Fasting for Health and Weight Loss Part 2

Research Proves Skipping Meals is Healthy

“Overeating is a big problem now in this country, it’s particularly troublesome that a lot of children are overweight. It’s still unclear the best way to somehow get people to eat less …. One possibility is skipping a meal a day,” Mattson said. “Our study suggests that skipping meals is not bad for you.”

Dr. Carol A. Braunschweig of the University of Illinois at Chicago, who was not part of the study team, said she was intrigued by the suggestion that a drastic change in eating patterns might have benefits.

“With the current epidemic of obesity and physical inactivity facing the U.S. today, identification of a beneficial eating pattern that could address some of the untoward effects of excess weight would be a very significant finding,” she said.

Mattson said an earlier study found that mice that fasted every other day had extended lifespans and the new experiment found the mice also did better in factors involved in diabetes and nerve damage in the brain similar to Alzheimer’s disease.

“We think what happens is going without food imposes a mild stress on cells and cells respond by increasing their ability to cope with more severe stress,” Mattson said. “It’s sort of analogous to physical effects of exercise on muscle cells.”

He said the researchers think this stress occurs throughout the body, and that may be the reason fasting seems to increase lifespan and the animals become more resistant to the diseases of aging.

The dieting mice consumed 40% less food than mice eating normally and lost nearly half their body weight (49 percent) in the experiment, while the fasting mice weighed only a little less than mice eating normally.

In recent years, some nutritionists have recommended eating smaller amounts more often, but this study did not deal with that type of eating pattern.

In the new report, the researchers said both the fasting mice and those on a restricted diet had concentrations of blood sugar and insulin that were significantly lower than mice allowed to eat whenever they wanted. Indeed, insulin levels in the fasting mice were even a bit lower than the dieting ones.

Fasting Increases Resistance to Toxins
At the end of the experiment all three groups of mice were injected with a toxin that damages cells in the part of the brain called the hippocampus. It’s cell damage there that that is involved in Alzheimer’s in humans.

When the mouse brains were later analyzed the scientists found that the brains of the fasting mice were more resistant to damage by the toxin than the brains of either dieting mice or those eating normally.

The bottom line is calories in and out at the end of a 24 hour period. You want the most nutritious calories for each calorie that passes your lips.

Your friend in fitness,

Kelli

source: http://argylebootcamp.blogspot.com/2008/07/fasting-for-health-and-weight-loss.html