In this day and age, we are constantly overwhelmed with many different food options and diets. Everywhere we turn, we see commercials, ads and pop-ups telling us what to eat. As a long time weightlifter and athlete, I have followed many types of diets in the past and never really had sustained success with any of them. Lately, my body just couldn’t keep the midsection weight off, especially as I continue to get older. Much to my surprise, I recently discovered that while what I eat plays a big role, when I eat has become more important.
Intermittent fasting (IF) was a method of eating that continued to appear on my radar, so I decided to do some more research and give it a try. As Delos Therapists, we are constantly learning about the human body and ways to improve the function of our muscles while diminishing pain, stiffness and fibrosis in the fascia. While learning about the cells of the body and what intermittent fasting does for those cells, I quickly realized that IF is not a diet at all. Intermittent fasting does not define what we eat, but rather tells us when to eat. We can also think of it as time restricted feeding. So what are the benefits of abstaining from food for specific time periods?
Since Delos Therapy is in the business of making people move and feel better, my focus in answering this question will be on the regenerative properties of the fasting process. The restorative properties of fasting is largely based on the initiation of a process in the body called autophagy. Autophagy recycles, processes and removes damaged components such as dysfunctional proteins, damaged DNA and other cellular debris. In 2016, Japanese biologist Yoshinori Ohsumi was awarded the Nobel Prize for his discoveries on how cells recycle themselves through the cellular process of autophagy. Autophagy can also work alongside other processes to remove entire cells, especially damaged cells, in a process called apoptosis or programmed cell death. Apoptosis happens in many cell types, especially the immune system. This clears out old and damaged immune cells and replaces them with new, vibrant cells from their stem cell precursors.
Another benefit of autophagy is the activation and proliferation of stem cells to repopulate the cells that were removed by the process of apoptosis. This repopulation of stem cells – a process done under hormonal control – regenerates tissues, organs and has deep effects on organ systems. In other words, the restorative and regenerative properties are all activated and enhanced in a fasted state, and depending on carbohydrate intake, begin at around 16 hours of fasting and ramp up from there.
As soon as I turned 40, my body completely changed and I had a hard time decreasing adipose (fat) tissue during many different attempts to lose weight. Talking to others about this subject, I realized that my body was in a fed state at all times and I never initiated autophagy in my body. I always seemed to be hungry, bloated, extremely irritable, sluggish and foggy if I didn’t eat every 4 hours. I started to get allergic reactions from eating some foods, my digestion patterns changed and I just couldn’t seem to figure out what was happening to me.
I gave IF a try because I really wanted to get the benefits of autophagy so that I could feel better and look better. Within the first two days of IF, I began to feel different. My digestion was the first thing to change. Things started to move properly again. I noticed that I wasn’t hungry anymore and I wasn’t bloated as usual. My skin even started to clear up and my head wasn’t as foggy. I started to train in a fasted state and my workouts became better as I got even stronger. I was actually able to add muscle mass, which had also become increasingly more difficult as I aged. My midsection has stayed leaner even during the holidays and especially recently while we’ve been staying at home and moving far less.
In the early part of the article, I talked about how the process of autophagy removes dysfunctional proteins and regenerates healthy cells. The main cell type in fascia is a fibroblast, which produces the major protein in fascia called collagen. The process of autophagy therefore removes damaged fibroblasts and activates stem cells to produce more robust fibroblasts. These fibroblasts in turn produce healthier, more resilient collagen that helps with strength, force transmission, mobility and stability. As such, it’s not surprising that my workouts became more effective during IF. While there are many combinations, standard practice of IF is to fast for 16 hours and eat inside an 8 hour window. This is great to get some cellular repair, but the latest research indicates that it takes 3 to 5 days to kick-start apoptosis and the repopulation with stem cells only happens after a period of refeeding, which increases hormones that activates this process. Experts have recommended that we should all do this extended fast 2 or 3 times a year. Once a year, a prolonged fast of at least 7 days would maximize the repopulation of new healthy cells. I know from personal experience that a 24 hour fast I recently completed has me experiencing less bloating and has made my body feel revitalized.
As we start to come out of this stay-at-home time due to the coronavirus, fasting could surely benefit us all in more ways than one, from impacting our immunity to re-energizing our bodies. What started off as just another attempt for me to lose weight after turning 40 became a new way of life to help me age better. I learned much more about the great benefits of fasting and will continue to explore the many ways to fast so that I can regenerate my body for the rest of my life. For those who have been contemplating intermittent fasting and even prolonged fasting, I can confirm that it has had a variety of tremendous benefits for me. For longevity, revitalization, overall wellbeing and even aesthetics, I encourage everyone to do some further research to see what style of IF works best and then give it a try.
- Intermittent Fasting, Autophagy and Physical Changes In The Body - June 16, 2020
- Why Sudden Body Pain Might Not Be So Sudden - May 7, 2019
- What Jiu-Jitsu and Delos Therapy Have Taught Me About Muscle Health - November 1, 2017