Can Fasting Really Add 20 Years to Your Life? A Scientific Look at Hunger and Longevity

Can Fasting Really Add 20 Years to Your Life? A Scientific Look at Hunger and LongevityThe saying "food is the staff of life" reflects the central role of diet throughout human history. From the raw-food diets of early humans to modern society's pursuit of balanced nutrition, human eating habits have undergone a dramatic transformation

Can Fasting Really Add 20 Years to Your Life? A Scientific Look at Hunger and Longevity

• The saying "food is the staff of life" reflects the central role of diet throughout human history. From the raw-food diets of early humans to modern society's pursuit of balanced nutrition, human eating habits have undergone a dramatic transformation. However, excessive focus on food has led to problems, such as the increasing prevalence of "diseases of affluence" caused by overnutrition. The Huangdi Neijing (Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon) mentions that "all five Zang organs and six Fu organs store essence, and at noon, the Yangming meridian is at its peak, making food ingested difficult to digest," providing a basis for the traditional Chinese medicine concept of "Guw bsh" (not eating after noon). "Guw bsh," along with more extreme practices like eating only once a day or even stricter fasting, are considered longevity secrets by many. So, is the claim of "fasting adding 20 years to your life" scientifically supported? This article delves into the complex relationship between hunger and healthy longevity.

I. Hunger and Healthy Longevity: A Delicate Balance

The theory of fasting for weight loss has existed for a long time. Weight loss is beneficial for health and may therefore extend lifespan. However, excessive hunger harms health. Therefore, the relationship between hunger and healthy longevity is both intimate and delicate. Many domestic and international scientists have conducted in-depth research on this relationship, primarily focusing on healthy adults.

A clinical trial called "calorie restriction" involved participants restricting their caloric intake by 14% for two years. Results showed that the calorie-restricted group experienced reduced body fat, increased muscle mass, and produced more T cells with stronger immune function. The proportion of body fat also changed in a way that is favorable to longevity. This suggests that appropriately limiting caloric intake (moderate "hunger") is beneficial for healthy longevity.

However, this doesn't mean complete fasting or extreme dietary restriction leads to longevity. Another study involving over 20,000 people showed that individuals eating only one meal a day had an 80% higher risk of cardiovascular disease and a 30% higher mortality rate compared to those eating three meals a day. Compared to those eating two meals a day, the risk of cardiovascular disease was 10% higher, and mortality was 7% higher. This indicates that excessive fasting can lead to malnutrition, increasing the risk of disease and hindering healthy longevity.

Therefore, while ensuring comprehensive nutrition and normal metabolism, moderate dietary control, keeping the body in a state of slight hunger, may have a positive effect on healthy longevity. Whether "fasting" can add 20 years to one's life lacks definitive evidence, but moderate caloric restriction and maintaining a healthy weight are undoubtedly beneficial to health.

II. Excessive Hunger and Autophagy: A Double-Edged Sword

Understanding the effects of excessive hunger on cells requires understanding autophagy. Autophagy is a widespread phenomenon in eukaryotic cells, referring to the process by which a cell engulfs and degrades its own structures. It is a crucial mechanism for cell renewal, maintaining internal environmental stability, and is particularly important in responding to emergencies such as hypoxia, hunger, and infection.

Autophagy accelerates under starvation. When nutrients are insufficient, cells activate autophagy to survive, degrading damaged, denatured, or aging proteins or organelles. The degradation products (such as amino acids, fatty acids, and nucleotides) are reused to provide energy or synthesize new cellular components.

From a longevity perspective, autophagy offers benefits:

1. Clearing senescent proteins: Autophagy removes misfolded or damaged proteins, preventing their accumulation from interfering with normal cellular function.

2. Maintaining organelle quality: Autophagy selectively removes damaged organelles (such as mitochondria), ensuring the normal function of organelles.

3. Regulating cellular metabolism: Autophagy optimizes cellular metabolic patterns, helping cells better adapt to environmental changes.

However, excessive autophagy due to excessive hunger can also lead to cell death. Prolonged severe malnutrition can cause insufficient cellular energy supply, overactivating autophagy and ultimately leading to cell damage or death. The mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) is a key regulator of autophagy, inhibiting it when nutrients are abundant and decreasing its activity under nutrient deficiency, leading to uncontrolled autophagy.

Therefore, autophagy is a double-edged sword. Moderate autophagy contributes to healthy longevity, while excessive autophagy causes cell damage.

III. How to Scientifically and Reasonably Utilize Hunger to Promote Healthy Longevity

To fully leverage the positive effects of hunger while avoiding its negative effects, the key lies in "moderation" and "science."

1. Scientific Eating: Controlling Food Intake and Frequency

Controlling food intake involves controlling the amount of food per meal and the number of meals per day. For healthy adults, "eating until 70-80% full" is often advocated meaning eating until the stomach is not completely full, but interest in food has decreased. Adolescents in their growth and development phase, needing sufficient nutrition, can eat to about 90% fullness; the elderly, with slower metabolisms, should eat to about 60-70% fullness.

2. Reasonable Food Variety

Ensuring nutritional balance is crucial. Each meal should include staple foods, protein, and vegetables, combining coarse and refined grains, multiple protein sources, and a variety of vegetables to meet the body's needs for various nutrients.

3. Other Healthy Lifestyle Choices

In addition to dietary control, good habits such as sufficient sleep, regular exercise, and a positive attitude also promote healthy longevity.

Conclusion

The claim that "fasting can add 20 years to your life" holds some truth. Moderate caloric restriction, relying on autophagy to clear senescent organelles and proteins, may indeed have a positive effect on healthy longevity. However, "hunger" is not a panacea; excessive hunger is harmful to health. The key lies in scientifically and reasonably controlling diet, ensuring nutritional balance, and combining other healthy lifestyle choices to truly achieve healthy longevity. Blindly fasting or adopting extreme dietary methods is not advisable; professional guidance is recommended.

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• One meal a day, can add 20 years to your life? Scientists have found: Cells eat themselves during hunger. March 24, 2024. History is somewhat cold. [Replace "[Replace with actual link]" with the actual link]

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