Westernization of dietary habits….

 

Westernization of dietary habits….

At the beginning of the 20^th  century, a new approach to food began to gradually form in European culture. Under the conditions of the scientific and technological revolution, the production of semi-finished products and concentrates has expanded, and supermarkets have appeared in all Western countries aimed at selling packaged products. The increase in imports and the introduction into everyday life of elements of mechanization and automation, characteristic of the life of the people even in developing countries.

In the United States and most Western countries, diet-related chronic diseases represent the single largest cause of morbidity and mortality. These diseases are epidemic in contemporary Westernized populations and typically afflict 50–65% of the adult population, yet they are rare or nonexistent in hunter-gatherers and other less Westernized people. (Until about 12,000 to 11,000 years ago, when agriculture and animal domestication emerged in southwest Asia and in Mesoamerica, all peoples were hunter-gatherers. A hunter-gatherer is a human living a lifestyle in which most or all food is obtained by foraging (gathering edible wild plants) and hunting (pursuing and killing of wild animals, including catching fish).

The food preferences of the population are always influenced by other cultures, but during past many decades, new, Western trends (Westernization of style of eating and drinking) in the food system became especially evident. They manifested themselves in the lives of ordinary people. Chips and crackers appeared in ordinary life of people of developing countries. Linguists attribute this name for deep-fried potatoes to new words and expressions of the 1960s. The press wrote about this product :- “Potato chips" are made from special varieties of potatoes, fried in refined cottonseed or sunflower oil, have a pleasant taste and high calorie content. Thus, food samples of Western everyday life entered into ordinary life of people from developing countries.

The appearance of dairy products in special packaging and their increased consumption, as a rule, pasteurized and sterilized, can also be called a sign of the Westernization of the taste orientations of people in the developing countries in the past 50 years. (A regular consumption of milk and milk products (except butter) are known to have higher insulinemic response causing hyperinsulinemia.)  A kind of "Westernization" of nutrition.

Milk, yogurt, and ice cream, despite having relatively low glycemic loads, are highly insulinotropic, with insulin indexes comparable with white bread made from refined wheat flour. Fructose maintains a low glycemic index of 23 and a low glycemic load, but paradoxically it is routinely used to induce insulin resistance at high (35–65% of energy) dietary concentrations.

The Western dietary pattern is characterised by higher consumption frequencies of bakery products made from refined wheat flour like bread, cakes/pastries. Cereal milling techniques developed in the Industrial era in late 19^th century allowed for the large scale production of refined wheat flour, a chief ingredient of backery products.

Rising economic, growing standards of living, increasing westernized lifestyles and lack of time to prepare complicated home cooked meals or breakfast in developing countries of Asia Pacific region are driving the demand for baked food.

With the agricultural revolution about 10,000 years ago and especially since the industrial revolution 250 years ago, human nutrition has changed significantly.

While human nutrition has changed significantly over the last 10,000 years, and especially over the last 250 years, the human genome has remained largely unchanged. Changes in diet and lifestyle occurred too fast for the human genome to adapt to, therefore, humans are still biologically adapted to the environment of their preagricultural ancestors.

All over the world, at present, human physiology is characterized by overeating, excessive consumption of easily digestible carbohydrates with frequent snacking and consumption of sucrose-containing drinks.

Western dietary habits induce a high postprandial insulin response. Frequent snacking and frequent consumption of easily digestible carbohydrates and sucrose-containing drinks throughout the day – is a characteristic of western dietary pattern.

Westernized populations are plagued by a plethora of chronic non-infectious degenerative diseases, termed as “civilization diseases or consumption diseases”, like obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, cancer, autoimmune diseases, Alzheimer’s disease and many more like myopia (Short-sightedness) and tooth decay, diseases which are rare or virtually absent in hunter-gatherers and other non-westernized populations.

The transition from Paleolithic nutrition to Western diets, along with lack of corresponding genetic adaptations, cause significant distortions of the fine-tuned metabolism that has evolved over millions of years of human evolution in adaptation to Paleolithic diets. The evolutionary collision of our ancient genome with the nutritional qualities of recently introduced foods may underlie many of the chronic diseases of Western civilization.

Low serum insulin levels and persistently excellent insulin sensitivity are characteristic of Hunter Gatherers, but only as long as these people adhere to their traditional “paleolithic” diets. Otherwise, transition to a “Western diet” (WD, as defined here) invariably leads to a dramatic increase in insulin resistance (IR).

Living organisms thrive best in the milieu and on the diet to which they were evolutionarily adapted; this is a fundamental axiom of biology”. This statement is based on the fact that the metabolism of each species has genetically adapted to a particular type of food over long periods of evolution.

Insulin resistance is of paramount importance for the pathogenesis of civilization diseases. WDs can play a causative role in the development of hyperinsulinemia and insulin resistance (IR) as they produce high levels of insulin. Diseases of insulin resistance are frequently referred to as “diseases of civilization". Diseases of insulin resistance are rare or absent in hunter-gatherer and other less westernized societies living and eating in their traditional manner. WDs high-sucrose diets, diets with a high Glycemic load (GL) and high-fructose diets produce which  cause insulin resistance and insulin hypersecretion. Refined grain and sugar products nearly always maintain much higher glycemic loads than unprocessed fruits and vegetables. Unrefined wild plant foods like those available to contemporary hunter-gatherers typically exhibit low glycemic load indices.

As mentioned earlier, due to the westernization of diet and lifestyle, insulin levels are increased much of the day. WDs cause a high postprandial insulin production and can produce insulin hypersecretion and hyperinsulinemia, which promote the development of diseases of civilization.

Several human and animal intervention studies showed that Mediterranean or Paleolithic diets have highly beneficial effects on risk factors for diseases of civilization.

Over the course of 6–8 generations, but especially in the last 2–3 generations, there has been a pandemic of degenerative diseases known as civilization diseases. With the increasing spread of Western diet and lifestyle worldwide, lifestyle diseases are also rapidly increasing in developing countries also.

So, what are improper nutritional habits? Improper nutritional habits has two parts….

1) 1. Type of food (i.e. Glycemic load of food, insulinemic load of food, calorific value of food etc.)

2)     2.  The gap between solid food intake....

Type of food…..

For many centuries, traditions in human nutrition and their gustatory habits have developed in such a way that plant-based unrefined food was the most important part of the diet. People ate root crops, vegetables, wholemeal bread, cereals and legumes, fruits and berries. With this food, in addition to the nutrients necessary for the body, a large amount of plant fiber was obtained - at least 25-40 gram per day !!

For many centuries, it is precisely this amount of dietary fiber that the human body has best adapted to - its digestive system and metabolism. Researchers call this amount appropriate for improving health, but clarify that eating 30 grams or more will be more beneficial.

Most people around the world eat less than 20 grams of fiber a day. In the UK, only one in 10 adults eats 30 grams of fiber a day. Eating significant amounts of fiber also leads to a decrease in the incidence of type 2 diabetes and bowel cancer, weight loss, blood pressure and cholesterol levels. The more fiber people eat, the better.

In the XX century. the rapid development of science and technology has led to the emergence of new technologies for processing agricultural raw materials for cooking. In the past few decades, diseases have become widespread among the population of industrialized countries, resulting from the costs of industrial and scientific and technological revolutions and environmental deformation.

A special place among the causes of civilization diseases is occupied by inadequate, often excessive nutrition, with the use of  foods prepared from refined flour. The susceptibility to diseases of consumption is the result of prolonged consumption of refined carbohydrates and insufficient intake of dietary fiber.

The so-called "fast" carbohydrates or easily digestible carbohydrates (White bread, refined white rice, sweets, sugary drinks) - have a high glycemic index and cause an insulin shock 30 minutes after consumption (abrupt rise in the blood insulin levels). When consuming a large number of fast carbohydrates, the body increases the secretion of insulin and suppresses the secretion of glucagon. Then blood sugar drops sharply and after 60-90 minutes causes a false feeling of hunger. Problems with insulin sensitivity is the major factor in the all types of diseases of civilization. Improving your body’s response to insulin through proper nutritional habits can help fight the diseases of civilization.

The colossal efforts made by people to satisfy their taste sensations have broken centuries-old traditions in human nutrition, especially in economically developed countries. The man began to eat more frequently and that too consuming high-calorie and refined food.

Highly refined and concentrated foods with a predominance of easily digestible carbohydrates replace natural food from the daily diet. Sugar, sweets, a wide variety of pasta and confectionery products appeared. Consumption of canned foods has increased significantly. All this has made serious changes in the structure of nutrition.

A high risk of type 2 diabetes linked with the  frequent and large consumption of white rice. The risk is most prominent for the South Asian, South East Asian and and population of China. White rice causes the blood sugar levels to spike upon consumption due to its high glycemic load. Carbohydrates (mainly in the form of white rice) make up nearly 80 per cent of calories consumed in many Asian countries. The higher glucose load is the disadvantage of white rice consumption, but you can rest assured that white rice will be generally free of gut irritants, phytic acid and deleterious lectins.

We have forgotten the taste of natural food. What is useful seems to us to be unpalatable. We began to eat two to three times less fiber than our ancestors. The rise in processed food production, rapid urbanization and changing lifestyles have led to health-threatening changes in the way people eat around the world. Improper nutritional habits are one of the main causes of cardiovascular diseases, diseases of the digestive system, diseases associated with metabolic disorders.

Today, people consume excessive and frequent amounts of foods high in easily digestible carbohydrates,  refined sugars and salt, while at the same time critically low in fruits, vegetables and other types of fiber, such as whole grains.

Nutrition experts at the World Health Organization (WHO) recommend eating at least five servings of fruits and vegetables (approximately 400 grams) every day. It is this amount of fresh vegetables and fruits that has been proven to reduce the risk of developing many non-communicable diseases and supply the body with an adequate amount of fiber.

The gap between solid food intake…..

The Ancient Romans had only one substantial meal, usually consumed at around 16:00 h (coena), and they believed that eating more than once per day was unhealthy.

Recent prospective research has demonstrated a significant increase in disease risk with a high meal frequency (≥6 meals/day) as compared to a low meal frequency (1–2 meals/day). Recent large prospective studies seem to support that frequent snacking increases the risk of type 2 diabetes. Those who eat too often have an increased risk of developing various diseases of civilization. Apparently, the key role for the body is played not by the fact of food composition, but by the interval between meals.

According to the results of scientific research, after 24 hours of fasting, the secretion of somatotropic hormone (growth hormone) by the pituitary gland sharply increases in a person. It also removes intoxication of the body through a beneficial effect on the thyroid gland.

Even scientific studies show that in the 40s of last century, in the United States, the frequency of meals was 2.7 times a day, and now it is already an average of 6 times a day. The time between meals in the US has dropped from 271 minutes in 1977 to 208 minutes, now. This is close to a 30% reduction in the intervals between meals.

Relatively recently, Western specialists came to the conclusion that there is nothing wrong with skipping the breakfast and giving yourself a “hunger strike” until lunch or even dinner.

When you eat throughout the day and never skip a meal, your body can adapt by burning sugar (glucose) as its primary fuel, which stops enzymes that utilize and burn stored fat. As a result, you become a sugar burner as opposed to a fat burner. You may become progressively more insulin-resistant.

Constant snacking and frequent meals keep insulin levels elevated. Such a habit will lead to an increase in insulin levels even in the case of a low carbohydrate or low-calorie diet. An increase in insulin levels occurs with any meal, regardless of its composition. Any snacks :- both protein and carbohydrates increase insulin levels. Breaks between meals (Solid food intake) should be sufficiently longer. Otherwise, the level of insulin will not have time to return to the original level after the previous meal. According to the expert, frequent  snacking “on the run” throughout the day increase the likelihood of developing insulin resistance.

Sustained reduction in insulin production can be achieved only and exclusively by reducing the number of meals per day. The diseases of civilization have hyperinsulinemia at their root cause. Hence they are called as hyperinsulinemic diseases of civilization.

Nutritional habits and diseases

It has long been observed that our food choices and habits affect our health. Ancient Greek doctor and physician Hippocrates was the first who formulated the thesis: You are what you eat, which indicates direct influence of the quality of nutrition on health.

About 2500 years ago, Hippocrates – considered by many to be the father of modern medicine – said, “Let thy food be thy medicine and thy medicine be thy food”. (Let your food be your medicine,and your medicine your food)

Even the Roman physician Galen believed that disease prevention, walking, moderate running and a simple diet are the basis of healthy old age.

Chinese wisdom says: “If you are sick, change your diet, if it doesn’t help, change your lifestyle. If this does not help, go to the doctor. “

A direct link between human nutritional habits and disease has been scientifically proven. According to world scientists, about 80% of diseases in the world are associated with nutritional habits. It has a direct or indirect effect on most diseases. “Diseases of civilization” are associated with a more frequent food intake throughout the day, a diet poor in fruits and vegetables, and the excessive use of refined flour, white rice, sweet and fatty foods.

Nutritional habits are very important part of our life and the desire to eat well is not a human weakness. On the contrary, food should be tasty, varied, appetizing, satisfying. In addition, it must be healthy and sufficiently longer gap between solid food intake should be maintained !!! Many delicious and nutritious meals can be prepared with a healthy diet. And then you will not only get pleasure, but also keep your health.

After all, more than 70% of diseases are caused by unhealthy diet habits. The highest mortality rates for diseases – cardiovascular and cancer – are diet-related diseases, and we can reduce the risk of these diseases with proper change in dietary habits.

Dietary habits and preferences due to the growing prosperity of the population in many countries have led to a marked increase in the risk of diseases of civilization.

Some studies have argued that the typical easily digestible carbohydrate-rich “Western” diet with insufficient gap between solid food intake -- results in persistent “silent inflammation”, malfunctioning genes and, in the long run, triggers the onset of various diseases.

For thousands of years our body has been accustomed to the unchanged, constant composition of products, adapted to their processing and to extract from them all the substances necessary for life and health.

At the end of the XX – beginning of the XXI century, a lot has changed significantly: the ecology, the composition of food products, nutritional habits, our way of life. This is largely reflected in the health status of people. Even the term “Diseases of Civilization” has appeared.

In this regard, it is very important for a person with risk factors to lead a healthy lifestyle and eat right. Nutritional habits should be correct and provide the physiological needs of the body, as well as affect existing diseases of civilization (atherosclerosis, hypertension, diabetes, obesity etc.) in order to prevent the occurrence of vascular accidents (myocardial infarction, stroke).

Hyperinsulinemic diseases of civilization

At the end of the XX - beginning of the XXI century, a lot has changed significantly: the ecology, the composition of food products, our way of life. This is largely reflected in the health status of people. Even the term “Diseases of Civilization” has appeared.

Today we are all in a unique situation that has never happened in the entire history of mankind. Changing ecology and modern production technologies have changed food beyond recognition.

The development of science and technology makes human life more comfortable, and this is one of the greatest achievements of mankind. However, there is also a downside, the so-called "diseases of civilization", which annually claim billions of lives.

Diseases of civilization are human diseases associated with violation of mechanisms of adaptation to unfavorable factors of an anthropogenically altered environment in the context of the rapid growth of scientific and technological progress.

The profound changes in the environment (eg, in diet and other lifestyle conditions) that began with the introduction of agriculture and animal husbandry almost 10000 years ago occurred too recently on an evolutionary time scale for the human genome to adjust.

The evolutionary collision of our ancient genome with the nutritional qualities of recently introduced foods may underlie many of the chronic diseases of Western civilization. The saddest thing is that, despite advances in modern medicine and microbiology, people are suffering from an increasing number of diseases of civilization, which will be exacerbated if they abandon the natural diet.

Preceding the Industrial Revolution, all cereals were ground with the use of stone milling tools, and unless the flour was sieved, it contained the entire contents of the cereal grain, including the germ, bran, and endosperm. With the invention of mechanized steel roller mills and automated sifting devices in the latter part of the 19^th century, the nutritional characteristics of milled grain changed significantly because the germ and bran were removed in the milling process, leaving flour comprised mainly of endosperm of uniformly small particulate size.

The present-day Western diet is the prototype of modern dietary pattern and is mainly characterized by the frequent intake of large amounts of red meat, dairy products, refined grains and sugar. The main characteristics of the Western diet are a high glycemic load, increased intake of animal proteins and milk and its derivatives. Refined foods such as  white wheat flour, refined white rice, sugar, refined vegetable oil -- They lack fiber, which increases blood sugar levels immediately after consumption. Presence of fibers in food slows down the rate of blood sugar rise. Also fibers are very important for the digestive tract to function, as well as for nourishing the beneficial bacteria that live in the intestines.

Within the past 20 years, substantial evidence has accumulated showing that long term consumption of high glycemic load carbohydrates can adversely affect metabolism and health. Specifically, chronic hyperglycemia and hyperinsulinemia induced by high glycemic load carbohydrates may elicit a number of hormonal and physiologic changes that promote insulin resistance. Chronic hyperinsulinemia represents the primary metabolic defect in the metabolic syndrome.

Diseases of insulin resistance are frequently referred to as “diseases of civilization” and include: obesity, coronary heart disease (CHD), type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and dyslipidemia (elevated serum triacylglycerols, small-dense, LDL cholesterol and reduced HDL cholesterol).

Diseases of the cardiovascular system, such as ischemic heart disease, vascular atherosclerosis, arterial hypertension, are extremely common throughout the world and are characterized by high mortality due to the occurrence of dangerous complications such as stroke and myocardial infarction, which carry an immediate threat to life.

When conducting a check-up in Germany, patients are increasingly diagnosed with diabetes mellitus, atherosclerosis, gout - these are also the consequences of overnutrition. As a result of damage to the walls of blood vessels in atherosclerosis, the trophism of vital organs is disturbed: the heart and the brain, which can lead to a heart attack or stroke. Malignant tumors are also referred to as diseases of civilization. Today ischemic heart disease (IHD) and its complications are the cause of almost every second death.

Cancers of the breast, bowel, prostate, and lungs were largely unknown. Today, one in five dies from cancer. The number of people with diabetes is growing. And the complications caused by it are one of the most common causes of death.

Every 7 seconds, two new patients are told the diagnosis of diabetes! The most common type of disease is type II diabetes. It is provoked by an improper dietary habits.

Currently, almost half of humanity is a carrier of the "metabolic syndrome", which is a violation in the body of metabolism in relation to carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, minerals. Metabolic syndrome is the main cause of the so-called "death quartet": obesity, high blood pressure, type II diabetes mellitus and ischemic heart diseases. These diseases are caused by factors of heredity or more importantly improper nutritional habits.

It is likely that the metabolic syndrome may extend to other chronic illnesses and conditions that are widely prevalent in Western societies, including: myopia, acne, gout, polycystic ovary syndrome, epithelial cell cancers (breast, colon, and prostate), dental caries and gum diseases, male vertex balding, skin tags and acanthosis nigricans. Diseases of insulin resistance are rare or absent in hunter-gatherer and other less westernized societies living and eating in their traditional manner.

The leading hyperinsulinemic diseases of civilization are - Cardiovascular diseases (CVD): arterial hypertension, hypercholesterolemia or dyslipidemia (elevated levels of cholesterol and other blood fats or lipids, or a violation of their ratio) and it's consequences - heart and vascular diseases (heart attacks, strokes) etc., Diabetes mellitus type II, myopia in children and adolescents, and progressive myopia in adults, dental caries and periodontal diseases, oncological diseases.

The World Health Organization (WHO) separately identifies non-communicable diseases arising from errors in nutrition and diets. These diseases include, in particular, cardiovascular failure, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, obesity, some types of cancer, osteoporosis and many others.

Things to be noted down...

1. All these diseases have a common cause of development - a way of life. They affect people of the Western way of life, but these diseases are rarely found in traditional societies.

2. These are chronic diseases that have a long period of latent development. Neither cancer nor heart attack occurs suddenly in a healthy person. In the period of latent development, the disease of civilization can be detected by special tests. Treatment started on time causes the reverse development of these diseases.

Diseases of civilization kill slowly, but at the same time the quality of life decreases significantly. Acute manifestations of cardiovascular diseases are the tip of the iceberg based on long-term invisible processes.

3. Lifestyle changes are most effective in the early and middle stages of development. Thus, a change in lifestyle can slow down the malignancy of cancer ("dormant metastases") and the development of atherosclerotic plaques. The ability to measure lifestyle is severely limited in the later stages of the disease.

Medicines do not cure, but only partially compensate for these diseases. The cure can be achieved through lifestyle changes. Unfortunately, modern medicine pays very little attention to these aspects.

Medical science for the most part is supported by the pharmaceutical business, and therefore it in every possible way obscures the fact that the chronic disease is curable. It does not advertise the fact that the means of its cure, eliminating the reasons for its acquisition, is proper nutritional habits and physiotherapies. For example, the true reason for diseases of civilization, namely, is the systematic substantial overeating (most frequent solid food intake throughout the day) of easily digestible carbohydrates and proteins with high insulin load. Sufficiently longer gap between solid food intake or a return to a traditional paleolithic diet of ancient people -- is associated with marked improvement in insulin resistance (IR) and fasting insulin levels and glucose control and lipid profiles of people.

4. Diseases of civilization are inextricably linked with premature aging . This is manifested in the rejuvenation of diseases and the reduction of the "young" time. This leads to a serious deterioration in the quality of life.

Nutritional habits are always of higher priority

The researchers point to data from the Lancet's Global Burden of Disease (GBD) program that shows unhealthy dietary habits are more associated with worse health conditions than physical activity, alcohol and smoking combined.

Experts have accused the food industry of fostering the belief that exercise can reverse the effects of unhealthy dietary habits. There is evidence that up to 40% of those within the normal weight range have harmful metabolic disorders. Further, not all obese individuals are insulin resistant, while insulin resistance (IR) has been shown to exist in a significant proportion of the normal weight population.

Easily digestible or fast carbohydrates, are low in fiber and high in calories. These are refined flour products. But there are slow carbohydrates - they are very useful for the body, saturate for a long time, do not raise blood sugar as sharply as fast "brothers" do. Low glycemic index foods are preferable so that it doesn’t spike up your blood sugar too quickly, and doesn’t bring it down too quickly either.  Unfortunately, if you ate a 500 calorie hamburger, then even an hour's jogging will not be good for your figure. Simply put, the average gym or group gym goer burns about 300 calories in one hour of workout, regardless of the type of workout.

The human body receives nutrients from water, food, air every day. In their original form, they are not assimilated, but as a result of complex chemical processes they are transformed into new compounds that ensure the coordinated work of organs and systems. The complex of these processes is called metabolism. The transformation itself is the result of a chain reaction, and if a malfunction occurs in one of the links, individual organs do not receive enough nutrients, which become the cause of the development of diseases.

Nutrition is one of the main factors that determine human life. It is a powerful tool for the prevention and treatment of many diseases. As you know, nutrients support our vitality. According to world scientists, about 80% of diseases in the world are associated with nutrition. It has a direct or indirect effect on most diseases. "Diseases of civilization" are associated with a diet poor in fruits and vegetables, and the habit of frequent snacking of refined carbohydrates, sweets throughout the day.

Over the past 100 to 150 years, there has been a fairly significant increase in the consumption of foods that stimulate the production of excess insulin.

Acne has not been found in non-Western societies (Inuits, Okinawan Islanders, Ache huntergatherers, Kitavan Islanders), whose populations continue the adhere to Paleolithic dietary conditions. In contrast, acne has evolved to an almost epidemic disease in Westernized societies.

The knowledge regarding the link between acne and nutrition has culminated with the discovery that increased intake of both hyperglycemic carbohydrates and milk.

The main source of energy for the cell, as you know, is glucose, which is formed during the breakdown of carbohydrates. The release of glucose into the blood after food intake (postprandial glycemia) is always accompanied by the production of insulin. Insulin is a pancreatic hormone, the main purpose of which is to "feed" cells with glucose. When the cells are full, there is no corresponding fat burning; this is simply not necessary. But using carbohydrates as your primary food source has a downside: the insulin spike that accompanies glycemia stops fat burning. Moreover, the abuse of carbohydrates, in particular, more frequent carbohydrate "snacks" throughout the day in order to dull hunger, lead to exactly the opposite effect, an increase in glucose is followed by its decrease, and hunger reappears. In the long term, surges in glycemia and insulin can have serious consequences in the form of impaired glucose tolerance and prediabetes; frequent and uncontrolled rises in insulin can lead to a decrease in tissue sensitivity to this hormone. And insulin resistance is the basis for the formation of metabolic syndrome with all the ensuing consequences.

Insulin is a growth-promoting hormone. A diet with high insulin load or frequent snacking throughout the day—insufficient gap between solid food intake -- raises insulin level in the blood. The constant elevated level of insulin in the blood, as a result, it can lead to various grave metabolic disorders in the body - obesity, insulin resistance, diabetes mellitus and others.

The Western diet and diet in industrially developed countries consists of a very large number of popular foods that are high in starch and are quickly digested. The frequent consumption of ubiquitous processed foods (eg, cookies, cake, bakery foods, breakfast cereals, refined white rice dishes, bagels, rolls, muffins, crackers, chips, snack foods, pizza, soft drinks, candy, ice cream, condiments, and salad dressings) that dominate the typical American diet.

The problem is that our modern diet contains highly processed and starchy foods that are quickly digested and more importantly insufficient gap between solid food intake. But this process is accompanied by the reproduction of a large amount of glucose in the blood, and the body, responding adequately, stimulates a large production of insulin.

For many centuries, traditions in human nutrition and their gustatory habits have developed in such a way that plant-based unrefined food was the most important part of the diet. People ate root crops, vegetables, wholemeal bread, cereals and legumes, fruits and berries. With this food, in addition to the nutrients necessary for the body, a large amount of plant fiber was obtained - at least 25-40 g per day !!

For many centuries, it is precisely this amount of dietary fiber that the human body has best adapted to - its digestive system and metabolism.

Refined carbohydrates, refined white rice, sugar, flour products devoid of fiber are a serious disadvantage of the modern diet. In our diet, the most important balance between its constituent nutrients has been disturbed: the consumption of refined carbohydrates has increased, and the amount of dietary fiber barely reaches 15 g per day.

The typical modern diet has a fiber content of 15.1 g day which is considerably lower than the recommended value of 25–38 g day or the estimated ancestral intake of >70 g day (Eaton et al., 2010). Fiber-depleted, refined grains represent 85% of the grains consumed in a typical modern diet, and because they contain 400% less fiber than whole grains (on an energy basis), they further dilute the total dietary fiber intake (Cordain et al., 2005). Knowing the content of certain subtypes of fiber in food and the diet, scientists calculated how many different types of dietary fiber healthy people eat per day. For example, healthy men weighing 70 kg should daily consume about 4.5 g of pectin, 4 g of lignin, about 10 g of cellulose and almost 14.5 g of hemicellulose in their food.

A diet with a high glycemic index and load with insufficient gap between solid food intake -- is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and death.

The frequent habitual consumption of a high GI or GL diet can promote carcinogenesis by inducing hyperglycemia and hyperinsulinemia (Brand-Miller, 2003), potentially acting through the insulin-like growth factor IGF (Biddinger and Ludwig, 2005). A recent meta-analysis showed that IGF-1 levels were associated with the risk of premenopausal but not postmenopausal breast cancer (Renehan et al, 2006). In addition, high GI diets can promote weight gain (Brand-Miller et al, 2002).

A high glycemic load diet with insufficient gap between solid food intake -- raises the blood levels of triglycerides, blood sugar, and insulin while decreasing HDL, all of which contribute to increased risk of heart disease.

Asians and Indians consume large quantities of carbohydrates in the form of refined rice and white bread which predisposes them for atherogenic dyslipidemia. Carbohydrate source, nature, and amount have profound influence on post-prandial glycemia (blood sugar after a meal) , and post-prandial lipemia (triglycerides after a meal) which in turn are directly associated with risk of coronary artery disease (CAD) in patients with diabetes.

Consumption of low-glycemic index diets has been associated with higher HDL-cholesterol concentrations and, in large cohort studies, with decreased risk of developing diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

The whole bunch of diseases from which the inhabitants of post-industrial megalopolises die - hypertension with its heart attacks and strokes, diabetes with very similar consequences, and even insidious cancer - are practically unknown to the inhabitants of the traditional society !!

Doctors were simply amazed when mass examinations of the indigenous inhabitants of Oceania did not reveal the typical "diseases of civilization." The well-known sad aphorism that “not everyone survives to the cancer” was not suitable as an explanation here - oncological processes were difficult to detect even in very old people. Also among the islanders, elders (not to mention young and strong people) with a high sugar content or high blood pressure were extremely rare. After such discoveries, assumptions arose about the special genetics of the Papuans and Polynesians. But the genetic version was soon dispelled by life itself. As soon as the inhabitants of the Pacific Islands join the delights of civilization, along with hot dogs, Coca-Cola and chewing gum, they immediately acquired a bunch of previously unknown ailments. Numerous studies have shown that a diet rich in fruits and vegetables reduces the risk of cancer in general, regardless of location.

The example of the island of Nauru has become a textbook example, whose inhabitants for centuries ate fish, fruits, nuts and root vegetables, without consuming simple carbohydrates and sugar. At the beginning of the twentieth century, diabetes on the island was completely unknown, the first case of the disease was discovered only in 1925. But when the British government took care of the indigenous population and gave them a monthly allowance - compensation for the phosphorites mined on the island - a real epidemic of diabetes broke out there. Receiving free money, the islanders preferred to spend it on the more frequent consumption of highly processed food and sweets in colonial shops, and this innovation in nutrition caused irreparable damage to health. In the second half of the last century, almost two-thirds of the island's inhabitants became chronic diabetics - a record incidence of the disease in world practice!

In the fight against the diseases of civilization, proper nutritional habits are the best remedy. Our body can be compared to a car. No mechanism will work well without quality fuel.

Proper nutritional habits are like fuel for a car. This is one of the most important conditions for the normal functioning of our mechanism-organism.

To resist the "diseases of civilization", one should look into the past and return to our menu many products that were rich in the cuisine of our ancestors. The westernization habit of frequent snacking should be abandonded. Vegetables and fruits should be on the table every day, the most useful are yellow-orange, yellow-red, dark green. With them, we get vitamins, dietary fiber, which are so necessary for good digestion. They remove cholesterol and give energy.

During the Second World War, most of the inhabitants of European countries were forced to switch from the usual diet of meat and dairy products to a more strict plant-based diet, that too was scarcely available. As a result, there was a sharp decrease in the number of diseases of atherosclerosis and heart attack, diabetes, gallstone disease, as well as cancer and arthritis. This decline in incidence continued for another 20 years.

During the Second World War, diabetes deaths in Great Britain fell by one third and the incidence of tooth decay in schoolchildren fell by 28%. The reason is that the population began to eat simpler (and healthier for the teeth) food. After the war, the figures recovered. The same was observed in Japan: during the war, the incidence of tooth decay and diabetes decreased due to the fact that refined foods with "fast" carbohydrates were replaced by traditional simple foods.

Undoubtedly, disturbances in the structure of nutrition are to a large extent "responsible" for the high mortality rate from cardiovascular diseases and malignant neoplasms recorded in recent years. According to some epidemiologists, inappropriate nutrition is the cause of cancer in 30-40% of cases in men and up to 60% of cases in women.

The reason is the result of the more frequent and prolonged consumption of refined carbohydrates and insufficient intake of dietary fibers.

Outcome of consumption diseases is the combined development of several forms of pathologies.

pathology of the cardiovascular system;

gallstone and urolithiasis,

diabetes

bowel diseases, including diverticulosis

colon, constipation, hemorrhoids,

some forms of cancer.

Juvenile myopia and progressive myopia in adults

A high incidence of dental caries and gum diseases

Studying this and other, similar cases, experts came to the conclusion that the human body is genetically not adapted to the frequent consumption of large amounts of easily digestible "fast" carbohydrates. The gap between solid food intake should be sufficiently longer.

Fasting insulin is a crude marker of insulin resistance. Other physical markers which are easy to measure and which are markers of insulin resistance or consumption of high glycemic load carbohydrates are: BMI, number of dental caries, myopia and progressive myopia, and presence of acne, skin tags, acanthosis nigricans.

The frequent snacking of huge amount of available processed carbohydrates and sweets, which, like from Pandora's box, has fallen upon us over the past couple of centuries, in many cases is simply beyond the strength of our metabolism. The same can be said for the consumption of salt, a variety of preservatives, food additives, artificial fats like margarine and other culinary innovations. All of them represent a challenge for the human body that not everyone can cope with.

Reducing the frequent high glycemic response, i.e. spikes in blood glucose levels after solid food intake, reduces the risks of metabolic disorders, cardiovascular disease, hypertension and strokes etc.

Exercise benefits exaggerated….

Risk due to sedentary lifestyle may be substantially overstated. The impact of cardiovascular diseases risk due to sedentariness is significantly less than currently projected.

Health benefits of regular physical exercises is exaggerated. Genetic predisposition and nutritional habits are the two major factors that decide the susceptibility of diseases of civilization such as cardiovascular diseases and many others. It has been convincingly proven by science that, genetic predisposition contributes to differences in  cardiorespiratory fitness independent of physical activity.

For losing weight, physical exercises should and must always accompany diet. However, exercises here still play a secondary role, since the energy expended can more than be compensated for by excessive nutrition. Even professional athletes who train 10-20 hours a week sometimes cannot lose 4.5 to 9 kg of excess weight. According to a study, 30% of participants in the Cape Town Marathon (South Africa) were overweight or obese. By the way, this figure is comparable to the number of overweight people in the world. It turns out that the physical data of the participants in the 42 km race did not differ in any way from the physical form of the spectators. Scary picture !!

Another important observation is that -- there is no need to go for exercises daily. Weekend workout can be enough to stay fit, a study by researchers finds… Doing only one or two sessions of exercise a week – has similar effect as compares to doing more frequent sessions of physical activity,

Therefore, the main thing that needs to be done is either to leave your usual dietary habits as before (if gradual weight loss has been achieved with the help of exercises) or change the dietary habits — primarily due to lengthening the gap between solid food intake or avoid/minimize confectioneries, white rice, sugar, refined flour backery products and potato dishes; instead, you can add more cabbage, apples, cucumbers and other vegetables and fruits  to the diet.

Botkin and wealthy merchant

In the case of diabetes and other diseases of civilization, for example, physical activity helps increase insulin sensitivity and lower blood glucose levels. But the appointment of metformin, a drug that has a similar effect, is already part of the treatment.

Despite the fact that medicine practically considers type 2 diabetes mellitus to be incurable, systemic lifestyle changes in many cases can lead to a complete cure for it.

For patients, advice like “increase physical activity and lose weight” often sounds dull and pessimistic, so experienced doctors pack it into exciting challenges.

Once to the famous Soviet Russian doctor and physiologist Sergei P. Botkin (1832-1889) was approached by a wealthy merchant with diabetes, hypertension and obesity, ready to pay big money for “potions”. But Botkin said that he would take it on only one condition: if the merchant, taking only a knapsack, as a wanderer, without a penny of money, taking only bread for the journey, the merchant must go  barefoot to Odessa (2000 km), where the healing treatment would begin. If the condition was violated, the doctor would refuse treatment.

The merchant was dumbfounded by what he heard, he had no other choice (all his ailments were considered incurable), all that remained was to agree and set off.

So the man accepted this condition and went on his way. When the bread ran out, he had to beg for alms and buy modest food with it. He walked, he, as we have already said, on foot, spent the overnight in the villages in the fresh air, it was hard, but nevertheless he walked more than 2,000 km, reaching the goal of his journey in the hope of the help of a famous doctor. Sergei Botkin was already there. The doctor examined and asked why he had come if he was a perfectly healthy person and said that, he no longer had signs of excess weight and diabetes. The man became slim, fit, and he no longer had any symptoms of diabetes and hypertension. All signs of ailments disappeared.

NO ACNE

A recent scientific expedition proved that the inhabitants of Kitavan Islanders of Papua New Guinea never suffer acne, pimples and other comedones, because, their diet do not contain simple carbohydrates, but, full of fruits, vegetables and protein.

Acne is the eighth most common medical disorder in the world: approximately 85% of adolescents and young adults between the ages of 12 and 25 have acne. The disease is especially common in Western countries.

It is believed that this phenomenon is due to the excess of carbohydrates in the typical Western diet. A high glycemic load food with frequent intake throughout the day -- promotes increased insulin/insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1) signaling. As a result, hyperproliferation of the sebaceous glands is formed, lipogenesis and hyperplasia of acroinfundibular keratinocytes are stimulated with the development of acne.

In recent years, it has been conclusively proven that dietary habits are a potential cause of acne. The role of a number of foods and food components, in particular dairy products, as well as a diet with a high glycemic load (Western type of food) has been proven.

A Western diet with a higher glycemic load may be a potential cause of acne. Foods with a high glycemic index, such as sugar, white bread and refined white rice, are absorbed quickly, resulting in higher serum glucose levels and a corresponding increase in insulin levels.

It was found that any dairy products, as well as whole milk, skim milk and yogurt, regardless of the frequency and amount consumed, increased the likelihood of acne.

Inspirational and notable quotes

Hippocrates said, “Everyone has a physician inside him or her; we just have to help it in its work. The natural healing force within each one of us is the greatest force in getting well”.

Fasting is the greatest of medicines, the doctor is within us. -- Paracelsus

People don’t die, they kill themselves. -- Seneca, ancient Roman pphilosophe

Instead of taking medicine, it is better to fast for one day. -- Plutarch, ancient Greek philosopher

Medicine is only a half-measure, because behind the disease there is a cause and no medicine can reach the latter. -- Dr. Weir Mitchell

Low calorie diet

... Our DNA has been programmed to store fat for famine periods, when getting food to eat was a hard feat. The great industrial revolution has caused a radical environmental change in a few decades, disadvantaging the millenial adaptation equilibrium.

Scientists have been trying to find the relationship between nutrition and longevity for many centuries.

At the end of the 19^th century, German scientists set themselves the task of determining the amount of food required for humans in calories. Thus, the basis for the calorie theory of balanced nutrition was laid...

If we go back to centenarians, and literally from all over the world, then almost all of them admit that they show moderation in food. Therefore, one of the most important incentives to control the weight is the desire to live a healthy long life.

"Any surplus is contrary to nature" - this is a famous quote from father of modern medicine - Hippocrates. Numerous experiments have shown that laboratory animals kept on starvation rations live much longer than those who eat as much as they want.

Dieting by almost half reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease - leading causes of death worldwide. Also in dieters, blood sugar levels improve and insulin sensitivity increases, which reduces risk of type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome.

MANKIND is genetically adapted to poor and irregular nutrition. With an excess of food, this advantage turned into a predisposition of a significant part of the population to the "diseases of civilization." This conclusion was made by researchers. Throughout human evolution, the diet of our species has not been distinguished by regularity. In the context of evolution, eating more often is a very recent innovation, and is most likely due to access to food 24/7 unprecedented in our history.

The only way to prolong life confirmed by science and more or less suitable for humans, is a low-calorie diet. "Limiting calorie intake is one of the most effective measures to increase life expectancy," scientists say. Since the mid-1930s, it has been known to increase by 30–50% both the maximum and average life expectancy in rats and mice that have received twice as little food since childhood as is necessary according to scientifically based standards. Since then, it has been confirmed on various species of animals and even on yeast.

Research on diet, especially on the amount eaten and the caloric value of food, is producing findings that are of considerable interest to gerontologists. Reducing food intake has been found to prolong the lives of test animals by 30 to 80 per cent. There are different variants of the life-prolonging diet. In all cases the food should be adequate in terms of quality but insufficient in terms of quantity. In other words, the diet should have a low caloric value. Worldwide, doctors and dieticians have been sounding an alarm at the fact that the populations of the developed countries eat twice, if not three times as much food as required by their bodies.

In rats, a reduction of the daily diet by 1 Kcal increased their lifespan by about 4 days. The lifespan of laboratory animals can be doubled by a rational combination of cold and hunger. Reducing food intake or limited (low calorie) diet has been found to prolong the lives of experimental animals by 50% to 100 %. Research has shown that - Caloric restriction delays senile disease onset and mortality in rhesus monkeys. Even our primate cousins, fat-tailed lemurs, drastically reduce their metabolic rate when food is reduced. It is known that if a wolf is regularly fed, it loses a third of its lifespan. It is believed that a “hungry” diet increases insulin sensitivity, decreasing with age.

Low-calorie food increased the lifespan of rats, mice and hamsters by 65%. The calorie-restricted mice also showed significant improvement in fasting glucose and insulin levels. However, when conducting other experiments, some mice from such a diet decreased in size and ceased to multiply. The latter can be explained by the fact that, saving precious reserves of energy, animals were forced to choose: either longevity and low reproductive potential, or high fecundity and short life. Some studies, however, have also noted other negative effects of reducing calorie intake. For example, in the spring, scientists found that lemurs, which eat a third fewer calories per day than their congeners, live one and a half times longer, but at the same time lose the gray matter of the brain. Interestingly, this does not affect cognitive function anyway.

Research has shown that caloric restriction improves a number of health outcomes, including a reduction in several risk factors for cardiovascular disease, improved insulin sensitivity, and an increase in mitochondrial function, which is responsible for the synthesis of adenosine triphosphate, the universal form of energy source in our bodies cells.

Research carried out by scientists has shown that cutting just one protein item out of a diet produces a noticeable effect. A low level of amino acids such as tryptophan in a diet also has the effect of increasing life span. (For example, zein, which is a maize protein, does not contain lysine and has almost no tryptophan. Experiments on animals receiving only this protein with food showed that they lost weight even if much food were given. When food does not contain tryptophan, an eye disease called cataract develops.) Another example of limiting the use of only one essential amino acid which affects longevity - in rats, restriction on methionine increases the lifespan, and a diet with a high concentration of this amino acid accelerates vascular aging.

Science knows that, restricting caloric intake reduces the risk of developing a number of serious age-related diseases, such as type 2 diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular disorders. Although reduced diet will not cure diseases, it can delay the onset of many potential ones. For instance, tumours were developed by sixty per cent of the control animals and by only ten percent of the test animals of the same age which were put on a diet.

Heart disease was found with 92 per cent of the old control rats but with only 26 per cent of the test rats of the same age. A decreased ration favourably influenced immunity and checked the onset of what are known as immunodeficient diseases. Clearly, reducing the food intake of test animals increases the average life span by checking the very process of aging. There are reasons to believe that diet and life span are related in man, too.

It is believed that a 30–40% reduction in caloric intake can prolong life. This was repeatedly confirmed by numerous experiments on mice and rats, but testing primates is difficult because of their longevity - two to three decades for macaques and chimpanzees instead of two to three years for rodents. In short, primates live long and hence the effect is difficult to detect. The cherished goal of gerontological research is to somehow preserve the positive aspects of low-calorie nutrition without its shortcomings (harmful effects of uncontrolled starvation).

But the entire course of age-related development and the most important regulatory mechanisms has been shown that a limited diet is accompanied by a pronounced change of hormonal activity. According to Passarino, Longo and other longevity experts, a 20–30 percent reduction in caloric intake reduces the likelihood of developing diabetes (from which someone on our planet dies every 6 seconds) by 50% and cancer by 70%. The thing is that now we, as a rule, eat much more than our body needs, which was evolutionarily formed in the conditions of an abundance of physical exertion and a chronic lack of food. “Eat less, at the same time you want to live longer, you should eat at least less salt and sugar” scientists advise. It is proved that an excess of salt causes hypertension, and as a consequence - an early stroke. Sugar is also responsible for a lot of problems - the work of both the brain and the heart.

Clearly, reducing the food intake of test animals increases the average life span by checking the very process of aging. There are reasons to believe that diet and life span are related in man, too. According to some data, obese individuals live ten to twelve years less than those with a normal bodyweight, and each kilogram of excess weight knocks two per cent off the life span. Moreover, researchers have established the existence of a relationship between the caloric value of food taken throughout life and the development of cardiovascular pathology in old age. It has been discovered that in elderly people who daily consume an equivalent of 2,650 to 3,000 kilocalories the incidence of cardiovascular disease is much higher than in individuals whose daily diet contains 1,600 to 2,650 kilocalories.

A limited diet appears to be the most effective way of increasing life span. This is because it influences not just one element of the complex mechanism of aging, but the entire course of age-related development and the most important regulatory mechanisms. It has been shown that a limited diet is accompanied by a pronounced change of hormonal activity - a functional change of the hypothalamus, the organ which controls the body's internal environment.

The first secret of longevity is the right diet: it should be low-calorie and contain a lot of vegetables and fruits. For reducing the calorie content of the diet, be sure to include more fruits, vegetables, greens in the menu. Gerodietologists believe that these products contain special nutrients that delay the aging process in the body.

An unbalanced diet, high-calorie foods, especially with deficiency of movements, create favourable soil for impaired fat metabolism, and therefore for the accumulation of cholesterol, its deposition in the vascular wall. In obese people, the risk of coronary heart disease, increased blood pressure increases. As for the assessment of various fashionable diets, you need to eat varied, but without overeating. As the cheerful French say, getting up from the table with the feeling of “just a little bit more”. Our society, our medicine does a lot to extend the active life of people. But much depends on the person himself.

On one of the central squares of Ancient Rome, a monument stood on the grave of a 112-year-old elder. A short inscription was carved on the monument for the edification of posterity: "He ate and drank in moderation." A healthy lifestyle does not mean escape from the pleasures of food, but moderation and orderliness in these pleasures, is prescribed by the desire for benefits.

The concept of “Calorific value of food”

In 1824, the French chemist Nicolas Clement-Desorms introduced the scientific term and definition of "calorie". Calorie (from Latin “calor“ - heat) is the amount of heat required to heat 1 gram of water by 1 degree Celsius. (The “calorie” we refer to in food is actually kilocalorie. One (1) kilocalorie is the same as one (1) Calorie (uppercase C). A kilocalorie is the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of one kilogram of water 1°C (one degree Celsius))

Two French scientists - Antoine Lavoisier and Pierre-Simon Laplace - placed a guinea pig in a metal box at the end of the 18^th century and thereby invented the first calorimeter. Lavoisier was able to calculate how many calories the guinea pig was burning by measuring heat radiated by body of guinea pig.

About 120 years ago, the American agricultural chemist Wilbur Olin Atwater put forward the already well-known theory of calorie content of food, the principle of which is “Eat what you want -- just fit into your daily calorie content"

The calorie content of food was determined in the late 1800s by Wilbur Atwater. He built a device called a respiration calorimeter to make direct measurements of heat released by humans from the food they consumed.

The well-known caloric values ​​for proteins (4 kcal/gram), fats (9 kcal/ gram) and carbohydrates (4 kcal/gram) were first experimentally obtained by Atwater.

Since then, the mankind has not stopped counting calories -- First - to assess the efficiency of steam engines, then - to measure the energy obtained from food. In recent decades, calorie counting has become quite a universal hobby. We are accustomed to the formula: if the number of "incoming" calories is lower than the number of "burned", we lose weight. If on the contrary, we get fat.

But the human body is a complex and dynamic metabolic system, adapted for survival and reproduction. To treat it only as an energy-burning machine is, at the very least, a gross oversimplification.

Although the scientific origins of the calorie date back to the 1820s, calorie counting for weight loss only became popular in the late 1910s and 1920s. Calorie counting for  weight loss began in the 1900s with the publication of the book “Eating for Health” published in the year 1916.  Its author was Dr. Robert Hugh Rose, who positions it as a “scientific weight control system.” Then in 1918, another book by the American physician and newspaper columnist Lulu Hunt Peters, Diet and Health: The Key to Calories, appeared, which became a real bestseller. Herbert Hoover, who at the time was head of the US Food Control Administration, switched to counting calories. Dr. Peters advised those wishing to lose weight to start with fasting, that is, for one or two days, abstain from all food, and then switch to a strict regimen of 1200 kcal per day. The recommendation for fasting was quickly forgotten, but the calorie counting system has survived to this day almost unchanged.

Mind the gap, gap, gap, gap…. Between meals……

For a long time it was believed that fractional meals (meals five or six times a day in small portions) are good for health and even promote weight loss. This was explained by an increase in the energy consumption of the body for the process of digestion.

Fractional nutrition – one of the favpppporite ways of proper nutrition among nutritionists and gastroenterologists. Its meaning is simple – we eat often, but little by little. However, this approach is not typical for human nutrition in the course of its evolution. As a rule, people in different periods of their existence ate infrequently, because they had to get food by, for example, hunting or fishing. And here the prey is not a sausage in the refrigerator, you just can’t take it and eat it. Therefore, frequent meals are an innovation invented by man himself.

Evolutionarily, we have such a structure of the gastrointestinal tract, in which our body requires rare and voluminous meals. If we refer to the conditions of life of a man of the Paleolithic times, then he could have one or two meals a day, he might not have a single meal at all, and after 2 days there would be a real feast for the stomach. The contents of the “plate” and the frequency of its filling depended on how successful the hunt was. Evolution was based on this.

Evolution has made it so that the human digestive system is perfectly adapted to rare and plentiful meals. After all, several millennia ago, food came with significant interruptions. And the body has not yet adapted to constant consumption and abundance of food.

Modern man is so accustomed to the cult of food that he considers it normal to eat more than 3-4 times a day, to eat gourmet food, even sophisticated, no matter how harmful it is. The satisfaction of passion in taste sensations has put the modern world in a terrible dependence, and this dependence is exclusively psychological.

Today, for us, food is a habit that is accessible, but at the same time addictive. Refusal of meals for many of us is tantamount to punishment or a real test. Even scientific studies show that in the 40s of last century, in the United States, the frequency of meals was 2.7 times a day, and now it is already an average of 6 times a day. But if a few years ago we were advised to have small snacks between main meals, today scientists agree that such a diet can cause significant harm to health.

Adherents of fractional nutrition say that if you eat often and little by little, then metabolism is accelerated and farewell to fat is faster. But studies have shown that frequent meals lead to frequent spikes in insulin, high cortisol (this is a stress hormone that should not be a lot), the development of insulin resistance and enzyme deficiency. Frequent fractional meals are the path to the diseases of civilization. The benefits of fractional nutrition (“eat often, but a little bit”) is one of the most important myths in nutrition. It is a misconception that more frequent and smaller meals can increase the metabolic rate.

Famous Russian nutritionist and naturopathy expert Galina Shatalova writes the exact opposite to condemn fractional nutrition. According to her --- meals should be 1–2 times a day. If more often, the valves of the esophagus-stomach, stomach-duodenum, and so on begin to work incorrectly. All this leads to their constant non-closure with the subsequent throwing of the contents upstairs, with all the consequences… Her arguments are confirmed by examples of cures.

If you adhere to this principle of fractional nutrition for a long time, then as a result you may encounter accelerated aging and the development of numerous diseases and, unfortunately, even cancer.

Sustained reduction in insulin production can be achieved only and exclusively by reducing the number of meals. Each meal results in the release of the substance IGF-1, which is characterized by insulin-like growth factor. Therefore, with frequent fractional nutrition, there is a possibility of its constant stay in the body, and this has a detrimental effect on the body.

Science believes that it is most effective for health and combating chronic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, rheumatism, gastrointestinal disorders, rheumatism, migraines, digestive osteoarthritis, the so-called intermittent fasting (IF), i.e. eating over long periods of time. The curative fasting expert authors, advises taking a break between meals at least 14 hours. 

During meals, the body releases insulin, which disrupts the autophagy process, a natural regulated cell mechanism that breaks down unnecessary or dysfunctional components and creates new molecules, releasing energy in the process. Autophagy helps fight cell aging and strengthens the immune system.

In one recent study, patients with type 2 diabetes were divided into two groups :- the first group ate two large meals a day, the second – six small meals a day. Patients in the first group showed a more pronounced decrease in body weight, fatty liver, lower fasting plasma glucose, improved insulin sensitivity compared with those who divided the same amount of calories into six meals.

Those who eat too often have an increased risk of developing various diseases. Apparently, the key role for the body is played not by the fact of food composition, but by the interval between meals. Fasting for 12-16 hours provides an increase in insulin sensitivity, a decrease in appetite, systemic inflammation, and blood cholesterol levels.

Our body needs not only to digest and assimilate everything, get rid of the remnants, but also to process the energy received. And for this we have the hormone insulin. It is he who is the main distributor of energy. At the same time, insulin is produced at every meal, and not just when sugar is consumed. Given the importance of this hormone, it is necessary to remember to maintain its balance. The fact is that with frequent use of food, and hence the production of insulin, the so-called “imposition” of energy on the body occurs. For his own safety, he includes a protective mechanism. Its essence is that the sensitivity of cells to insulin decreases each time. Insulin resistance develops which is a characteristic feature of many chronic diseases, including obesity, Alzheimer’s disease, type 2 diabetes and others.

As for obese people, they already have an increased risk of inflammation due to high blood levels of endotoxins (substances formed when bacterial cells break down). By the way, it is high levels of toxins that are associated with the risk of diseases such as cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. So for overweight people, fractional nutrition is generally contraindicated, since it not only does not help to lose weight, but also harms health.

Thus, recent studies on the topic of fractional nutrition show the complete failure of this approach.

Fractional meals can only be prescribed for medical reasons. People with diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, gall bladder, with impaired acidity of gastric juice, people suffering from certain diseases of the digestive system i.e. patients with gastritis, peptic ulcer and other acute and chronic diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. Doctors always recommend patients with such ailments to eat small portions 5-6 times a day.

Patients after surgical interventions, and especially after removing the gall bladder and resection of the stomach: fractional nutrition reduces intra-abdominal pressure, eliminates the urge to belching. 

More frequent meals are acceptable for children during their active growth (up to 4 times a day), those who have already developed hypoglycemia, and for those patients who are sick, recovering from gastroenterological surgery, or very weakened, as well as if a person’s energy consumption during the day is increased, for example, athletes. Fractional nutrition is recommended for professional athletes during periods of high-intensity training. Professional athletes in a busy schedule of active training and those whose activities are associated with constant and heavy physical exertion. In this case, energy costs (requires a large number of calories) require an increase in the number of meals…

Fractional nutrition does a lot of harm to a healthy body that is not burdened with gastrointestinal diseases. This type of nutrition cause a violation of the carbohydrate balance. People become carriers of diabetes of the second type.

Ketosis or ketoacidosis

The human organism has the physiological ability to switch from exogenous food supply to endogenous nutrient reserves. The feeling of fullness means that glucose has entered the bloodstream and is converted into energy. When it dries up – (this happens on average three hours after eating) – the body falls into a catabolic state, that is, it begins to process the polysaccharides accumulated in the liver and muscles into glucose.

When this source of energy also ends and when your cells don’t get the glucose they need for energy, your body begins to burn fat for energy, which produces ketones. (ketones are produced by the liver from fatty acids) The body produces excess blood acids known as ketones. This is detected by pathologically high serum and urine concentrations of ketone bodies) In simple words, ketones are chemicals that the body creates when it breaks down fat to use for energy. The body does this when it doesn’t have enough insulin to use glucose, the body’s normal source of energy. When ketones build up in the blood, they make it more acidic.

This state is called ketosis or ketoacidosis, and it is at this stage that autophagy is activated. For most people, ketosis begins between 12-24 hours after a meal. Thus, if you ate dinner between 6:00 pm and 8:30 pm, satiety will end at 9:00 pm-11:30 pm, and ketosis and autophagy will begin at 06:00-8:30 am the next morning.

In a person who consumes a lot of simple carbohydrates, ketosis or ketoacidosis almost never occurs, since their body contains a constant supply of polysaccharides. For those who eat little easily digestible carbohydrates, sweets or you have a greater insulin sensitivity, this can happen quite quickly.

Fractional nutrition leads to insulin imbalance

Making a normal meal, we, without noticing it ourselves, launch a whole mechanism of action literally at the cellular level. Our body needs not only to digest and assimilate everything, get rid of the remnants, but also to process the energy received. And for this we have the hormone insulin. It is he who is the main distributor of energy. At the same time, insulin is produced at every meal, and not just when sugar is consumed. Given the importance of this hormone, it is necessary to remember to maintain its balance. The fact is that with frequent use of food, and hence the production of insulin, the so-called “imposition” of energy on the body occurs. For his own safety, he includes a protective mechanism. Its essence is that the sensitivity of cells to insulin decreases each time. Insulin resistance develops which is a characteristic feature of many chronic diseases, including obesity, Alzheimer’s disease, type 2 diabetes and others. However, this process is not immediate and depends on a number of factors.

Changes in the diet equals changes in the body……

What does a decrease in the number of meals lead to? First, the cells become more sensitive to insulin. There is enough time for energy consumption, which means there is no need for protective mechanisms. As a result, insulin levels decrease, and with it, excess weight decreases.

Secondly, by reducing the number of meals for energy replenishment, fat is burned, not sugar. At the same time, our body does not suffer from such a restructuring, since it is physiologically adapted to this. Fat as a “fuel” for energy is much more useful and efficient than sugar. Thanks to its burning, the body experiences less oxidative stress and inflammatory processes that lead to chronic diseases and premature aging.

Studies carried out back in the 1990s based on “intermittent fasting” described by researcher Stanislav Tsivinsky, showed that with a decrease in the amount of food, the appearance and general condition of women improve. So, during the experiments, an 18-year-old patient, who looked older than her years, after only the first 3-day fasting, managed to return the appearance characteristic of her age. Another subject, a 38-year-old woman, used intermittent fasting for a long time and, thanks to this, acquired the appearance of a 26-27-year-old.

Thirdly, there is a restoration and strengthening of the immune system. It turns out that the digestion of food is accompanied by various inflammatory processes and stress. This is why we often lose our appetite when we are sick. Therefore, fasting gives the immune system the opportunity to recover and “calm down”. There are also more stringent schemes that provide for a complete rejection of food, for a short or even quite a long time. It is believed that such a hunger strike is useful for normalizing metabolism and healing body cells.

So, in 2009, a study was conducted aimed at studying the consequences of intermittent fasting and small physical exertion, described in the article “Associated effects of dosed fasting and moderate physical activity as a means of recovery in middle-aged men”. The subjects were men aged 30-45 years. During the experiment, it was possible to determine that daily physical exercises of a different nature and dosed starvation “contributed to a significant decrease in total body weight, a significant improvement in a number of indicators characterizing functional performance and physical fitness.” In addition, there was a positive effect on the mental state of the study participants, they significantly improved their attention span.

Intermittent fasting can now be called a fashion trend, but such eating patterns have been found in history. For example, historian Caroline Yeldham tells that the ancient Romans ate once a day around noon. They took great care of their digestion, and eating more than once a day was considered gluttony.

Finally, reducing food intake improves the condition of chronic diseases. One of the mechanisms at work at this point is autophagy, or “self-eating.” By the way, the Nobel Prize was awarded for the description of this process. Japanese biologist Yoshinori Ohsumi won the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 2016 for his research on how cells recycle and renew their content, a process called autophagy. Fasting activates autophagy, which helps slow down the aging process and has a positive impact on cell renewal.

Transition diet – a bridge to freedom from food

To refuse the next meal for many of us is like torture. It is understandable, often the feeling of hunger is accompanied by such unpleasant symptoms as headache, mood swings, irritability and dizziness. But they all signal that blood sugar levels are noticeably changing. As a result, the level of insulin. In turn, this is a sign that the body is not able to use body fat as energy, but uses only sugar. At the same time, sugar refers not only to sweets, but also to other products familiar to us :- cereals, flour products, root crops. Therefore, in order for the body to learn to burn fat again, their consumption has to be limited or completely eliminated.

As a transitional diet that can help you get used to a new eating schedule, the maximum consumption of vegetables, herbs, moderately sweet fruits will work. The duration of such a diet is individual and for someone very painful. However, the result is worth it. Improved general physical condition, mental clarity, improved memory, and weight loss are just a few of the things you’ll get from reducing your food intake. And you get freedom !! Surprisingly, it is. Now you will be free from constant thoughts about food. The need for scheduled lunches/breakfasts every 3-4 hours will disappear by itself. Now the question will be different: is there or not at all !! But, most importantly, such a restructuring will not be accompanied by negative emotions. It’s just that the body will automatically switch to burning fat. So you will have enough energy and a sense of joy.

Starvation or intermittent fasting

Hunger is usually feared, avoided. Hunger is a disaster caused by strong social upheavals, it is deprivation, suffering and death of many people. It seems completely inconceivable that anyone can starve voluntarily. Nevertheless, it is !! Intermittent fasting is increasing in popularity as a means of controlling chronic illnesses.

Human history shows fasting was the norm, as we didn’t have 24/7 access to food as we do now. Our ancestors had to hunt for their meals. This meant less regular eating or even days without food if they could not find any. This is our genetic heritage.

Like many of the organisms that preceded them in evolution, pre-agricultural humans endured regular periods of food scarcity. Humans have been hunter-gatherers for two million years; it was only a relatively short 12,000 years ago that the transition to agriculture occurred. Thus, post-agricultural humans may not have had sufficient time to fully adapt to the continuous food supply provided by farming.

In the days of hunter-gatherers (namely, since the late Paleolithic era, according to scientists, our DNA has not changed much), hunger was the norm, because no one knew when it would be possible to catch the next game or find plant food. Thanks to this alternation of moments of eating with periods of fasting, the human body has learned, firstly, to efficiently break down fat (and not glucose) for energy, entering a state of ketosis-carbohydrate starvation of cells. And secondly, it has become more adaptive and able to switch between burning glucose and burning fat as fuel. It is this ability that we do not train at all, eating every three hours, and sometimes more often (after all, no one has cancelled snacks)

This is a special diet that involves cyclical repetitions between periods of fasting and eating. The essence of the diet is not to indicate the types or quality characteristics of products, but the time of their use. Intermittent fasting is not a narrow diet, but rather a diet plan that can be followed in the long term.

As a rule, eating intervals implies observing 16-hour and 24-hour fasting no more than 2 times a week. To some extent, this approach can be characterized as fasting, because during the entire human evolution it took place in one form or another. When our planet was inhabited by ancient hunter-gatherers, they had no idea about refrigerators, small appliances, supermarkets and affordable food that we modern people know. The hunt could fail, therefore, one had to starve and wait for an opportunity to catch a game or an animal. In the course of evolution, today we have the opportunity to live and work without the need to get food in the forests and fry fresh meat – just go to the store and make a purchase of food for a few days.

Thus, intermittent fasting can be seen as a more natural process compared to a diet of 3-4 meals daily. Intermittent fasting and alternate day fasting found to reduce insulin resistance and demonstrated a remarkable reduction in blood sugar level as well.

Several studies have shown that longer breaks between  meals triggers what is known as a metabolic switch, in which the body's energy source changes, which can significantly improve health. Numerous studies have also found that intermittent fasting has a noticeable positive impact on health. According to scientists, such a diet is natural for humans, since our ancestors periodically experienced food shortages, and the internal processes of the body are just tuned in to metabolic switching.

It is safe to fast for 24-48 hours, after 18 hours without protein-carbohydrate food, a self-cleaning process, called autophagy develops - self-digestion of toxins, fragments of amino acids and other "garbage" in cells - detoxification at the cellular level. The literal meaning of autophagy is  “self-eating”.

It is the process by which old cellular material within cells is identified and destroyed. It rejuvenates molecules and relieves them of toxic and improperly folded proteins, that is, in fact, the body begins to process its own cellular waste. Autophagy also allows the cell to recycle itself and rejuvenates the mitochondria, allowing the cells to function optimally again. Autophagy is one of the mechanisms that helps to slow down aging, prevent the development of senile diseases and oncological processes. Overall, autophagy is responsible for the body’s ability to renew itself, fight infections, and eliminate toxins. Various diseases are associated  with disorders of the processes of autophagy. In 2016 the Japanese scientist Yoshinori Osumi was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his study of autophagy processes in nutritional yeast. During the  research  it was found that fasting periods have a positive impact on the renewal of cells and help to slow the aging process. This, in fact, proved the long-known "miracle of fasting”.

Intermittent fasting helps to slow down aging. In one study, a group of male Wistar rats were fed every day and another group was fed every other day from weaning to death. The group that fasted (fed every other day) aged much more slowly and had an 83% longer life expectancy compared to the group that fed daily.

Various studies have been conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness of fasting on insulin sensitivity. One study by researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago found that fasting lowered insulin levels by 20-31% while lowering blood sugar levels by 3-6%.

After a period of fasting, insulin sensitivity rises and insulin levels fall, increases human growth hormone and the level of norepinephrine.  These result in improved fasting and postprandial glucose levels. This style of eating is also suitable in order to reduce weight once and for all.

Fasting can actually help reduce the growth of tumors and the spread of cancer throughout the body. Cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth. Researchers have found that some of the beneficial effects of fasting on metabolism may help reduce the risk of cancer. One study in rats by a Brazilian university found that intermittent fasting can help prevent the formation of tumors.

During fasting, the body also burns some of the LDL cholesterol in the body to provide fuel. This is good on both sides, because LDL cholesterol is a major factor in reducing insulin sensitivity and diabetes, and because it also contributes to high blood pressure, which are risk factors for heart disease. Fasting also helps reduce a number of other risk factors associated with an increased risk of coronary heart disease, including blood sugar levels, markers of inflammation, and blood triglycerides.

One study by researchers at the University of Illinois found that alternative daytime fasting for about 8 weeks lowered triglyceride levels in the body by 32% and lowered LDL cholesterol by 25%. Another study also found that fasting leads to lower blood pressure and lower triglyceride and cholesterol levels in the body. Research has shown fasting eliminates histamines that lead to bronchial spasms.

In addition, fasting also stimulates the release of growth hormone, which leads to increased bone strength, better protein synthesis, and increased muscle mass. The life of starving animals can be extended by reducing the body temperature by two or three degrees. Starvation may be viewed as a good physiological way to reduce the body temperature so as to slow down the metabolic processes. But, independent uncontrolled starvation can become severe stress, lead to aggravation of an already impaired metabolism, the development of vitamin deficiency. Dangerous and irreversible changes may take place in the organism.

Indeed, neither the calories-deficient diet nor the protein-deficient diet increase the longevity of many warm-blooded species whereas a temperature reduction has a pronounced life-extending effect. Whatever the exact mechanisms behind it, the effect of starvation seems to work in humans as well as in laboratory animals. This view is supported by the experiments carried out in the gerontology research institutes. In aged people whose food has been short on calories for a long time the pathological changes in the cardiovascular system and in the lipid (fat) exchange are less pronounced.

Restricting the amount of calories you eat can also prolong life, the researchers believe. They consider intermittent fasting to be especially effective. Its benefits have already been confirmed by both animal experiments and human studies. Observational population studies have shown cardiovascular and metabolic benefits—a lower risk of coronary artery diseases and lower risk of diabetes—from as little as one day per month of energy restriction through fasting (practiced over a period of decades) For example, members of the religious Mormon community who fasted every first Sunday of the month (24 hour fasting) lived longer than those who did not. Research from the 1970s showed that Mormons generally have lower rates of heart disease compared to the United States national average. Church members are encouraged to fast two consecutive meals, refraining from food and drink, (this is called as Dry Fasting) usually on the first Sunday (24 hour dry fasting) of each month. A study published indicates that members of the religious Mormon community who regularly take part in monthly fast are less likely to have coronary heart disease.

Expert reviews for intermittent fasting….

Some experts are already calling for the inclusion of intermittent fasting as a formal medical practice. “It’s hard to imagine our ancestors crawling out of caves asking, ‘What’s for breakfast today?’ In those days there were no refrigerators, there was nowhere to store food. For me, intermittent fasting is a kind of reunion with the ancestors, ”- Dr. Stephen Gundry, cardiologist, author of “The Plant Paradox”.

“Have you ever noticed that when you are sick, you have no appetite at all? This is an absolutely normal reaction of the body. Your body is trying to lower your blood glucose levels to fight infection. Intermittent fasting is not just a fashion trend, all the mechanisms of fasting are hardwired into our DNA,” Dr. Jason Fung, practicing physician, fasting specialist, author of “The Complete Guide to Fasting”.

“I myself use the intermittent fasting technique every week and highly recommend it to my patients. It’s amazing how simply not eating can dramatically reduce markers of inflammation in the body.” — Dr. William Cole, PMD, Functional Medicine Practitioner.

“During my many years of practice, I have witnessed how fasting healed patients from arthritis and lupus, helped to cope with eczema and psoriasis, and quickly stopped the development of cardiovascular diseases. At the same time, the healing is complete, without a rollback, and in fact, in many cases, operations were recommended that did not have to be resorted to in the end, ”- Dr. Joel Fuhrman, practicing family doctor, nutritionist, author of “Fasting and Eating for Health”.

Fasting better than low calorie diet…..

Science knows that calorie restriction reduces the risk of developing a number of serious age-related diseases, such as type 2 diabetes, cancer, and cardiovascular disorders. However, eating in this way – constantly severely restricting yourself, calculating calories – is not always convenient (and, frankly, there is not enough pleasure – Author). Therefore, an acceptable alternative has been developed and is already being practiced by many people, including those from the scientific community: the so-called intermittent or interval fasting.

Our body is a consequence of multi-million years of evolution, when periods of abundance alternated with periods of shortage of food.

Although both fasting and caloric restriction have been shown to increase the lifespan of all animals, the two mechanisms are biologically very different. We are all overfed within Western civilization because we eat more and more often than our body needs. Restricting calories is better than eating like crazy, and (depending on how much you restrict) it can prolong your life. But for the purpose of avoiding the chronic diseases of civilization and losing weight, this does not work in the long run and is not useful. So we need to fast for a certain period, as nature intended.

Intermittent fasting is much easier than dieting

The reason most of the popular diets fail is not because people end up switching to junk food, but because at some point everyone stops following the diet. In other words, the problem is not with nutrition, but with a change in eating behaviour. One of the benefits of intermittent fasting is that it is easier to stick to such a diet habit – you just need to get rid of the idea of ​​eating something all the time. For example, one 2010 study found that intermittent fasting was an effective weight loss strategy for obese adults, with the authors concluding that the people included in the study quickly adapted to an intermittent fasting regimen.

Popular diets such as Atkins diet, Ketogenic diet, Paleo diet etc. All of them ban one or more food types, for example, very low or almost no carbohydrates in diet, no dairy milk products etc. Therefore, one must choose food items carefully to follow such popular diet plans. This is cumbersome.

And while a number of studies confirm the effectiveness of intermittent fasting compared to a low-calorie diet or all popular diets, for example, almost all nutrition scientists agree that intermittent fasting is ideal for those who are not ready to keep a food diary and track the number of calories consumed.

Fasting as a healer…..

Fasting has been known to man and animals since time immemorial. Fasting has been used therapeutically since at least the 5^th century BC, when Greek physician Hippocrates recommended abstinence from food or drink for patients who exhibited certain symptoms of illness. Hippocrates wrote: “Sudden death is more characteristic of the fat than of the thin.” He recommended treating obesity with physical activity after meals and eating foods rich in fats. He also argued that “they should, in addition, take food once a day.” In other words, daily fasting was already considered an excellent way to treat obesity. Hippocrates further mentioned about fasting :-

“A person carries a doctor in himself, you just need to be able to help him in his work. If the body is not purified, the more you nourish it, the more you will harm it. When the sick person is fed too much, the sickness is also worsened.”

Greek philosopher Plutarch (45-127 AD) said that it is better to be treated by fasting than to take medicine. The famous physician Avicenna treated patients with smallpox by fasting. Fasting was practiced by the ancient Egyptians. According to ancient Greek historian Herodotus, “the healthiest of mortals” refused food three days a month and at the same time completely cleansed the stomach.  If we turn to history, then this method of healing was practiced by well-known figures in the scientific field (from Pythagoras, Socrates, Hippocrates, Pleto etc.), adherents of religious movements (fasting in Christianity and Islam) According to contemporaries, Byron, Voltaire, Newton, Rousseau, Leo Tolstoy also periodically starved on purpose.

Scientists began to seriously study the beneficial properties of abstinence from food in the second half of the 19^th century. One of the founders of this fasting method, doctor Edward Dewey (1837-1904), treated certain diseases with dosed starvation. Edward Dewey was an American physician. He was a pioneer of therapeutic fasting and author of the book “No Breakfast Plan and the fasting-cure”.

Some doctors believe that if the patient cannot be cured by fasting, then nothing can help him. Many people know the names of Dr. Paul Bragg and Dr. Herbert Shelton, Upton Sinclair – our contemporaries, theorists of curative fasting. Like, Edward Dewey, P. Bragg also recommends giving up an early hearty breakfast.

In the 60s, scientists first started talking about the mechanism of autophagy, when cells cleanse themselves of unnecessary debris in the process of starvation. The latest talk about fasting is the result of the 2016 Nobel Prize in Biology being awarded to Tokyo Technological University professor and Japanese biologist Yoshinori Ohsumi. Since the late 1980s, the professor has been studying autophagy, that is, cell renewal due to their self-eating, and with the help of yeast, he was able to find out which genes are responsible for this process.

In the Soviet union, in 1970s, fasting treatment was widely carried out in patients with various psychosomatic diseases by Professor Yu.S. Nikolaev. His (with co-authors) book “Fasting for Health” summarizes many years of experience in applying this method.

After the tragedy in Chernobyl, the director of the All-Union Association “Active Longevity” T.A. Voitovich discovered the fact that fasting cures radiation sickness !! All the volunteers who completed a course of therapeutic starvation and received 400-600 rads each in the liquidation of the accident recovered.

People starved for 2 weeks, they recovered not only the body itself, but also subsequent functions. Voitovich found that fasting eliminates DNA distortions and removes radioactive isotopes, and also gives the body a potential that builds up after each cycle of fasting. A person becomes practically immune to nitrates. Phenols, sulfur dioxide and other poisons.

In the term “therapeutic fasting”, the key word is therapeutic. Therefore, fasting should, firstly, be prescribed by the attending physician. And secondly, you need to fast under the supervision of a doctor.

Therapeutic fasting  is the shortest path to health. A complete reboot of the body without drugs, cleansing at the cellular level, a sure step towards rejuvenation and active longevity.

The longer the fast, the more organs are involved in this process :- the gastrointestinal tract, blood, lymph, liver, kidneys, lungs, skin. This leads to a general improvement of the body, purification at the cellular level, self-destruction of unhealthy cells, regeneration and renewal of tissues.

However, doctors categorically do not recommend self-medication. It is possible to carry out therapeutic starvation only under the supervision of a doctor, experts warn. Of course, a person cannot enter into a long fast without the advice of a qualified specialist. It is better to use therapeutic fasting as a prophylactic.

Fasting and cancer

Various forms of calorie restriction are the only scientifically proven way to slow down the signs of aging. New research has shown that fasting has a positive effect on the body’s immune defenses and even cancer treatment.

Fasting every other day prolongs the average and maximum lifespan of average living Wistar rats by about 83%. Cancer tumours in calorie-restricted mice are reduced by 60-80%. There is a delay in the onset of fatal tumours, of which lymphoma has the largest number.

Swiss physician and nutritionist pioneer Maximilian Bircher-Benner (he was also the inventor of muesli), Alfred Vogel and Austrian naturopath Rudolf Breuss already in the 1900s, regular periods of fasting were recommended, as well as the use of fasting in the treatment of various diseases. Breuss’ radical views especially angered skeptics because he treated cancer patients by fasting. In defense of Breuss, we can say that he did not recommend stopping chemotherapy to anyone, but was treating patients for whom official medicine had already declared itself powerless. And in many cases the treatment was successful. Future research will show whether Broyce was a true visionary ahead of his time.

Temporary abstinence from food or drastic calorie restriction helps to break free from the vicious habit of feasting that has arisen during the holiday season, and thereby contribute to the healing of the body.

Fasting and religion…

Since ancient times, people have known about the cleansing power and health benefits of fasting. However, the rejuvenating value of meaningful fasting to human life has often been masked by its religious significance.

It is believed that for the first time fasting was prescribed by God to the progenitors of mankind, Adam and Eve, who were forbidden to eat from the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil (forbidden fruit). In “Exodus”, the second book of the Old Testament and the Jewish Pentateuch, it is said that Moses, before receiving the “Ten Commandments” from God, starved on Mount Sinai for 40 days and nights (“Exodus” 34:28) and only then did God honored Moses.

In Christianity, everyone knows the legend that Jesus Christ, like Moses, before he began to preach God’s message, went into the desert and did not eat for 40 days and nights. Jesus Christ did this fasting in full accordance with the laws of Judaism, to which he himself belonged by birth, and within the framework of which he was brought up. It was at the end of his 40-day fast that Jesus Christ said: “Man does not live by bread alone, but by what the Lord God tells him” (Gospel Matthew 4:4), thereby, like Moses, confirming with his personal experience, that the Lord God himself begins to speak with the starving.

The periods of fasting serve as confirmation of the serious attitude to fasting among Christians. Orthodox fasts include Great Lent, Petrov Lent to multi-day fasts. Dormition Fast and Christmas Fast.

Mormons fast on the first Sunday of every month. The Mormon Church designates one Sunday each month, usually the first Sunday, as a day of fasting. Members are asked to go without food and water for two consecutive meals, or approximately 24 hours. (Fasting without both food and water is known as dry fasting)

Muslims strictly observe the monthly fast – Ramadan. During this month, all Muslims do not eat or drink from dawn to dusk. The beginning and end of Ramadan are great national holidays. Ramadan is so serious that people who cannot observe it due to illness or pregnancy must observe Ramadan later, that is, pay off the debt. During the day, nothing can enter the gastrointestinal tract – you can not even swallow saliva. Private Muslim canteens and restaurants are open during Ramadan, but empty. However, after sunset, Muslims eat modest fasting foods, such as beans, lentil soup with spices, dates, etc. According to the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad, fasting helps a person avoid sin, so a real Muslim should refrain from eating two days every week, as well as Jewish Pharisees.

Fasting is an integral part of Yogi practice. In particular, Hatha yoga practitioners are recommended monthly fasting for a period of 1 to 3 days and fasting to kris (5 to 12 days) 1 to 4 times a year.Any yoga fasting is recommended to start on the week of the full moon, because in this case it is easier to bear.

A reminder of the once serious attitude to fasting among Christians is the period of Great Lent, when believing Christians adhere to certain restrictions in food, having eaten pancakes to satiety before that. Was instructed to atone for the sins of others, while the rest could relax without looking back.

The ancient Egyptians, according to the testimony of the ancient Greek historian Herodotus (425 BC), believed that the basis was systematic (three days a month) fasting and cleansing the stomach with the help of emetic and clyster. And the Egyptians, he noted, are the healthiest of mortals. There is also evidence that the ancient Egyptians successfully treated syphilis with dry fasting. Looking ahead, let’s say that in the 19^th century, or rather in 1882, during the occupation of the territory of Egypt, the French recorded numerous cases of getting rid of this disease in this way. Here we can recall examples from the Holy Scriptures of Bible (Daniel 1:3–16 – at least three youths who, eating only vegetables in captivity in Babylon, were stronger and healthier than their peers who ate meat)

Fasting is mentioned quite often in the Bible, where several long fasts are recorded: Moses – 40 days (Exodus, 24:18, 34:28), Elijah – forty days (1 Kings), David – seven days (Fourth Book of Kings) , Jesus – forty days (Gospel of Matthew, 4:2), Luke: “I fast twice a week” (Gospel of Luke, 18:12), “This kind is driven out only by prayer and fasting” (Gospel of Matthew, 17: 21). The Bible warns against fasting for the sake of vanity (Matthew 6:17,18).

The author of the book “Pilgrim Silvius”, describing Great Lent In Jerusalem when visiting it around 386 AD, notes: “During Great Lent, they completely abstained from all food, with the exception of Saturdays and Sundays. They ate on the afternoon of Sunday and after that did not take anything until the next Saturday morning. And so it is throughout Great Lent.”

“Eating Windows” and “Hungry gap”

Each scheme assumes its own “eating window” – the period during which a person can eat or “hungry gap” a gap between solid food intake.

For a healthy carbohydrate metabolism, according to some scientists, the most optimal interval between dinner and breakfast is a time period of 12 hours with no inbetween snacking. However, intermittent fasting is becoming increasingly popular for the purpose of recovery. Today there are several types of it. For example, this is a 12-hour fast (we have lunch at 7 pm – we have breakfast no earlier than 7 am) or the so-called “eight-hour window” between meals, thanks to which you will have to eat only twice a day.

20/4 – Food is taken only for 4 hours a day, during this time you need to eat to fill, including even high-calorie foods in the diet. The diet is based on the 20: 4 system, which means 20 hours without food and only 4 hours per meal. i.e. dinner can last from 7 to 11 pm only. (This is called Warrior diet) It has been proven that this type of cascade starvation can significantly reduce the inflammatory activity, which underlies almost all serious ailments (cancer, atherosclerosis, diabetes, arthritis, etc.). Israeli author Ori Hofmekler described warrior diet or military diet in his book. The technique is based on military regulations. Ori Hofmeckler, while serving in the special forces, discovered that skipping meals has a beneficial effect on the general condition of the body. As a result, he was not eager to consume food during the day. Hofmeckler left the use of food for the evening. The Israeli author noted that this way he does not feel fatigue, his efficiency increases, and his concentration improves. After his retirement, Ori began to study the diet of the ancient warriors.

In the course of research, the author Ori Hofmekler noticed that people liable for military service did not eat until sunset. People ate food before going to bed, while in the daytime they devoted themselves to training, hunting and fighting. Hofmeckler explained that a person in a stressful situation absorbs food better when he feels safe. Therefore, this type of diet pattern repeats during the daily routine of the warrior.

Military diet therapy has a number of advantages over other weight loss methods. During the period of compliance, it is not required to monitor the amount of calories, proteins, sugars and lipids consumed. With limited nutrition, you do not need to eat monotonous food and weigh the amount of food. The Warrior Diet is not about counting calories. It does not indicate exact serving size. It is important to adhere to the principle itself: to actually abstain from food for 20 hours, and then gorge on your fill and even more than just your fill.

24 – A scheme in which the fasting period is a day (24 hours gap). After 24 hours of fasting you will be able to reduce your insulin level by 70%, and your autophagy mechanism is activated !!

36 – The scheme implies breakfast at 8 o’clock in the morning and eating only the next day at 20 o’clock in the evening.

(36 hours gap).

6/1 (weekly 24 hour fast) - Complete fasting for 1 or 2 days a week, known as the Eat-Stop-Eat diet, includes not eating for 24 hours. You can go hungry from breakfast to breakfast or lunch to dinner. People on this diet can drink water, tea, and other low-calorie drinks while fasting.

Fasting for one day significantly increases the rate of metabolic processes: it has been proven that in two days, basal metabolism increases by 3.6%.

Fasting for 24 hours can cause weakness, headaches, or irritability. Many people find that these effects become less extreme over time as the body adjusts to this new eating pattern. It may be helpful for people to try a 12-hour or 16-hour fast before switching to a 24-hour fast.

5/2 – 5 days are allowed to eat, and two days only water or low calorie drinks (48 hours gap).

Vicious cycle of insulin resistance

The primary role of insulin is to maintain blood glucose levels within normal limits. With a constantly elevated blood glucose level, including those associated with the frequent intake of refined carbohydrate foods (fast food, bakery products, white rice, sweets, etc.), the pancreas is forced to produce insulin in increased quantities in order to remove excess blood sugar from the blood. This condition is called “high blood insulin” – hyperinsulinemia.

Due to the fact that insulin constantly forces the cells to absorb and process excess glucose, these commands gradually “get bored”, that is, all free insulin receptors in the cell are activated and they stop perceiving it (“strike”). So-called “insulin resistance” develops – tissue resistance to insulin. To overcome insulin resistance (“cell strike”), the pancreas produces even more insulin, the barrier of insensitivity is overcome, and the cells begin to utilize glucose again. At a certain point, a situation develops in which no matter how much the pancreas produces the insulin, its strength is no longer enough to “persuade the cells” to utilize sugar, and the blood glucose level gradually begins to rise – with the subsequent development of insulin resistance.

Such foods as the sources of concentrated carbohydrates, and especially those that are easily and quickly digested: any food made from refined flour (bread, cereal, pasta), liquid carbohydrates (beer, fruit juices, carbonated soft drinks) and starch (potatoes), white rice and corn). This food instantly fills the blood with glucose. Blood sugar spikes; insulin starts to skyrocket.

The more frequent glucose spikes in the bloodstream throughout the day, the more insulin the pancreas is forced to produce. In turn, the more insulin is produced in the body, the less sensitive it becomes to this insulin. In other words, insulin loses its effectiveness. It turns out a kind of vicious circle.

Rebooting the insulin sensitivity

When you frequently eat too much sugar, refined flour products and white rice, your insulin levels spike everytime. When this happens frequently and regularly, your cells become resistant to its effects. So you pump out more and more insulin, become even more resistant to its effects, and end up in the vicious cycle of insulin resistance. Imagine that you, a clean-handed person, were asked to chop firewood and as a result you crippled your hands. If you continue to cut wood regularly and frequently, the calluses on your hands will harden, forming a protective crust. Or this process can be compared to a traffic jam :- either you drive a car for a long time in a traffic jam and “slowly approaching” to your destination, or you drive at a high speed on the highway and manage to do everything quickly when there is no traffic jam (insulin resistance).

Insulin resistance is a common, almost silent condition in which the body’s cells become less able to efficiently respond to the hormone insulin. This causes the pancreas to secrete even more insulin to keep blood sugar from rising too high. If your insulin sensitivity is at optimum level then you will need much less insulin to accomplish the task of balancing your blood sugar.

Metabolic syndrome and prediabetes are some of the most common conditions related to insulin resistance. In the USA, roughly 1 out of every 3 adults over the age of 18 has metabolic syndrome or prediabetes. Metabolic syndrome involves many different body systems and can cause health problems, such as diseases of civilization, insulin resistance diseases (heart diseases, diabetes, and stroke etc.)

Insulin resistance causes high blood-glucose levels and high insulin levels. There may be no symptoms in the early stages, but, over time, these changes can lead to serious health complications which increase the risk of heart disease, strokes, Type 2 diabetes — and more.

It is possible to reverse insulin resistance with sufficiently longer gap between solid food intake or by eating more fats, slow carbohydrates, reducing processed foods, simple sugars. Intermittent fasting is one of the quickest and effective ways to reset your insulin sensitivity to initial healthy level.

Don’t drink sweet juice and sugary soft drink soda regularly and frequently. Your body doesn’t feel full from liquid calories, so you eat more all day i.e. overeating.

Simple or fast carbohydrate foods such as white rice, baked or fried potatoes, bakery products made from refined flour, sauces, sugar quickly provide high spikes in blood glucose after consumption. The state of glucose surges for those who do not have diabetes is not dangerous, but not useful either. The modern understanding of proper nutrition, a healthy lifestyle and the aging process suggests that the more we avoid these jumps, the better our health will be, the slower we will age, the easier it is to control appetite.

Cyclic fasting technique by Voroshilov

The Cyclic fasting technique was developed by Alexander Pavlovich Voroshilov, a Russian doctor. According to statistics, more than 2,000 people successfully use his method every year.

Intermittent fasting (alternating periods of fasting with “windows” where you eat within one day), fasting every other day or fasting for two days a week and other forms of intermittent food restriction are useful for maintaining a healthy weight and have gained particular popularity in recent years. If you periodically refuse food, you can not only lose weight, but also become healthier. As a result, a system of intermittent fasting arose, prescribing food intake only in a short time period. According to experts, regarding studies that show that as a result of intermittent fasting, metabolic indicators improve, insulin levels decrease and so on – any method that allows you to lose weight will lead to the same positive metabolic effects.

Why is fasting cyclical (intermittent)? Its essence is a food pause. After all, it is no secret that our body is a single complex, which is difficult to change in any direction by carrying out single and disparate procedures. Yes, sometimes it is possible to achieve a variable result, but there is always a risk that what has been achieved will be lost, and everything will return to normal.

The most important concept in cyclic (intermittent) fasting is a food pause. This determines the interval between two meals, say, between breakfast and lunch. However, its duration relative to fasting can be extended up to 24 hours, and up to several weeks. Only the systematic observance of such long pauses will be successful.

According to studies in patients of different ages and different physiological parameters, the first beneficial changes in the body began to occur after at least 60 hours of food pause. There was a decrease in blood glucose levels, which entailed signs of hypoglycemia. But after a couple of hours, the proportion of sugar in the blood composition returned to normal, and the person already noted excellent health. The reason for this is the transition to a ketogenic diet, a way of existence in which the lack of glucose in the blood is replenished by the breakdown of fats accumulated by the body.

If at this stage of the restructuring of the body, Voroshilov’s cyclic starvation is abandoned, then the weight will very quickly return to the previous one. Thus, in order to permanently consolidate the result obtained, according to Voroshilov,  you must completely refuse to eat for a period of at least 60 hours.

A number of observations of starving people who want to get rid of both excess weight and various diseases showed that the best results are observed in those who extended the food break to a week and adhered to such periods at least once a month. Those patients who have already achieved the expected results with the help of the technique, as a consolidation of the result, kept a monthly food pause for 3-4 days.

In his book “Starvation for Health”, Yu.S. Nikolaev notes that in the Paleolithic era  (40 – 50 thousand years ago) and somewhat later, hunger was a natural state for humans. This was one of the important factors helping the ancient man to adapt to changing environmental conditions, to survive in harsh circumstances, relying on the reserves of his body. And if you look critically, the ancient Cro-Magnons looked outwardly even stronger than the current athletes, despite the fact that the food of the ancient people compared to us at the time called “hungry” rations.

The consequences of the famine In Soviet union in 1932-33. And the siege of Leningrad during the Great Patriotic War only strengthened humanity in the idea that hunger is dangerous for life. And in such conditions, the benefit of therapeutic fasting had to be proved almost with fists.

A person adhering to intermittent fasting can only drink water, black green or herbal tea, coffee without sugar.

An unprepared person needs a one-day pause. The body begins to control the feeling of hunger and appetite, cleanse the stomach, liver and intestines. Over time, the food pause can be increased up to 48 hours. Fasting for more than two days without medical supervision is dangerous.

“Therapeutic fasting is good for everyone. Moreover, starving is always easier than malnourished. The animal, when sick, refuses to eat. It is also impossible to force an unhealthy child to eat. This is an absolutely natural, protective reaction of the body to malaise. Fasting has anti-inflammatory, immunostimulating effects, cleanses of toxins and old cells. With its help, absolutely all chronic diseases are treated, in particular, hypertension, vascular atherosclerosis, inflammation of the liver, pancreas, skin, joints, bronchial asthma, obesity.

The 5:2 – Intermittent fasting

The multimillion-selling Fast Diet or 5:2 — intermittent fasting on two days (48 hours) out of seven. There is strong evidence gathered over many decades to show how it can lower blood pressure, reduce excess fat and glucose in the blood, modulate the immune system, increase the effect of the mood and sleep-regulating neuro-transmitter serotonin, boost protein repair, and reduce inflammation.

Three days of water fasting can rejuvenate the immune system, triggering the production of new white blood cells. Other studies show that fasting can enable healthy cells to endure better the toxic impact of chemotherapy while cancer cells die more rapidly.

Intermittent (cyclic) fasting is contraindicated when……

Obviously, in acute chronic diseases of the gastrointestinal tract or during exacerbation, the technique is unacceptable. First, you need to remove the exacerbation and only after that proceed with intermittent fasting, which will restore health.

Intermittent fasting is contraindicated for people with any diseases of the gastrointestinal tract and a predisposition to gallstone disease, pregnant and lactating women.

History of autophagy

This little-studied process of starvation-induced autophagy that occurs in our body has recently come under the spotlight of extensive research. 

The autophagy process was discovered in the 1960s, but its benefits and importance were only appreciated in the 1990s, after the publication of Yoshinori Osumi’s research. The Belgian biochemist Christian de Duve, who studied autophagy in liver tissues, received the Nobel Prize in 1974, but he did not delve deeply into this topic. But in 2016, the Japanese scientist Yoshinori Osumi also received the Nobel Prize and more globally explained what autophagy is. He was the first in the world to use yeast to identify the complex of genes that are responsible for it. In fact, Yoshinori Ohsumi answered the question of how autophagy is regulated and which genes and proteins are involved in this process. He carried out all his experiments on a common baker’s yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae. For work, he used yeast cells. Yoshinori created an artificial “starvation ration” for them – an environment with a critically low glucose content.

He regularly observed yeast cells through a microscope. And this Is what he saw: the cellular cytoplasm, with insufficient caloric nutrition, tends to “boil” in a peculiar way – to form bubbles. It turned out that the cell begins to digest itself if it experiences a shortage of food. Old, damaged structures immediately fall into consumption. Thus, cell rejuvenation occurs.

The human body is not yeast, but its cells are also capable of exhibiting this phenomenon, which is genetically determined. In humans, it starts when there is insufficient intake of animal proteins. By replacing some of these proteins with plant analogues, we promote cellular autophagy. There is a slowdown in aging and a decrease in the risks of developing cardiovascular, cancerous and neurodegenerative diseases. This is the basis of the system of fasting according to the method of autophagy. The experts suggests that fasting can help in the fight against diseases of civilization more effectively than any other means.

The role of autophagy during  fasting

During therapeutic starvation, the body experiences a shortage of calories that replenish energy reserves. The body is forced to draw energy from internal sources, which are ketone bodies, fat layer and the process of self-absorption of cells.

In this case, diseased and damaged cells are used first. This process is able to renew the body, improve and rejuvenate due to the release of “poor-quality” material.

Professor Walter Longo found that fasting destroys benign tumors because damaged tumor cells are used in the process of autophagy.

When autophagy triggers….

Autophagy is a process in which the internal components of the cell, old and unnecessary, undergo degradation, which occurs as a result of long pauses in nutrition. A number of factors activate autophagy, including fasting, calorie restriction, and intense exercise. Autophagy is a very simple and free way to get rid of all the metabolic junk in the body.

There is no consensus between different authors about when the autophagy triggers after the start of fasting. According to some authors – to start the process of autophagy, pauses in nutrition must last at least 16 hours. At this time, even small snacks are not allowed. Some experts say that typically it takes 24-48 hours for the body to reach autophagy. Some authors believe that,  anywhere between 18 hours  to four days will trigger autophagy. The longer a person refuses food, the more intensively this mechanism begins to work.

Disruption of autophagy mechanisms is observed in neurodegenerative diseases. As we age, and with regularly high insulin levels (that is, when we often eat easily digestible carbohydrates, sweets), autophagy slows down. And vice versa – when we are hungry, when there is no insulin, but instead of it there is the hormone glucagon, autophagy starts.

A key activator of autophagy is a lack of nutrients. There are two opposite hormones in the human body: glucagon and insulin. If insulin levels rise, glucagon falls, and vice versa. When we eat, insulin levels rise and glucagon levels decrease. When we don’t eat, insulin levels decrease and glucagon levels rise. And this increase in the concentration of glucagon stimulates the start of the autophagy process. In fact, fasting (which increases glucagon levels) provides the largest and strongest stimulus known to trigger autophagy.

At the same time, fasting is much more useful than just a factor in triggering autophagy. Not only does it stimulate the body’s cleansing process of old, unnecessary proteins and cell parts, it also triggers growth hormone, which signals our body to start producing new “spare parts”. Truly a complete renewal of the body.

What turns off autophagy? Eating, of course !! Glucose, insulin (or low levels of glucagon) and the consumption of proteins turn off this self-cleaning process. It is known that the consumption of even a small amount of amino acids can stop autophagy. Thus, autophagy is possible only during starvation.

Insulin and health (Insulin lowering method by intermittent fasting)

I came across a book by author Dr. Yuri Babkin – “Insulin and health (Insulin lowering method)”. Dr. Yuri Babkin is an orthopedic surgeon. His method is based on the analysis and synthesis of a huge amount of the latest biological and medical research and is based on thousands of articles published in scientific medical journals.

Here are the excerpts from the book of Dr. Yuri Babkin….

The number of people with the so-called diseases of civilization is growing…. Diseases of the heart and blood vessels, hypertension, obesity, diabetes, cancer have assumed the scale of epidemics and become the scourge of mankind. The percentage of sick people in the world is constantly growing. Someone has excess cholesterol, high blood pressure or sugar, most people are overweight. And, as a rule, the disease is never one – more often it is a bunch of several ailments. This creates favorable conditions for the development of pharmaceutical companies and opens up a wide scope for the promotion of a huge number of popular diets, but only for you, this does not make it easier – your illnesses and health problems remain as they were.

The main cause of the diseases of civilization is – an excess of insulin. The intake of any food in the body serves as a signal by which millions of beta cells consistently release the accumulated insulin into the blood. Not only sugar, as some think, but absolutely any food stimulates the release of insulin – carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. At present, nutrition is elevated by man to an axiom: "if you don’t eat, you will die.” A modern man is so accustomed to the cult of food that he considers it normal to eat more than 3–4 times a day, to eat exquisite, even sophisticated food, no matter how harmful it may be.

Satisfaction of passion in taste sensations has put the modern world in a terrible dependence, and this dependence is exclusively psychological. All this results in the diseases of civilization.

A person changes skin more often than a snake! Wounds heal and fractures heal at any age, even in old age. All these processes require insulin as the main growth hormone. The body’s production of insulin increases with age. Excess insulin makes you feel unwell, spoils the person’s appearance, leads to disease and accelerates aging.

As is above-mentioned, the main cause of civilization diseases is the excessive production of insulin. Accordingly, the method of Dr. Yuri Babkin consists in actions aimed at reducing its production.

The first reason for the rise in insulin is frequent food intake. The amount of food does not matter, even a small meal triggers the release of insulin by pancreas. Therefore, any snack is perceived by the pancreas in the same way as a complete meal, even if it is just fruit or yogurt, or a small piece of cookie. You ate something – insulin went into your bloodstream. The gland does not care about the volume of the meal. Studies show that, in the long term, multiple meals are fraught with carbohydrate metabolism disorders. The reason is that insulin is produced for any food. Fractional meals increase hormone release and increase the risk of insulin resistance. Therefore, frequent meals are highly discouraged.

Due to longer breaks in food intake, it increases insulin sensitivity (this not only protects against diabetes, but, as it is assumed, slows down the rate of aging of the body.)

Eliminate in-between snacking, eat your fill every time so as not to walk half-starved and do not nibble. Refuse any invitation to have a bite to eat, just drink water, tea, or coffee, but don’t put anything in your mouth unless you’re hungry. But if you are hungry, eat your fill. So, eat your fill, never snack. Ideally, eliminate breakfast, lunch or dinner by switching to two meals a day.

The decrease in insulin production lengthens the life time. It is possible to reduce the production and release of insulin, if you make long breaks between meals. It is logical to assume that this method will lead to a lengthening of life.

Indeed, there is a lot of experimental data to support this. In experiments on mice, it was found that if they are fed every other day, they live longer and do not get sick. When mice are not fed for 24 hours in a row throughout their life, and in the next 24 hours they are given food to the dump, then, in comparison with mice who are fed daily 3 times a day, they, firstly, do not lose weight by eating, when there is food, secondly, they never get sick, and thirdly, they live one and a half times longer than those mice who eat regularly 3 times every day. The explanation for this fact is simple – mice that eat less often secrete less insulin than those that eat often. Please note that eating less often does not mean less, because there is no difference in the number of calories, the weight of both mice is the same.

The authors who carried out research work concluded that, prolonged fasting has many advantages over regular meals at will. Interestingly, the nutritional value of the food did not significantly affect health and longevity: mice fed a healthy meal once a day did not have much of an advantage over those fed a less healthy diet.

The experiment showed that mice, which were fed only once a day for their entire life, developed age-related disorders later, and they lived longer than their counterparts with constant or less limited calorie access to food. Increasing daily fasting times, without a reduction of calories and regardless of the type of diet consumed, resulted in overall improvements in health and survival in mice.

For the study, researchers randomly divided 292 male mice into two diet groups.

The first group of mice had access to food round the clock. The second group of mice was fed 30 percent fewer calories per day than the first group. The third group was meal fed, getting a single meal that added up to the exact number of calories as the round-the-clock group.

This study showed that mice who ate one meal per day, and thus had the longest fasting period, seemed to have a longer lifespan and better outcomes for common age-related liver disease and metabolic disorders.

Similar experiments have been carried out with humans. For a long time, the participants in the experiment ate only half of their usual daily diet on one day, and ate as much as they wanted the next day. The health status of these people improved very quickly (already in the first two weeks of the experiment). The list of illnesses that were cured or retreated in these experiments is impressive: asthma, seasonal allergies, common colds and chronic infections, autoimmune diseases, arthritis, cardiac arrhythmias and menopausal hot flashes (note: how many more diseases result from excess insulin).

For the pancreas, any food is just a signal to release insulin. The amount of insulin released in response to food does not depend on the volume of food, but on the mass of all beta cells for a given period of time. Since the mass of beta cells changes slowly over the years, the only sure way to reduce the amount of insulin secreted is not to reduce the portions of food, but to reduce the frequency of meals.

Popular diets don’t work…..

According to Israeli expert Yuri Babkin - Popular diets do not work !!!!!!! Popular diets don't work because they don't limit insulin production. What they definitely do not limit is insulin production, because reducing food portions does not lead to a decrease in insulin release, since the height of the insulin released waves depends on the mass of all beta cells, and not on the mass of the food.

All popular diets boil down to either limiting the total calorie intake, or limiting one of the food components, for example, a low-carbohydrate diet, or a low-fat diet. But any compulsory restriction on food is ineffective, because people cannot restrict themselves for a long time. The only thing that all popular diets agree on is frequent meals (this is exactly the recommendation people follow with pleasure). 

“I am not a supporter of popular diets, because they miss one very important moment of nutrition – a food break,” Alexander Voroshilov, a nutritionist, told “Novaya Gazeta” – a Russian newspaper – Some popular authors recommend a high-protein diet, others a low-carbohydrate high fat diet, and still others a fresh fruit, vegetarian, raw or plant-milk diet. And every popular author claims that his diet is the best. But, all these popular diets miss one very important thing – sufficiently longer gap between solid food intake. We are used to the fact that the food break is the interval between breakfast and lunch, when we do not feel like eating. And everything that is a long period of time is called fasting. I began studying this issue 15 years ago, as a result of which a system of cyclic fasting was created. What is it like? In fact, the same pauses as between meals during the day :- without weakness and hunger, only longer – one week a month. With their help, you can solve the problem of not only excess weight, but also pollution of the body – cleansing it of toxins, as well as old ballast cells.They, like fats on the sides, are an excellent source of energy, when a person stops eating. That is why after the first cycle of fasting, our patients, regardless of what diseases they come with, feel much better.

The problem is that popular diets do not reduce insulin production, as all popular diets promote frequent meals (or do not pay attention to it, or do not count snacking as a meal). This is the fault of all popular diets. It is only when a person eats sparingly that the body can switch to burning fat during the long breaks between meals when insulin levels are low.

Your body needs long breaks to give it a break from insulin. During these long breaks, the body actively burns just fat and cholesterol - this is what we want. Reducing the production of insulin with the help of a rare diet leads to a decrease in cholesterol levels, since it is the excess insulin that causes the increased production of cholesterol.

Many works have been published proving that a rare diet normalizes blood pressure. 

In numerous experiments with animals, it has been proven that rare feeding with long breaks in meals protects neurons from age-related degenerative processes. Brain cells become more resistant to the harmful effects of both toxic substances and gamma radiation. With this kind of feeding, even new nerve cells grow from stem cells, contrary to the generally accepted belief that nerve cells do not regenerate. Proper nutrition - it is the correct mode supply. The secret to healthy eating is not inside food, but outside it: in between meals. By lengthening the intervals between meals, which lowers the amount of insulin released, we can lengthen our lives by preventing disease.

Firstly start with 12 hour break in two meals with no in-between snacking. If health problems persist, take a 24-hour or 36 hour meal break.

Snake Diet by Cole Robinson

The author of the snake diet, Canadian fitness trainer Cole Robinson draws an analogy: a snake, having caught prey, swallows it whole. A reptile can swallow an animal much larger than itself. In the stomach of a young snake, food is digested for up to 7 days, for an adult – up to 10 days.

Cole Robinson, suggests eating like a snake, but not once a month, but once every 24 to 48 hours. But this time there are no restrictions. Eat what you want and how much you want… And in between such a long food break an electrolyte drink called “snake juice” is consumed to maintain strength. In fact, this strange concoction is made up of water, sodium chloride (Himalayan pink salt), baking soda, potassium chloride, and optionally magnesium sulfate. Cole Robinson also recommends the use of a powdered mixture of electrolytes dissolved in water. This will give the body vitality and energy during the fasting period. The Canadian coach claims that if you eat once a day, and even better – once every 48 hours and more, you can achieve amazing results. Robinson says that, if your sole purpose is to lose weight then take a longer food break more than 48 hours each time. Once you’ve reached your desired weight, you can continue fasting, limiting yourself to just one meal every 24 to 48 hours.

According to adherents of the snake diet, it improves skin condition, normalizes blood sugar levels, and even promotes high spirits. Doctors also note that this nutrition system normalizes blood pressure. Robinson, claims that thanks to this diet, many ailments disappear :- from minor ailments to diabetes. This method has not passed any clinical trials, but thanks to social networks, it has gained immense popularity.