FROM THE ORIGINS OF FASTING TO THE FASTING MIMICKING DIET

There is no civilization, culture, or religion in which fasting has not played an important role. Let’s see together its evolution and how we got to the Fasting Mimicking Diet and the ProLon® kit.

The origins of fasting

The origins of fasting are lost in the mists of time. In ancient times, fasting was a mystical-religious practice with which men intended to purify their bodies to get close to the divinity. Fasting has a prominent position in the history of medicine: Hippocrates, Aulo Gellio, the Salernitana School, Avicenna studied and practiced it.

Fasting began to acquire medical-scientific value in the nineteenth century, with the French physiologist Chossat, who researched pigeons. He demonstrated that, during extreme fasting, the least important tissues are used for the survival of the organism, and the vital organs are stored or with a minimum loss. During fasting, the organism sets in motion a "superior intelligence", using mainly the less noble tissues, starting from the fat. 

Today, it has been demonstrated the physiological mechanism that allows fasting without any damage but taking advantage. Thanks to the various studies that have shown that the brain is equipped with enzymes that can metabolize ketone bodies. In particular, it has been shown that the brain, during a fasting period, can use the ketone bodies to produce the necessary sugars.

Types of fasting

Today we know different types of fasting.

• Time-Restricted eating (TRE). In its simplest terms, TRE limits your food intake to a specific number of hours each day. The belief is that by shortening the number of hours you eat during each 24-hour cycle, you will eat less and thus take in fewer calories and extend the time you fast. As long as you eat reasonably sized portions of healthy foods within a 12-hour window of each day, chances are good you will enjoy the fasting benefits that are not too difficult to follow and stick with over the long haul.

• Intermittent Fasting. An intermittent fasting diet prescribes a diet approach that alternates between periods of eating and fasting. During an intermittent fasting program, the individual will fast for a while, usually no more than 48hrs, and then eat normally for the remaining period per week. The most common example of this is known as the “5:2” diet, where calories are severely restricted for 2 days (preferably non-consecutive), and then normal eating occurs for the other 5 days in the week.

Other intermittent fasting programs include complete fasts where no food is consumed for a specific length of time (commonly 16-24 hours), also non-consecutive days per week. While weight loss and fat-burning results can be substantial with intermittent fasting programs, benefits that promote changes at the cellular level require a type of fasting program that extends beyond 48 hours.

• Prolonged Fasting. The prolonged fasting diet is fasting for an extended period; usually anywhere from 4 to 7 consecutive days. The main goal of this type of fasting diet is to initiate the stress of fasting onto the body for several days, which stimulates innate changes at the cellular level to help promote health.

An example of a prolonged fast would be either a water fast for a series of 3-7 consecutive days (which should always be done under the care of a physician). Another example of prolonged fasting, potentially safer and easier to complete, is the Fasting Mimicking Diet (FMD) where specific foods can be eaten while still allowing the body to remain in a fasting state and experience many of the same benefits.

Fasting Mimicking Diet

The Fasting Mimicking Diet is the first and only meal program that has gone through clinical trials at the University of Southern California and been patented for its anti-aging effects. This 5-day meal program provides scientifically researched micro-and macro-nutrients in precise quantities and combinations that nourish you but are not recognized as food by your body and therefore mimics a fasting state.

The Fasting Mimicking Diet eating plan nourishes your body while supporting overall health. What are the fasting benefits and the ProLon results?

• Enhance performance. Feel greater focus, clarity, and energy, through the benefits of a healthier body;
• Modulation of body composition. The ProLon diet can induce weight loss while protecting lean body mass. The rate of weight loss may change from subject to subject.
• Enhance cellular reset. Trigger the beneficial effect of caloric restriction and promote repairing from within;
• Metabolic health. Help maintain metabolic health to support overall wellness

Do you want more information about the Fasting Mimicking Diet? Would you like to know more about the ProLon diet and its ingredients? Get in touch with our knowledgeable nutritionists.