<p>Intermittent fasting may actually help people live longer and healthier, says a study. Fasting in mice has been shown to extend lifespan and to improve age-related diseases.<br /></p>.<p>"We found that intermittent fasting caused a slight increase in SIRT3, a well-known gene that promotes longevity and is involved in protective cell responses," said Michael Guo, a student at Harvard Medical School.<br /><br />The SIRT3 gene encodes a protein also called SIRT3 that belongs to a class of proteins known as sirtuins.<br /><br />Sirtuins, if increased in mice, can extend their lifespans. "The hypothesis is that if the body is intermittently exposed to low levels of oxidative stress, it can build a better response to it."<br />The intermittent fasting also decreases insulin levels in the participants, which means the diet could have an anti-diabetic effect as well. The group recruited 24 participants in the clinical trial.<br />During a three-week period, the participants alternated one day of eating 25 percent of their daily caloric intake with one day of eating 175 percent of their daily caloric intake.<br /><br />To test antioxidant supplements, the participants repeated the diet but also included vitamin C and vitamin E.<br /><br />The beneficial sirtuin proteins such as SIRT3 and SIRT1, tended to increase as a result of the diet.<br /><br />However, when antioxidants were supplemented on top of the diet, some of these increases disappeared.<br /><br />"Most of the participants found that fasting was easier than the feasting day, which was a little bit surprising to me," Guo added.<br /><br />"The future studies should examine a larger cohort of participants and should include a larger number of genes in the participants."The study appeared in the journal Rejuvenation Research.<br /></p>
<p>Intermittent fasting may actually help people live longer and healthier, says a study. Fasting in mice has been shown to extend lifespan and to improve age-related diseases.<br /></p>.<p>"We found that intermittent fasting caused a slight increase in SIRT3, a well-known gene that promotes longevity and is involved in protective cell responses," said Michael Guo, a student at Harvard Medical School.<br /><br />The SIRT3 gene encodes a protein also called SIRT3 that belongs to a class of proteins known as sirtuins.<br /><br />Sirtuins, if increased in mice, can extend their lifespans. "The hypothesis is that if the body is intermittently exposed to low levels of oxidative stress, it can build a better response to it."<br />The intermittent fasting also decreases insulin levels in the participants, which means the diet could have an anti-diabetic effect as well. The group recruited 24 participants in the clinical trial.<br />During a three-week period, the participants alternated one day of eating 25 percent of their daily caloric intake with one day of eating 175 percent of their daily caloric intake.<br /><br />To test antioxidant supplements, the participants repeated the diet but also included vitamin C and vitamin E.<br /><br />The beneficial sirtuin proteins such as SIRT3 and SIRT1, tended to increase as a result of the diet.<br /><br />However, when antioxidants were supplemented on top of the diet, some of these increases disappeared.<br /><br />"Most of the participants found that fasting was easier than the feasting day, which was a little bit surprising to me," Guo added.<br /><br />"The future studies should examine a larger cohort of participants and should include a larger number of genes in the participants."The study appeared in the journal Rejuvenation Research.<br /></p>