Search Weight Loss Topics:

Home » Diet » USC researchers find that interrupting a high-fat, high-calorie diet with regular cycles of a fasting-mimicking diet helps mice live a longer,…

image:Regular cycles of a fasting-mimicking diet improved health and lifespans in mice that otherwise ate a high-fat diet (illustration by Jonathan Haase/University of Southern California) view more

Credit: Jonathan Haase/University of Southern California

In a newUSCstudy on thehealtheffects of alow-caloriedietthat mimics fastingin the body, researchers found regularfive-daycycles of the diet in miceseemed tocounteractthedetrimentaleffects of theirusualhigh-fat, high-calorie diet.The study, published today inNatureMetabolism, analyzedthe diet,healthand lifespan of three different groups of mice over two years.

The findingspoint tothe potentialofusingafasting-mimicking dietasmedicine, according to the researchers.A fasting-mimicking diet, or FMD,is a low-calorie diet that tricks the body into a fasting state.

One group of mice ate a high-calorie, high-fat diet(with 60% of their calories from fat)and became unhealthy and overweight.Asecondgroup of mice atethe samepoordietas the first oneforapproximately 4 weeks, followed byfivedays where they were fedan FMDand two days of a normal, healthy diet.

Study authors saythose brief diet interventions weresufficient for that second groupto return to normal levels of cholesterol, blood pressure and weight. Notably, the mice who ate the fasting-mimicking diet forfivedays out of each month livedas long asathirdgroupof micethatwas consistently fed a healthy diet.

In humans, obesitycaused by ahigh-fat, high calorie diet is a major risk factor for metabolic syndrome,diabetesand cardiovascular disease.

The study indicates that its possible for mice toeata relatively bad diet that is counterbalanced by five days of a fasting-mimicking diet, saidstudy seniorauthorValterLongo,thedirector of the Longevity Institute at the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology and professor of biological sciences at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences.Our major discovery is that intervening with this diet made theirheartsmore resilientand better functioning than the mice who only ate a high-fat, high-calorie diet.

Thestudy authorssay cycles of FMDappeared to preventobesityin miceby reducing the accumulation of visceral and subcutaneous fatallwithout causing lean body mass loss. FMDcyclesalsoappeared to improveheart function andpreventhigh blood sugar and high cholesterol.

According to researchers, theeffect of FMD cycles on gene expression indicateda role for fat cell reprogramming in obesity prevention.Specifically, the diets impactonfataccumulationand cardiac aging could explainprotection from earlydeath caused by a high-fat, high-calorie diet.

Theresearcherscaution these results should not be misinterpreted.Theyemphasize that they dont recommend that humans should eat a high-calorie, high-fat diet thats mitigated by periodic fasting.

They say, however, the potential benefits ofcounteractingpoor diets in this way should befurtherstudied in clinical trials.These strategies could providepotential health benefits for people who may not be willing or able to change their diets on an everyday basis.

Themost effective dietsat preventing or mitigating obesity in humans, includingthe ketogenic diet,require oftenradical and daily changes in dietary habits, the study authors say. Those requirementsresultin very low long-term compliance.

Longo said the study may indicate a sweet spot for the FMDin miceof five days a month.

Even after the mice in experimental group went back to their high-fat, high-calorie diet, the improvedfat breakdownin their bodiescontinuedforafairly long period,Longoexplained. Isthere a similar sweet spotfor humans,whereyou canintervene for a few daysand stillkeep breaking down fatfor several weeks?

Early FMD trials indicate potential health benefits for humans,headded.Several clinical studies published byLongoandcolleaguesindicate thata monthly FMDcaused loss of fat masswithout loss of muscle massandimproved cardiometabolic risk factors,especiallyinoverweightorobesehumans.They say this newmouse study showsthat these monthly FMD cyclescanactually restorenormal heart and metabolichealth and lifespan in animals fed a high-fat andhigh-calorie diet, a lifelong study that cannot be done in humans.

###

Additional authors includeAmrendraMishra, Hamed Mirzaei, NovellaGuidi,Gerardo Navarrete, Min Wei, SebastianBrandhorst, Stefano DiBiaseandTodd E. Morganof theLongevity Institute andtheUSCLeonardDavis School of Gerontology;ManlioVinciguerraof theInternational Clinical Research Center, St Annes University Hospital, Brno, Czech Republic;Alice Moutonof theDepartment of Ecology and Evolutionary Biologyat UCLA;MarinaLinardicandMatteo Pellegriniof theDepartment of Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biologyat UCLA;Francesca RappaandRosario Baroneof theSection of Human Anatomy, Department of Biomedicine, Neuroscience and Advanced Diagnostic (BIND), University of Palermo;S. Ram Kumarof theDepartment of Surgeryat theKeck School of Medicine of USC;Peter S. Contiof theMolecular Imaging Center, Department of Radiologyat theKeck School of MedicineatUSC;Michel BernierandRafael de Caboof theTranslational Gerontology Branch, Intramural Research Program of the National Institute on Agingat theNational Institutes of Health.

Funding for the study was provided by the USC Edna JonesChair fund and National Institutes of Health grant P01 AG055369-01 to Longo. The work was also funded in part by the Intramural Research Program of theNational Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health. The researchers also acknowledge support from the USC Molecular Imaging Center and USC Leonard Davis School Aging Murine Phenotyping Core Facility. Mouton was supported by UCLA QCB Collaboratory Postdoctoral Fellowship. Computational and storage services associated with the Hoffman2 Shared Cluster were provided by the UCLA Institute for Digital Research and Educations Research Technology Group.

Longo is the founder of and has an ownership interest in L-Nutra; the companys food products are used in studies of the fasting-mimicking diet. Longos interest in L-Nutra was disclosed and managed per USCs conflicts-of-interest policies. USC has an ownership interest in L-Nutra and the potential to receive royalty payments from L-Nutra. USCs financial interest in the company has been disclosed and managed under USCs institutional conflict of interest policies.

Nature Metabolism

Experimental study

Animals

Fasting-mimicking diet prevents high-fat diet effect on cardiometabolic risk and lifespan

14-Oct-2021

Longo is the founder of and has an ownership interest in L-Nutra; the companys food products are used in studies of the fasting-mimicking diet. Longos interest in L-Nutra was disclosed and managed per USCs conflicts-of-interest policies. USC has an ownership interest in L-Nutra and the potential to receive royalty payments from L-Nutra. USCs financial interest in the company has been disclosed and managed under USCs institutional conflict of interest policies.

Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.

Go here to read the rest:
USC researchers find that interrupting a high-fat, high-calorie diet with regular cycles of a fasting-mimicking diet helps mice live a longer,...

Your Full Name
Your Email
Your Phone Number
Select your age (30+ only)	30313233343536373839404142434445464748495051525354555657585960616263646566676869707172737475767778798081828384858687888990919293949596979899100101102103104105106107108109110111112113114115116117118119120
Select Your US State	Select Your StateAlabamaAlaskaArizonaArkansasCaliforniaColoradoConnecticutDelawareFloridaGeorgiaHawaiiIdahoIllinoisIndianaIowaKansasKentuckyLouisianaMaineMarylandMassachusettsMichiganMinnesotaMississippiMissouriMontanaNebraskaNevadaNew HampshireNew JerseyNew MexicoNew YorkNorth CarolinaNorth DakotaOhioOklahomaOregonPennsylvaniaRhode IslandSouth CarolinaSouth DakotaTennesseeTexasUtahVermontVirginiaWashingtonWashington,DCWest VirginiaWisconsinWyoming
Program Choice	Select Your ProgramInjectable HGHInjectable TestoteroneInjectable SermorelinInjectable Weight LossInjectable HCG DietInjectable Vitamins
Confirm over 30 years old	Yes
Confirm that you resident in USA	Yes
This is a Serious Inquiry	Yes
Message:

Home » Diet » USC researchers find that interrupting a high-fat, high-calorie diet with regular cycles of a fasting-mimicking diet helps mice live a longer,…