab study doesn't attribute effects to carbohydrate or fat content, but does consider the low protein content several times. If its the low total calorie intake and protein restriction responsible for the benefit, it's entirely plausible that 800 kcal from 5 medium baked potatoes (90% starch) or 1 cup walnuts (83% fat), each with similar protein content, would have similar effects. I'd expect the potato FMD to have a compliance edge from better satiety.

Edited by Darryl, 11 November 2016 - 01:33 PM.

[mccoy]

I think several of you are overinterpreting the nutrition design of the FMD. The literature favoring macronutrient ratios in animal longevity studies is sparse, and favors protein restriction and maybe lower glycemic indices. From this, the Longo lab developed their "very low calorie/low protein" rodent FMD. They don't seem to report exact composition anywhere.

 

The Prolon FMD is protein restricted (10% of energy, but hypocaloric), agnostic on carbs/fat (splitting the balance at roughly 45%/45%), and adequate in micronutrients. The bulk of calories appear to come from olives, nuts, quinoa, and pasta. These are fine, and have the positive popular connotations of Mediterranean and whole food plant based diets, and some (the nuts) have demonstrated benefits. But its primarily a product designed for shelf-life, palatability, and prescribability, rather than perfection.

 

Measure out 3-400 kcal in nuts, seeds, olives, or avocados, add any low calorie vegetable soup (minestrone, gazpacho, etc) for hunger suppression, and obtain the balance up to ~1100 kcal (day 1) or ~800 kcal (days 2-5) from starchy foods, and I'd expect similar benefits. Micronutrient (vitamin/mineral) content probably doesn't matter much for a 5 day regimen.

 

The Longo lab study doesn't attribute effects to carbohydrate or fat content, but does consider the low protein content several times. If its the low total calorie intake and protein restriction responsible for the benefit, it's entirely plausible that 800 kcal from 5 medium baked potatoes (90% starch) or 1 cup walnuts (83% fat), each with similar protein content, would have similar effects. I'd expect the potato FMD to have a compliance edge from better satiety.

 

Re. rodent diets: as far as I know, there has been at least a pilot clinical trial on humans eating a FMD, not too much but we can say it has been at least tested on humans

 

http://www.cell.com/...(15)00224-7.pdf

 

That's exactly the Lab study you cite above.

 

 

Re. package: I fully agree that the prolon package is primarily a product designed for shelf-life, palatability, and prescribability,

 

 

Re. starchy foods in FMD. From what I read in Longo's book, there are few or no starchy foods allowed in the 'natural' FMD diet (no package). Potatoes are not cited. Complex carbohydrates are apparently ingested from non starchy vegetables, prevalently. Sure enough, as shown in my above example, that would make up an enormous bulk of vegetables. But we can always eat to satiety of those vegetables and then stop short of the allowed 400 kCal

 

So, the key appears to be as you correctly hint calories restriction AND protein restriction, whereas my impression is that carbs should be ingested in presence of high amount of fibers (non starchy vegetables).

 

These are the sources of complex carbs suggested in Longo's book (days 1 to 5):

 

Vegetables like broccoli, tomatoes, carrots, pumpkin, mushrooms, etc.

 

Starchy foods are only prescribed in the refeeding phase (from day 6 on)

Edited by mccoy, 11 November 2016 - 07:37 PM.

[mccoy]

This is another example of day 2 to 5 on a 750 Kcal basis. 46%,46%,8%, proteins=21 grams, includes a whole avocado, less bulky than the previous example.

 

 FMD_example3.PNG   60.19KB   5 downloads

[mccoy]

This is a real life example of my first attempt at FMD. 1st day, I could not reach the 1050 Kcal threshold, stopping instead at about 830 Kcal. I could have increased the energy by eating a little olive oil, but that would have unbalanced the carbs. Maybe that was not even so important, providing the proteins keep low. The diet is pretty bulky, almost 3 pounds of vegetables.

 FMD_real_1st day.PNG   65.56KB   4 downloads

 FMD_real_1st day_b.PNG   74.9KB   4 downloads

 

 

 

 

Edited by mccoy, 16 November 2016 - 08:31 PM.

[nickdino]

Thank you mccoy for adding more to this subject.
I have decided to just do something close to a waterfast for 5 days, occasionally i might eat some vegetables and fat and perhaps keep taking my supplements, omega3's-zinc carnosine-nac, and low/non caloric drinks: coffee, tea, electrolytes.

[mccoy]

Thank you mccoy for adding more to this subject.
I have decided to just do something close to a waterfast for 5 days, occasionally i might eat some vegetables and fat and perhaps keep taking my supplements, omega3's-zinc carnosine-nac, and low/non caloric drinks: coffee, tea, electrolytes.

 

nickdino, I wonder what has discouraged you from following the FMD proper...

[mccoy]

This is my 2nd day of FMD. I can't believe I ate so many vegetables. I failed to be accurate in the fats & carbs ratio, the latter prevailing on the former. Proteins at 9% are good though.

 FMD_real_2nd day.PNG   72.24KB   3 downloads

 FMD_real_2nd day_b.PNG   91.81KB   3 downloads

Edited by mccoy, 17 November 2016 - 09:06 PM.

[nickdino]

Haha awesome, i was just thinking about stating my reasons for clarification.

Well, the main reason is confusion.
Confusion about the benefits compared to a waterfast, like what does it mean to eat without the body knowing it does? Ofcourse the food youre consuming gets processed =metabolic processes=diminished somethings compared to waterfast. Maybe negative effects are diminished, maybe positive, maybe both. Untill those things get explained a waterfast is fine for me and more in line with evolutionary stresses and responses.
I am hoping that fmd is something of a bodyhack, giving (almost) all the benefits of a full waterfast but adding extra benefits.